Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Auriemma a Naismith Coach of the Year finalist [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Brianna Banks named Miss Georgia Basketball [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Ann Strother: Fashion Model (I Am Not Kidding) [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Mosqueda-Lewis Is Gatorade Player Of The Year [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Depth Helps UHart’s Rizzotti Stress Defense [Hartford Courant]

Auriemma laments expectations [Norwich Bulletin]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

UConn Avoids Being a Louisville [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Roscoe Eyes a Tourney Run [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Calhoun’s Cincinnati Bungle? [David Borges – New Haven Register]

UConn 81, Bucknell 52: the ugly wrap [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

Post-Bucknell game breakdown, video [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

Roscoe Smith: Career-High 17 Points Vs. Bucknell [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Kemba Walker Near A Triple Double [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Career Victory No. 850 For Jim Calhoun [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

A Closer Look At Kemba Walker’s Success [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

UConn handles Bucknell with ease [Neill Ostrout – CT Post]

Cronin talks Connecticut [Neill Ostrout – CT Post]

Taking Care of Business [UConn Huskies Basketball]

UConn rolls past Bucknell in NCAA tournament opener [CT Post]

With Walker leading, UConn came, saw, conquered [CT Post]

Calhoun elevates Kemba’s name among Huskies’ greatest [CT Post]

UConn Routs Bucknell In NCAA Opener; Cincinnati Next [Hartford Courant]

Notebook: Smith’s Shooting Eye Doesn’t Suffer [Hartford Courant]

Huskies start NCAA tournament fresh with rout of Bucknell [New Haven Register]

Huskies answer the challenge [The Day]

UConn-Cincinnati: A Big East reunion in NCAA tourney [The Day]

Delivery man: Walker, with 12 assists, gets everyone involved as UConn rolls [The Day]

Huskies look ready for a run [FOXSports.com]

UConn Football links

Who missed out on the Top 25 list? [Brian Bennett – ESPN.com]

Pasqualoni On Looking At Everyone; Defensive Strategy [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

W. Lacrosse. Huskies Open BIG EAST Play Against Rutgers [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. Huskies to Play Three Games in Mount Pleasant, S.C. [UConnHuskies.com]

Softball. Huelsenbeck Grand Slam Leads UConn Over Fairfield, 12-0 [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Ice Hockey. Cole Schneider Named All-Rookie [UConnHuskies.com]

 

When the brackets came out on Sunday for the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, I was taken aback by the fact that the UConn Huskies could face the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second third round of the tournament.

Was the selection committee just being cruel to UConn because of the NCAA sanctions or was that how the cookies crumbled when they were choosing the brackets? After all, the Big East did get 11 teams into the tournament but I didn’t figure any of them would play each other until at least the Sweet 16

Nonetheless, UConn still needed to win against Bucknell, which they did and the Bearcats needed to win against Missouri, which they did also.

So now, the Huskies will get to face a familiar Big East foe in the Bearcats on Saturday night at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The game is scheduled to start at approximately 9:40 p.m. and will be televised nationally on TBS. Winner goes to the Sweet 16 in Anaheim, CA where they’ll face the winner of San Diego State and Temple.

In case you were wondering, UConn beat Cincinnati 67-59 back in late February in Cincy.

The Boston Red Sox donned the green uniforms for St. Patrick’s Day on Thursday and they provided them a little luck in the 8-5 win over the New York Mets at City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers, FL. But the big story of the day wasn’t the announcement of the rest of the rotation but rather the fact that Jonathan Papelbon struggled once again on the mound.

Papelbon pitched the 9th inning of the game and hit the first batter he faced in Dusty Ryan. He then was able to retire Chin-lung Hu and Luis Hernandez before he issued walks to Daniel Murphy and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Justin Turner then hit a bases-clearing double and  was promptly brought in on a Jason Pridie double that chased Paps from the game.

Luckily for Paps, Eammon Portice bailed him out and only needed one pitch to retire Lucas Duda to pick up the save.

Papelbon said after the game that he isn’t worried but you can bet your bottom dollar that he’ll be the talk of the Boston airwaves tomorrow morning if he already wasn’t on Thrusday night.

