Donald Brown Named ECAC Player Of The Year

Seniors Cody Brown And Darius Butler Also Honored

CENTERVILLE, Mass. (January 8, 2009) — University of Connecticut junior running back Donald Brown has been named the 2008 ECAC Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Player of the Year.

The nation’s leading rusher finished the season with 2,083 yards and 18 touchdowns, placing him 11th all-time in FBS history for rushing yards in a season. Brown led the Huskies to a 8-5 mark and an International Bowl victory over Buffalo. In that game, Brown rushed for a career-high 261 yards.

Brown was also named First Team All-America by the Sporting News and was a Second Team All-America by the Associated Press and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. He was also named the BIG EAST Conference Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-BIG EAST.

Following the International Bowl, Brown announced that he would be entering the National Football League draft.

Brown was named named to the All-ECAC FBS team along with senior defensive lineman Cody Brown (Coral Springs, Fla.) and senior cornerback Darius Butler (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.).

U.S. Naval Academy freshman defensive lineman Jabaree Tuani has been chosen as the 2008 ECAC Football Bowl Subdivision Rookie of the Year. Tuani led the Midshipmen in forced fumbles with three and tackles for loss with nine, while also recording 42 total tackles. Navy finished the season 8-5, making a trip to the EagleBank Bowl against Wake Forest.

The ECAC will honor the players and rookies of the year in each division and region on February 24, 2009 at the annual Eastern College Football Awards Banquet presented by FieldTurf Tarkett, an event held in the Pegasus Restaurant at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J.

The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is the nation’s largest athletic conference and only multi-divisional conference, with 321 member institutions and over 122,000 student-athletes ranging across 16 states from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois.

Celtics Lose 3rd straight: Yao Ming’s 26 points helped the Houston Rockets send the Boston Celtics to their 3rd straight loss and their 6th in the last 8 games. Aaron Brooks came off the bench for Houston to score 19 points and Ron Artest added 17 points. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 26 points while Kevin Garnett chipped in with 18 points. Former UConn Husky Ray Allen added 13 points and 6 assists while Glen “Big Baby” Davis had 12 points. Things won’t get any easier for the Green as they head to Cleveland to face LeBron James and the Cavaliers on Friday night. [ESPN.com]

According to Michael Smith of ESPN.com, the Cleveland Browns have hired former New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini to be their next coach. The deal is for a reported 4 years.

Mangini started out in the Cleveland organization as a ballboy and worked his up way there landing as an assistant coach on Bill Belichick’s staff there in Cleveland in 1995. He then coached in Baltimore for a year, then the Jets as an assistant coach and then came over to the New England Patriots with Belichick.

It’s quite possible that former Browns head coach Romeo Crennel could stay on as a defensive coordinator. Crennel and Mangini coached together with the Patriots from 2000-2004.

This probably also rules out Patriots VP of player personnel Scott Pioli from taking the job as GM with the Browns.

Anderson Cooper shows his lighter side when he hosts a debate on who will be the Obama adminstration’s first dog.

Bruschi back next year? If the New England Patriots want Tedy Bruschi back next year, he would like to honor the final year of his contract. Bruschi did miss the last 3 games of the season with a knee injury but didn’t need knee surgery and most likely would have played if the Patriots had made the playoffs. He would make $1.9 million next season and his salary cap charge would be $2.6 million. [Boston Globe]

Celtics Lose For 5th time in 7 games: D.J. Augustin outscored the Boston Celtics 11-9 in overtime as the Charlotte Bobcats beat the C’s 114-106. It’s the second straight loss for the Green and 5th in their last 7 games after a 27-2 start. Augustin finished with 20 points and Raymond Felton led the Bobcats with 25 points. Gerald Wallace had 23 points and former UConn Husky Emeka Okafor had 13 points and 17 rebounds in the win. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 28 points and Ray Allen added 20 points. Rajon Rondo had 16 points and Kevin Garnett had 14 points and 13 rebounds. The Celtics will look to end the losing streak against the Houston Rockets back home in the friendly confines of the T.D. BankNorth Garden tomorrow night. [ESPN.com]

Is there a little Youk on the way? Did Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis hit another home run with his wife Enza? Inside Track spies saw Youk shopping at a maternity store over the weekend. During an event for Youk’s charity, Enza wouldn’t confirm nor deny that she is pregnant.

“I, I, I’m not sure,” said Mrs. Youk, she of the billowy shirt, who presided over a pizza party at the Italian Children’s Home in Jamaica Plain. “I cannot confirm or deny anything at this time.”

[Inside Track]

I received an email yesterday from Bruce Donahoe of the Bosox Club asking me to help them spread the word about getting former Boston Red Sox great Ted Williams on a commemorative  stamp.

There’s two ways you can help them out.

1. Go and sign the petition.
2. Go to the Bosox Club website and print out the letter and send it along.

They need about 500 or so more signatures for the petition so please do everything you can to help them out. It is much appreciated by them and myself.

Red Sox scout passes away: The Boston Red Sox announced on Monday night that longtime scout Matt Sczesny has passed away at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer. He was a scout for the Red Sox from 1971-2008 and was credited with signing former players Mo Vaughn, John Valentin and Bob Stanley. He is survived by his wife, a son and daughter-in law and two grandsons. [redsox.com]