Paw Prints – The Daily Roundup – 2/4

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

Today is a very important day for the UConn Huskies football team. It’s what is known across the land as National Letter of Intent Signing Day. It’s the day where we find out who will be wearing the Huskies uniform for the next 4-5 seasons.

There are other sports that start their signing period as well (Field Hockey, Soccer, Track and Field, Cross Country, Men’s Water Polo).  Of course we’ll pass along the other sports recruits but our main focus here is football.

The Huskies are expecting 21 letter-of-intents to be faxed into the offices and head coach Randy Edsall will be meeting with the media around 3 PM. There will also be a public event at Rentschler Field in the evening.

Seymour’s Mike Osiecki knew UConn was the right choice [Hartford Courant]

Hindsight will determine the focus of the new UConn football ticket plan [New Haven Register]

Here is the new UConn football ticket plan [SOX & Dawgs]

Brian Bennett has an early breakdown of the UConn football schedule for 2009 [ESPN.com]

Brian Bennett rates UConn as having the best facilities in the Big East [ESPN.com]

I know I said this last night but it was great to see Meghan Gardler step up to the plate last night. She played like I don’t think she’d ever played before. She was everywhere, hustling for every loose ball, making her presence known. She even had to guard Kia Vaughn, who had 4 inches and a few pounds on her. And you know what she did the job.

Why was she in there you ask? Well Geno Auriemma wasn’t happy with the post players (Tina Charles, Kaili McLaren) so he put Gardler in. Charles was so far in Geno’s doghouse that she didn’t smell the court in the second half until about the 10 minute mark. It was great to see the Husky faithful who braved the elements give Gardler a standing ovation when Geno took her out. It was one that was well deserved. Hopefully this is something Gardler can build upon unlike Lorin Dixon who lost her starting spot to Tiffany Hayes.

Tiffany Hayes will have to adjust to her role as the starting point guard [The News-Times]

Meghan Gardler helped ignite UConn’s victory last night [Norwich Bulletin]

A strong second half was key for the Huskies in their win last night [New Haven Register]

Tiffany Hayes scored 13 points in her first collegiate start [Hartford Courant]

The UConn women were up to the challenge from Rutgers last night [The News-Times]

Tiffany Hayes has worked herself into the starting five [Norwich Bulletin]

Maya Moore helped led the Huskies to victory last night with 24 points [Hartford Courant]

How much should a loss to the UConn women affect a team’s tourney status? [ESPN.com]

Tiffany Hayes improved play earned her the start last night [Waterbury Republican-American]

The opening basket set tone for Kalana Greene [Journal Inquirer]

Kaili McLaren has thrived as a role player at UConn [The Gazette]

Meghan Gardler made a big difference in the game last night [Journal Inquirer]

It’s never easy against Rutgers [New London Day]

Bob Knight speaks his mind about women’s basketball [Hartford Courant]

I missed this one yesterday on the men’s basketball team. Thabeet and Adrien provide a solid core for the Huskies [Hartford Courant]

The whistles against the UConn men have been pretty quiet this season [Norwich Bulletin]

Jeff Adrien’s defense has been key for the Huskies [Journal Inquirer]

You only have to look inside to see UConn’s strength: Hasheem Thabeet [Hartford Courant]

The UConn men have turned doubters into believers [Waterbury Republican-American]

The UConn men have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted [New Haven Register]

The Huskies have turned doubters into believers [New London Day]

UConn women’s hockey goalie Brittany Wilson was named as the ITECH Goaltender of the Month as announced by the Hockey East [UConnHuskies.com]

Rob Lunn saw the Blog Gods smile down on him [Thoughts From a Fat White Guy]

The Quest For G

Here is the complete Gatorade “Quest For G” commercial that has Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, sprinter Usain Bolt, beach volleyball greats Misty May-Treanor and Keri Walsh and Olympic gymnast Alicia Sacramone. Be on the lookout for cameos from Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Hat tip to Ethan from NESW Sports for the link

Allen’s 3-Pointer Gives Celtics The Win In Philly

Celtics Win 12th Straight: Former UConn Husky Ray Allen hit two 3-pointers in the final minute but none was bigger than the one he hit with .5 seconds to give the Boston Celtics an 100-99 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Playing without Kevin Garnett for the second straight game, Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 29 points and had 7 rebounds and 6 assists with Allen adding 20 points. Rajon Rondo chipped in with 20 points and 8 assists while Glen “Big Baby” Davis had a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards. Andre Iguodala led the 76ers with 22 points while Andre Miller had 21. The next game for the Celtics will be an NBA Finals rematch with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night at 8 PM on TNT. [ESPN.com]

Balanced Scoring Attack Leads UConn Women Past Rutgers

The snow was falling tonight in Hartford, CT and so were the baskets for the No. 1 UConn Huskies in the 2nd half as they overcame their first half shooting woes to beat their archrival the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 75-56 in front of 12,910 at the XL Center.

