Since we were away for a few days, we’ve missed a lot of the UConn Huskies news. So what I’m going to do is link to everything that’s been missed. I know some of it might be old news but it’s quite possible you didn’t see it.

Links coming up after the jump.

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

UConn Football links

Edsall updates the program [Chip Malafronte – New Haven Register]

Evening With Randy Edsall Aug. 5 [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

DC answered some questions in his mailbag as well [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Aiken, Generett not with team [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

Early Week 1 preview: Connecticut [ESPN.com – Big East Blog]

Summer, Summer, Summer time [Joe Perez – Norwich Bulletin]

Edsall summer update [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

Aiken, Generett out for 2010 [Neill Ostrout – CT Post]

UConn losing two redshirt freshman reserves [CT Post]

Aiken Dismissed From UConn, Hopes To Return [Hartford Courant]

UConn Homicide Suspect’s Uncle Arrested [Hartford Courant]

UConn Football Program One Of Few BCS Money-Losers In 2008-09 [Hartford Courant]

Depth takes a hit [New Haven Register]

More charges for suspect in UConn stabbing case [Norwich Bulletin]

Edsall says defender needs to work harder [Norwich Bulletin]

More charges for suspect in UConn stabbing case [The Republican-American]

UConn’s Aiken dismissed from school [The Republican-American]

Blue Ribbon Preview: Connecticut Huskies [ESPN Insider]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Charles, Montgomery, Moore make U.S. squad [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

UConn flavors Team USA roster against WNBA All-Stars [Joe Perez – Norwich Bulletin]

Six Huskies Will Play For USA Against WNBA Stars [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Moore To Play For Team USA At Mohegan Sun Arena July 10 [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Recruiting Wide-Open For Top-Ranked Stewart [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

National team has Husky look [Journal Inquirer]

U.S. national team roster has Connecticut flavor [Norwich Bulletin]

Addition of Charles gives Sun dominating front line [The Republican-American]

With Y.O.U., Charde Houston wants girls to dream big [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

UConn’s New ‘Utility Man’ [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Donyell Marshall Named Assistant Coach At George Washington [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Doug Wiggins Trying To Redeem Himself [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Rudy Gay Signs Five-Year Deal With Memphis [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Kevin Ollie’s Career Stats [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Glen Miller On Being Hired By UConn [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Jim Calhoun On Hiring Kevin Ollie and Glen Miller [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

It’s Miller time [Neill Ostrout – CT Post]

Looking Back: UConn 2004 Championship [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Player Profile: Jamal Coombs-McDaniel [UConn Huskies Basketball]

UConn hires Ollie, Miller for basketball coaching staff [CT Post]

Marshall joining George Washington as assistant coach [CT Post]

Doug Wiggins Works Out At UConn; Realizes He’s Blown Chances [Hartford Courant]

Miller In Position To Help In Storrs [Hartford Courant]

UConn welcomes back Ollie, Miller [New Haven Register]

For Miller, now it’s back to the future [New Haven Register]

Majok improving basketball IQ [The Day]

Old hands return to the fold [The Day]

Ollie, Miller named assistants at UConn [The Republican-American]

Magic draft pick Stanley Robinson understands hard work [Orlando Sentinel]

Boston Red Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays 7:10 p.m Tropicana Field SP: Daisuke Matsuzaka vs Matt Garza TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 7/5 [SOX & Dawgs]

The Boston Red Sox will kickoff their final road trip before the All-Star break tonight when they’ll take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the first of three games at Tropicana Field.

Tonight’s game will start at 7:10 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. The game will be shown on Sun Sports in the Rays television market. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

Daisuke Matsuzaka will look to be more consistent in his 11th start of 2010. In his previous ten starts, Dice-K is 5-3 with a 4.50 ERA. His one and only start against the Rays this season was in his last start where he gave up three runs in six innings to take the loss.  He’s made ten career starts against the Rays in his career and is 2-5 with a 4.10 ERA. He’s made five career starts at the Trop and is 1-2 with a 3.41 ERA.