John Lackey, who was named the No. 2 starter earlier in the day, threw the ball well in his 5 1/3 innings of work. He allowed one run on five hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Rich Hill allowed a hit in 2/3 of an inning. Scott Atchison followed Hill with a perfect inning and Daniel Bard allowed a hit and a walk in his inning of work.

Carl Crawford and Jed Lowrie led the offense with two hits and two RBIs each. Crawford added a stolen base to the cause as well. Drew Sutton went 2-for-4 which included a 2-run homer in the 8th inning. Daniel Nava added a hit and a stolen base while Jacoby Ellsbury also had a hit as well. Tough day though for Mike Cameron who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

The Red Sox will play their final split-squad doubleheader of the spring on Friday afternoon when they’ll host the Detroit Tigers at City of Palms Park at 1:05 p.m. The other split-squad will head to Port Charlotte to take on the Tampa Bay Rays at 7:05 p.m. Clay Buchholz will start for the Red Sox against the Tigers while Tim Wakefield gets the ball against the Rays.

According to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, Red Sox notables playing in Port Charlotte will be Crawford, Ellsbury, J.D. Drew, Jed Lowrie and Nava along with Wake.

 To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Beckett weighs in on rotation [Clubhouse Insider]

Papelbon struggles … does it matter? [Clubhouse Insider]

Write your own caption: Belichick yucks it up with Pedroia, Tito [Clubhouse Insider]

Papelbon unworried about latest spring struggle [CSNNE.com]

Varitek on rotation, and Varitek [ESPN Boston]

Beckett: ‘It’s Tito’s call’ [ESPN Boston]

Lackey to be No. 2 starter [ESPN Boston]

Perils of Paps, spring-training edition [ESPN Boston]

Is there a developing Papelbon problem? [Extra Bases]

Josh Beckett Heaps Praise on Jon Lester for ‘Sacred’ Opening Day Nod [NESN.com]

Jonathan Papelbon Not Concerned About Latest Rocky Outing Against Mets [NESN.com]

Juan Carlos Linares Describes Amazing Journey From Cuba to Red Sox Prospect [NESN.com]

John Lackey Sporting Usual Bulldog Mentality But Looks Much Sharper on Mound Than Last Few Spring Camps [NESN.com]

Red Sox still not worried about Papelbon [Projo Sox Blog]

PawSox fall 5-1 to Durham Bulls in preseason game [Projo Sox Blog]

Over-under: Red Sox stolen bases [Projo Sox Blog]

Sox complete rotation, drop Beckett to No. 4 [RedSox.com]

Crawford unleashes hits, speed vs. Mets [RedSox.com]

Papelbon struggles with mechanics vs. Mets [RedSox.com]

Lackey to follow Lester in rotation [RedSox.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

Photo credit: AP Photo

On Thursday morning, the Boston Red Sox optioned three players to the Pawtucket Red Sox in shortstop Jose Iglesias, catcher Luis Exposito and infielder Yamaico Navarro. After beating the Mets 8-5 in the afternoon, they optioned first baseman Lars Anderson to Pawsox and reassigned Juan Carlos Linares to the minors.

Anderson is pretty much a man without a country right now as the Red Sox have Adrian Gonzalez for this year and more than likely the foreseeable future. He struggled again this spring like he did last year as he hit .161 with two home runs and three RBIs in 13 games.

Linares was pretty impressive in his 13 games with the big club during spring training. He hit .320 with one home run, three RBIs and nine runs scored.

He also left a lasting impression on skipper Terry Francona.

“Linares is really interesting,” Francona said. “Obviously the major-league staff didn’t know him really well. At first blush you look at him and you’re like, ‘I don’t know if this guy can play center field.’ And then you see him run around out there and he can actually play all three outfield positions, he’s very aggressive at the plate, and he hustles on every ball that is in play. He’s a pretty exciting guy.”

With all of the moves today, the Red Sox are down to 43 players in big league camp. They have to be down to 25 by April 1st when they open the season against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, TX.

The Boston Red Sox made another round of cuts on Thursday morning as they’ve optioned shortstop Jose Iglesias, catcher Luis Exposito and infielder Yamaico Navarro to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox.