Renee Montgomery drives in past Rutgers forward Heather Zurich for a first-half layup at the XL Center Tuesday night - MICHAEL MCANDREWS / HARTFORD COURANTThe win for the Huskies improves their record to 22-0 (8-0 Big East) while the Scarlet Knights drop to 12-8 (4-5). It’s the 4th time since the 1994-95 season that the Huskies have opened up a season 22-0 and the first time since 2002-03 season.

Maya Moore’s 11th double-double of the season of 24 points and 10 rebounds led the Huskies. Kalana Greene had her finest game of the season with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals while Renee Montgomery had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots. Tiffany Hayes, who got her first career start in place of Lorin Dixon, continued her stellar play with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. Tina Charles found herself in the doghouse tonight and finished with just 2 points and 2 rebounds in 14 minutes.

C. Vivian Stringer’s team was led by Epiphanny Prince’s 19 points. Khaddijah Rushdan added 18 points and 9 rebounds while both Kia Vaughn and Brittany Ray had 8 points.

The two teams exchanged baskets early on and with UConn leading 15-11, they went on a 7-0 run to open up an 11 point lead. Then their play turned sloppy and Rutgers got back into the game with an 11-0 run behind Vaughn’s 8 points to tie the game up at 22. Rutgers went cold for the next 3 minutes but UConn was only able to score 4 points. The Huskies eventually took a 34-28 lead at the break.

With Charles pulling a disappearing act in the first half, Geno Auriemma decided to start Meghan Gardler and the move paid off for him as she played some excellent defense on Vaughn and had 2 offensive rebounds and 3 assists on UConn’s 14-4 run to start the second half.

The Scarlet Knights never really got their vaunted “55” pressure defense going at all and when they did it was only effective for a play or two as they tried to come back from the 16 point deficit after the 14-4 run. They would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way with UConn’s biggest lead coming at 57-37 and 59-39.

The inconsistent play from Charles is something we’ve seen throughout her career and some may question what Geno was doing by benching her without a deep bench. I won’t question it because he knows what’s best for his team. And what was best for his team was starting Gardler in the second half. Like I said above, she didn’t disappoint as she played high-energy Connecticut basketball for the stretch that she was in the game for the second half and helped shut down Vaughn on the defensive end.

Next up for the Huskies is a trip to Milwaukee, WI to take on the Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday night at 8 PM. The game will be broadcast on CPTV.

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Lester First To Arrive at Spring Training

Jon Lester #31 of the Boston Red Sox reacts with teammates Jason Varitek #33 and Mike Lowell #25 after throwing a no hitter against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on May 19, 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

The snow may be falling here in Connecticut and most of New England but the smell of spring is in the air, spring training that is, as Jon Lester was the first person to arrive at Boston Red Sox spring training headquarters in Ft. Myers, FL.

Pitchers and catchers aren’t scheduled to report until February 12th with their first workout on February 14th. But for Lester this is something he’s been doing since 2004.

It’s great to see his dedication. The younger Red Sox pitchers can only learn from his example.

Report: Red Sox Sign Brad Wilkerson (Updated)

Toronto Blue Jays Brad Wilkerson hits home run against the Seattle Mariners in the fifth inning of their American League MLB baseball game in Toronto June 10, 2008. REUTERS/Fred Thornhill (CANADA)According to Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors, the Boston Red Sox have signed free agent 1B/OF Brad Wilkerson to a minor league deal that includes incentives.

MLBTR has learned tonight that the Red Sox have signed outfielder Brad Wilkerson to a minor league deal with roster and playing time incentives.  Wilkerson, 31, hit .220/.308/.326 in 309 plate appearances for the Mariners and Blue Jays in 2008.  The Ms signed Wilkerson last year for $3MM but designated him for assignment before May.