Matt Garza makes his 17th start of the season for Joe Maddon and the Rays. In his previous 16 starts, he is 9-5 with a 4.08 ERA. Garza faced off against Dice-K in his last start and picked up the win after allowing three runs in 7+ innings. He’s made three starts against the Red Sox total this season and is 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA. He’s made 16 starts against the Red Sox in his career and is 8-3 with a 3.43 ERA.

Lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, and links after the jump.

49-33		48-33
1. Marco Scutaro	SS	1. Ben Zobrist	CF
2. Eric Patterson	LF	2. Carl Crawford	LF
3. David Ortiz	DH	3. Evan Longoria	3B
4. Kevin Youkilis	1B	4. Willy Aybar	DH
5. Adrian Beltre	3B	5. Matt Joyce	RF
6. J.D. Drew	RF	6. Sean Rodriguez	2B
7. Bill Hall	2B	7. Carlos Peña	1B
8. Mike Cameron	CF	8. Jason Bartlett	SS
9. Kevin Cash	C	9. John Jason	C
Daisuke Matsuzaka	SP	Matt Garza	SP

And here is the how hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:

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

Youk trails Swisher after day 1 of AL All-Star Final Voting [SOX & Dawgs]

Pregame notes: Buchholz to DL, Doubront here [Clubhouse Insider]

Ortiz would compete in HR Derby; Beltre would decline [Clubhouse Insider]

Sources: Doubront on Tuesday, Sox looking for OF [CSN New England]

Video: Three swings with Nomar [ESPN Boston]

Buchholz to be placed on DL; Doubront goes Tuesday [ESPN Boston]

The price for Ranaudo has been set [Extra Bases]

Pedroia continues his innovative rehab [Extra Bases]

Doubront called up; Buchholz on DL [Extra Bases]

Bad breaks don’t dim Pedroia’s All-Star shine [Full Count]

Yo’ Adrian: ‘Unbelievable’ Beltre earns All-Star berth [Full Count]

Ortiz would do HR Derby if asked, Beltre not so much [Full Count]

Notes: Doubront to pitch, Buchholz to DL [Full Count]

Red Sox Look to Stay Ahead of Resurgent Rays in AL East With Series at Tropicana Field [NESN.com]

Jonathan Papelbon Misses All-Star Game For First Time Since Rookie Year [NESN.com]

Where Does Terry Francona Rank Among Active Managers? [NESN.com]

Clay Buchholz Placed on Disabled List, Replaced by Felix Doubront [NESN.com]

Doubront to start Tuesday, uneasy about relieving [Projo Sox Blog]

Buchholz DL’ed until after All-Star break [Projo Sox Blog]

Rain could alter plans for Beckett [Projo Sox Blog]

No word yet on Lowell return [Projo Sox Blog]

Youk’s an X factor who needs Final Votes [RedSox.com]

Buchholz on DL, will miss All-Star Game [RedSox.com]

Photo credit: Reuters Pictures, Getty Images

Okay Red Sox Nation, it appears Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis really needs our help to get to the 2010 MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim on July 13th.

After day one of the 2010 AL All-Star Final Vote, Youk trails New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher. There wasn’t any voting totals released but we need to get voting and now. Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto leads Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman in the National League.

Let’s not disappoint Youk, folks. We didn’t get any Red Sox starters in the game but let’s show the players and Youk especially, that we care and want him there. Do your part, vote now!!!!

Here’s how the first day of voting looks:

American League:

1. Nick Swisher, Yankees
2. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
3. Michael Young, Rangers
4. Paul Konerko, White Sox
5. Delmon Young, Twins

National League:

1. Joey Votto, Reds
2. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
3. Billy Wagner, Braves
4. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies
5. Heath Bell, Padres

Let’s not disappoint Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis Red Sox Nation. He really needs our help to get the 2010 MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim, CA on July 13th.