Iglesias, who is widely regarded as future shortstop,. finished the 2010 season with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. It does appear he’s on a faster track to the big leagues though by starting the season in Triple-A.

In 15 spring training games with the Red Sox, Iglesias hit .320 with an RBI.

Exposito, who is away from team to celebrate the birth of his child in Miami, saw action in seven games going 1-for-10.

Navarro made his big league debut in 2010 for the Red Sox. In 17 games this spring, he hit .263 with one home run and five RBIs.

It never fails. Anytime I decide that I need or have to take a day away from the site, something big happens. Nine out of 10 times this big thing that happens is usually related to the Boston Red Sox.

The BIG thing this time. Red Sox skipper Terry Francona named Jon Lester the opening day starter.

He actually let Lester know during the winter but told him not to say anything until it was made official. Of course the keen Boston media had caught on early when they were playing out the order of the pitchers going during spring training and figured it out that Lester was on track to start opening day in Texas.

I think the best part though was where Lester was when he found out:

“It was short and sweet,” Lester said of the original notification. “I think I was in a deer stand.”

And this morning, Francona announced the rotation for at least the first two times through the regular season. John Lackey will be the No. 2 starter, Clay Buchholz the No. 3 starter, Josh Beckett the No. 4 starter and Daisuke Matsuzaka will be the No. 5 starter.

Not a bad rotation there especially when you have Beckett as your fourth starter.

After falling to the Braves 4-3 yesterday, the Red Sox are back in Ft. Myers this afternoon where they’ll host the New York Mets.

Here are today’s lineups for the game:

1. Luis Hernandez	SS	1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF
2. Dan Murphy	2B	2. Carl Crawford	LF
3. Scott Hairston	CF	3. Mike Cameron	DH
4. Ike Davis	1B	4. Jed Lowrie	SS
5. Nick Evans	LF	5. J.D. Drew	RF
6. Lucas Duda	RF	6. Paul Hoover	C
7. Brad Emaus	DH	7. Lars Anderson	1B
8. Josh Thole	C	8. Drew Sutton	3B
9. Chin-lung Hu	3B	9. Nate Spears	2B
Jonathon Niese	SP	John Lackey	SP

Also scheduled to pitch for the Red Sox: RHP Jonathan Papelbon, RHP Daniel Bard, LHP Rich Hill.

Also scheduled to pitch for the Mets: LHP Mike O’Connor, LHP Taylor Tankersley, RHP Bobby Parnell, RHP Pedro Beato, RHP Taylor Buchholz.

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

Photo credit: AP Photo

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they will open up NCAA Tournament play tonight against the Bucknell Bison. Game time is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. and the game will be nationally-televised on TNT. You can also catch the game online at NCAA March Madness On Demand. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the WTIC/UConn Radio Network.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Men’s Basketball links

‘The Patriot League is not the Big East’ [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Tall Task [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Huskies-Bison (no ‘S), the preamble [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

News from UConn’s NCAA practice, press conference [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

How Bucknell could win [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

UConn’s Washington D.C. Experience Begins [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Bucknell Mentally Prepared To Face UConn [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Where Kemba Walker Stands On The UConn Lists [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Hot Huskies hit the Beltway [Neill Ostrout – CT Post]

Chris The Intern Weighs in on UCONN BBALL [The Fat White Guy]

Know Your Enemy: Bucknell [UConn Huskies Basketball]

UConn versus Bucknell Preview [UConn Huskies Basketball]

UConn projects: Maui, Manhattan and now March [CT Post]

UConn’s Big East run still drawing praise [CT Post]

UConn notebook: Walker draws Patriot League defensive player of year [CT Post]

Calhoun Has UConn In Right Place – A Tournament [Hartford Courant]

UConn Notebook: Walker Expects To See Pressure From Cohen [Hartford Courant]

Kemba Walker ready to lead Huskies in NCAA tournament [New Haven Register]

A year and a day removed from the NIT, third-seeded Huskies ready for NCAAs [New Haven Register]

Hey UConn fans, it’s the Bucknell Bison [New Haven Register]

Bucknell has steady player at the point [New Haven Register]

Congressman asks NCAA to move game to CBS in state [New Haven Register]

Alex Oriakhi will be big factor in UConn’s run [New Haven Register]

Bucknell’s Cohen will have hands full on ‘D’ [The Day]

Huskies form a bond, don’t want to stop winning now [The Day]

Sun of a gun: No one outshines UConn’s Kemba Walker [Sporting News]

Connecticut, Bucknell and the Patriot League [D.C. Sports Bog]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Maya Moore up for Premier Player Award [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Minnesota Lynx Preparing For Miss Maya With WNBA Draft Site [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Heather Buck Is Probable For Sunday’s Game Against Hartford [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

UConn’s Maya Moore, Tiffany Hayes Honored By WBCA [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

More Miss Maya Numbers To Ponder [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Rizzotti To Be Named U-19 Coach; Hartley, Dolson To Attend Trials [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Moore Running in Third Place in Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Fan Voting [UConnHuskies.com]

All Access: AP Reporter Gets A Day With UConn Women’s Star Maya Moore [Hartford Courant]

Maya Moore Closing In On Milestones [Hartford Courant]

Maya Moore the face of women’s basketball [New Haven Register]

UConn freshmen studied under Hartford coach [Norwich Bulletin]

Winning still name of the game [The Day]

UConn Football links

Talking Ball Security With D.J. Shoemate; UConn Football Notes [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Huskies Moving On From Edsall’s Shadow [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. Barnes Named ECAC Pitcher of the Week [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Ice Hockey. Men’s Hockey Looking To Pull Off Upset In AHA Semifinals [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Huskies point guard Kemba Walker is one of the five men’s basketball players on the regional covers of Sports Illustrated that hits newsstands today.

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Women’s Basketball links

National Championship Or Bust For Huskies [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Moore, Hayes On State Farm List [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Maya Moore Will Be a Guest on WTIC’s Sports Talk on Wednesday [UConnHuskies.com]

Hartford’s Rizzotti Coached UConn’s Hartley, Dolson On USA Team [Hartford Courant]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Kemba’s NBA Draft Prospects [David Borges – New Haven Register]

How much life changes [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

UConn’s NCAA Tournament Schedule [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

UConn Heads To Washington, D.C. For NCAA Tournament [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn men searching to complement star Walker [CT Post]

Among Tourney Teams, UConn Finishes Near Bottom In Academic Performance [Hartford Courant]

UConn Needs Alex Oriakhi To Play Strong Up Front [Hartford Courant]

UConn Football links

Video: UConn spring preview [Brian Bennett – ESPN.com]

Q&A with UConn’s George DeLeone, Part II [Brian Bennett – ESPN.com]

First day of spring (football) arrives [Chip Malafronte – New Haven Register]

News And Notes From Spring Practice [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Notes And Quotes From Spring Practice Day 1 [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Box on Edsall [Joe Perez – Norwich Bulletin]

Spring practice kicks off [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

UConn football team starts spring practice [Neill Ostrout – CT Post]

Video View: Interviews From Spring Practice Opening Day [Shawn Courchesne – Hartford Courant]

Football Holds First Spring Practice Of 2011 [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn football program starts fresh [CT Post]

Huskies’ Energy Level High At First Practice Under Pasqualoni [Hartford Courant]

Huskies begin spring practice [New Haven Register]

Coach Pasqualoni oversees first spring practice [Norwich Bulletin]

Other UConn related links

Softball. Softball Game vs. Fairfield Moved To Thursday At 3:30 p.m. [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. UConn Rally Falls Short in 5-4 Loss to Sacred Heart [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Baseball: Grand slam sinks Huskies [Norwich Bulletin]

The New York Yankees made their way to City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers on Monday night for their final spring training matchup with the Boston Red Sox and it was the Red Sox who came away with a 2-1 win. It was the great outings from the Red Sox bullpen that led to this victory.

Alfredo Aceves got the start for the Red Sox against his old team and threw the ball well yet again. He went three innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk with one strikeout. If Daisuke Matsuzaka falters again, it could be Aceves who sneaks into the rotation.

The bullpen though was the story of this night.

It all started with Dennys Reyes who allowed one hit in his inning of work. Jonathan Papelbon had a quick 1-2-3 inning that saw him strikeout one while Bobby Jenks allowed a hit and had a strikeout in his inning of work. Hideki Okajima allowed two hits in his inning and Rich Hill pitched the final two innings, allowing just a hit with two strikeouts to save the game for Jenks.

This was the first time this spring that Red Sox put Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez on the field at the same time. And for the exception of J.D. Drew not being in the lineup, this was probably as close to the starting lineup that Terry Francona will employ this season.

Crawford went 0-for-2 with a strikeout while Gonzalez was 1-for-3.  David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Cameron, Josh Reddick and Yamaico Navarro had the other hits for the Red Sox. Dustin Pedroia added a stolen base and Jarrod Saltalamacchia had the only Red Sox RBI on the evening.

Today, the Red Sox make the trip north to my old stomping grounds in Lakeland, FL where they’ll take on the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium at 1:05 p.m.

Here are the lineups for today’s game against the Tigers:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF	1. Austin Jackson	CF
2. Carl Crawford	LF	2. Ryan Raburn	LF
3. J.D. Drew	RF	3. Magglio Ordonez	RF
4. Jason Varitek	C	4. Miguel Cabrera	1B
5. Jed Lowrie	SS	5. Victor Martinez	DH
6. Darnell McDonald	DH	6. Jhonny Peralta	SS
7. Lars Anderson	1B	7. Brandon Inge	3B
8. Yamaico Navarro	3B	8. Scott Sizemore	2B
9. Nate Spears	2b	9. Alex Avila	C
Daisuke Matsuzaka	SP	Justin Verlander	SP

Also scheduled to pitch for the Red Sox: RHP Michael Bowden, RHP Matt Albers, RHP Brandon Duckworth.

Also scheduled to pitch for the Tigers: RHP Ronnie Weinhardt, LHP Brad Thomas, RHP Alberto Alburquerque.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

What if Victor Martinez had re-signed with the Red Sox? [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Aceves solid against Yankees [Boston Globe]

Cameron not a forgotten man [Boston Globe]

This one was a night for sore eyes [Boston Globe]

Red Sox lineup comes together [Boston Herald]

Chili on rivalry menu [Boston Herald]

Aceves, Jenks highlight victory over Yankees [Clubhouse Insider]

The return of Victor(s) [Clubhouse Insider]

Cameron healthy, ready for bounceback year [CSNNE.com]

Ellsbury’s anticipated return a smashing success [CSNNE.com]

Notes: Batting order vs. Yanks means little [CSNNE.com]

Video: Why Tito likes spring training [ESPN Boston]

A spring-training caught stealing that meant something [ESPN Boston]

Oh, my aching back? Aceves: ‘I feel 100 percent’ [ESPN Boston]

Hail to the Victors: Martinez, father and son [ESPN Boston]

Tito places no pressure on Daisuke to perform–just get ready [ESPN Boston]

A quiet morning in Fort Myers [Extra Bases]

Red Sox-Yankees postgame notes: Aceves aces test against ex-team [Full Count]

Morning Red Sox notes: Reunion in Lakeland [Full Count]

The maturation of Clay Buchholz [Full Count]

Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima Lead Red Sox Relief Efforts for Earthquake Victims in Japan [NESN.com]

Clay Buchholz Feeling More Confident This Season With Solid Spot in Red Sox Rotation [NESN.com]

J.D. Drew Looking Forward to Sharing Outfield With Speedsters Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford [NESN.com]

Red Sox Mailbag: Debunking Cole Hamels Trade, Clubhouse Tension and Josh Beckett’s Bullpen Rumors [NESN.com]

Andrew Miller Excited About Being Reunited With College Teammate Daniel Bard, Opportunity to Compete for Bullpen Job [NESN.com]

Saltalamacchia’s top priority is to learn about his pitchers [Providence Journal]

After a spring-training taste of Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, Banuelos says he’s ready for real thing [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Aceves solid against ex-mates [Providence Journal]

Buchholz, Wakefield throw simulated game [RedSox.com]

Francona keeping options open on batting order [RedSox.com]

If healthy, Aceves valuable asset to bullpen [RedSox.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

Photo credit: Getty Images