In 8 seasons, Wilkerson has hit .247 with 122 home runs and 399 RBIs with 53 stolen bases. The highest Wilkerson has ever hit in a season was .268 with Montreal back in 2004. He also finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting back in 2002 to then Colorado Rockies pitcher Jason Jennings.

It’s another low-risk, high reward signing for Theo Epstein. My guess is that Wilkerson was signed to provide depth in the outfield in the minors for the Red Sox should an injury occur. Other than that, I just don’t see him making  the opening day roster.

Update: Alex Speier of WEEI.com confirms this.

Update 3:30 PM: Alex Speier of WEEI.com has the details.

More on the agreement to terms (pending a physical) between the Red Sox and Brad Wilkerson: it is a minor-league agreement, with Wilkerson making the major-league minimum if called up to the majors. He would, however, receive performance and roster bonuses that could increase the value of the deal to as much as $2.5 million. Wilkerson would get $275,000 for each of the following roster thresholds: 60, 90, 120 and 150 days on the active major-league roster. He could also receive $200,000 bonuses for reaching each of the following numbers of major-league plate appearances: 300, 350, 400, 450 and 500.

NCAA Women’s College Basketball Polls – Week 12

AP Poll, ESPN/USAToday PollStorrs, CT is officially the college basketball capital of the world as the UConn Huskies men’s and women’s basketball teams hold the top spots in the polls. The UConn women continue to hold the top spot in the land and aren’t showing any signs of letting go of it anytime soon. The Huskies are now the only team in the country that is undefeated.

AP Top 25 PVS ESPN/USA Today Poll PVS
1. Connecticut (45) 21-0 1125 1 1. Connecticut (31) 21-0 775 1
2. Oklahoma 18-2 1079 2 2. Oklahoma 19-2 744 2
3. California 18-2 979 7 3. California 18-2 693 5
4. Duke 17-2 917 3 4. Texas A&M 17-3 627 7
5. Louisville 20-2 873 6 5. Auburn 21-1 616 4
6. Auburn 21-1 872 5 6. Stanford 17-4 611 8
7. Stanford 17-4 852 9 7. Baylor 17-3 592 3
8. Baylor 17-3 792 4 8. Duke 18-2 561 6
8. North Carolina 19-3 792 10 9. North Carolina 19-3 515 10
10. Texas A&M 17-3 790 11 10. Louisville 20-2 512 11
11. Florida 20-2 660 12 11. Maryland 17-4 469 9
12. Tennessee 16-4 594 13 12. Ohio State 18-3 435 14
13. Maryland 16-4 586 8 13. Florida 20-2 374 16
14. Ohio State 18-3 514 15 14. Kansas State 18-2 315 12
15. Florida State 18-4 498 18 15. Virginia 18-4 309 18
16. Texas 15-5 444 16 16. Notre Dame 16-4 294 13
17. Virginia 18-4 435 19 17. Tennessee 16-5 280 15
18. Kansas State 18-2 334 14 18. Texas 15-5 263 17
19. Notre Dame 16-4 261 17 19. Florida State 18-5 209 20
20. Vanderbilt 17-5 260 20 20. South Dakota State 21-2 206 19
21. Iowa State 16-4 247 22 21. Xavier 19-4 175 21
22. Pittsburgh 16-4 215 21 22. Vanderbilt 17-5 160 22
23. Xavier 19-4 135 23 23. Iowa State 16-4 133 23
24. DePaul 17-5 99 25 24. Pittsburgh 16-4 72 24
25. South Dakota State 20-2 94 24 25. DePaul 17-5 52 25
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Oklahoma State 39, Georgia Tech 34, Marist 33, LSU 22, Rutgers 15, Middle Tennessee State 11, San Diego State 8, Boston College 6, Gonzaga 5, Bowling Green 3, Arizona State 1, Utah 1 Middle Tennessee State 19, Gonzaga 18, Bowling Green 12, Marist 7, Georgia Tech 7, New Mexico 6, Oklahoma State 5, Georgia 4, Arkansas-Little Rock 2, Boston College 2, North Carolina A&T 1
Dropped From Rankings Dropped From Rankings
None None

Patriots Announce Coaching Changes

New England Patriots: After the mass exodus of coaches from the New England Patriots this offseason, they have announced some coaching changes. They have hired Scott O’Brien as special teams coach, promoted Bill O’Brien to quarterbacks coach and promoted Josh Boyer to defensive backs coach. [Patriots.com]