Youk was named one of the 5 final vote candidates and the only way he’s getting to Anaheim for the 2010 MLB All-Star Game is to win the vote.

And since we didn’t vote any starters into the game, it’s only right that we garner enough votes for Youk to enjoy the festivities with his six teammates that were named to the AL reserves.

So please head over to MLB.com and vote as many times as you can for Youkilis. And after you vote, be sure to spread the word around Facebook and Twitter.

For the first time since 1998, the Boston Red Sox didn’t have a starter voted into the All-Star Game. But they will be represented by six players when the 2010 MLB All-Star Game is played in Anaheim, CA at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 13, 2010.

Dustin Pedroia (3rd), Victor Martinez (4th), David Ortiz (6th), Jon Lester (1st), Clay Buchholz (1st) and Adrian Beltre (1st) were all named to the 2010 American League All-Star reserves. All six members of the Red Sox were voted in by the players.

Pedroia and VMart will not participate in the game as they are on the disabled list. It’s likely that Buchholz won’t pitch in the game either as he may be placed on the disabled list with a bad hamstring.

One more member of the Red Sox has a chance to join the festivities in Anaheim. First baseman Kevin Youkilis was named one of the five final vote participants. He’ll need our help to get there so please vote 25 times for him.

Promo-psycho

I have to say this season I really haven’t been able to actually sit down and watch a complete Red Sox game from start to finish with the volume up. But tonight, I started to notice something very strange and rather annoying.

What is up with all of the promotions that NESN announcers Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy have to say throughout the game?

I mean, I’m used to hearing about the Dunkin’ Dugout and CVS Pharmacy donating $500 for every save or game that goes into extra innings, but what the hell is all of this?

• Acura Key matchup
• Ford’s Call to the bullpen
• New York Life
• Home Depot: Doing More on Defense
• Coors Light Freeze
• Cam Jordan’s Furniture, blah, blah, blah
• Cumberland Farms Chill Zone
• Amica Pitch Zone
• Twisted Tea Hard Iced Tea: Twisted but true
• NESN.com Question of the Day powered by kgb
• I know I’m missing at least 5 more…
• Wait does Scotts have a promo?
• Holy, Taco Bell…???

What the frick. Taco Bell? Since when is Taco Bell connected with the Sox? The closest one in the Fenway Park radius is on Commonwealth Avenue.

And I know this is three months late, but what happened to the Aflac Trivia Question? Now all of a sudden it’s AT&T with a blackberry texting graphic.

It seems like every other play Orsillo or Remy have to say one of these. How annoying that must be for them. There was none is this 10 years ago, except for maybe the trivia question alone by why so much in 2010?

Is this pure greed? These companies obviously have to pay for the spots and are shelling out a lot money. So who’s exactly profiting from this? NESN? The Red Sox? I can understand if they are raising money for charity or just a worthy cause like the Dunkin’ Dugout, but that’s not the case with Jordan’s Furniture.

Replay making umpires less confident?

A home run or not a home run? That was the six + minute question during tonight’s Red Sox/Orioles game. In the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Jake Fox took Robert Manuel (what an awful mugshot) deep off the Green Monster, but the umpires weren’t sure if the baseball hit over the yellow line before falling back on the field.

First it appeared they were only going to give Fox the double, but with the new replay rule for home runs, they went to review it.

Remy knew right off the bat it was a homer. The first angle they showed wasn’t a great look, but the ricochet couldn’t have said it better.

So after trying to kill on air time, the umpires walked back out, delayed for a second, then signaled the home run. And what if there wasn’t replay? Well, Orioles manager Juan Samuel already got ejected. So maybe the entire coaching staff would have initiated a massive argument and perhaps a bench clearing brawl?

Yeah that’s a little bit too far, but it seems that umpires might be relying more on replay for home run calls. Even for calls that it’s clear it’s out, it hit above the yellow line, but we just want to triple check it’s the right call. And people want to have more instant replay?

Nope. Not happening.

Amanda Bruno is a freelance sportswriter for The Springfield Republican and also writes weekly features for the Plus Papers on Wednesdays. She also writes over at Batter-up with Bruno where she shares her thoughts about the Boston Red Sox and the Boston sports media. You can follow her on Twitter @batterupbruno and can reach Amanda through email at brunosportshawk[at]gmail.com.

Storrs, Conn. (July 2, 2010)- The University of Connecticut announced Friday the hiring of Kevin Ollie to the position of Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach and Glen Miller to the position of Director of Men’s Basketball Administration.

“I am thrilled to be able to welcome Kevin and Glen back to UConn,” said head coach Jim Calhoun. “They both bring incredible experience to our staff and tremendous values that our players will benefit from. Kevin’s years in the NBA have clearly prepared him for this. He has been a coach on the floor and has served as a mentor to many, many young NBA players. Glen brings over 20 years of coaching expertise to the staff and with his 17 years as a head coach he brings familiarity with budgeting, compliance, student-athlete welfare and many other administrative areas that he will deal with on a day-to-day basis here for us.”

Ollie is a graduate of UConn who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association, completing his career this season as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played for 11 different franchises in his NBA career, playing in 662 career contests. He was a two-time team captain at UConn and helped lead the Huskies to the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship in 1993-94 and 1994-95, advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in those respective seasons. Ollie was an All-BIG EAST Third Team selection as a senior in 1994-95 and was named to the UConn Basketball All-Century Team in 2001. He stands No. 3 all-time at UConn in assists and No. 1 at UConn in assists in BIG EAST contests.

Kevin and his wife, Stephanie, have a son, Jalen, and daughter, Cheyenne. Born December 27, 1972, Ollie is a native of Los Angeles where he attended Crenshaw High School.

Miller is a graduate of UConn, former basketball letterwinner (at UConn and Northeastern) and former assistant coach under Jim Calhoun at UConn and has spent the past 17 seasons as a collegiate head coach, 11 years in the Ivy League at the Division I level.

He played two seasons at UConn and then two seasons for Jim Calhoun at Northeastern. He joined the coaching staff at Connecticut under Calhoun in 1986 and spent seven seasons on the Husky staff. He was named the head coach at Connecticut College in 1993 and spent six seasons in New London. He led Connecticut College to unprecedented success, culminating in a 28-1 campaign in 1998-99, advancing to the NCAA Division III Final Four and No. 3 final national ranking. He left to become the head coach at Brown University in the Ivy League, spending seven seasons in Providence (1999-2006). He was named the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania in 2006, leading the Quakers to the Ivy League Championship and the NCAA Tournament in 2006-07 and spent three full seasons and part of a fourth at Penn (2006-2009). Miller compiled a record of 233-209 in his 17 seasons as a head coach.

Glen and his wife Yvonne have four children: Tony, Genelle, Jillian and Emma. Born August 20, 1961, Miller is a native of Groton, Conn., where he attended Fitch High School.

With all of the Boston Red Sox players getting hurt as of late and during this 2010 season, I’m just wondering something. Should they wrap themselves in bubble wrap before taking the field?

I wonder if Bud Selig and MLB would approve of this:

Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse for the Boston Red Sox, this happens.

According to Dan Roche of WBZ-TV in Boston, Jason Varitek will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a broken foot.

A major league source tells WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche Thursday night that Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek could miss 4-6 weeks due to a leg injury. It’s believed that it may be a broken foot.

I must say this. After posting, the original link from Rochie on my Facebook, Kim Campbell told me that she saw Varitek at his putt-putt tournament tonight and looked fine.

At this point, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein needs to find a large quantity of bubble wrap and mandate that the players wrap themselves with it so they can’t get hurt anymore.

Update 11:15 p.m.: The injury to Varitek has also been confirmed by Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.

Update 11:40 p.m.: The injury to Varitek has now also been confirmed by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. via his Twitter.

Update 11:50 p.m.: Here’s more from Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.

And now, I think this video from Queen is appropriate at this time: