Boston Red Sox News & Notes – 1/27

Boston Red SoxSometime by Saturday we will find out whether or not Jason Varitek will be back with the Boston Red Sox for at least the 2009 season as Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reported there is a Saturday deadline on the latest offer from the Red Sox.

I hosted a poll over the weekend and 60% of you thought the Red Sox should re-sign Varitek while 35% of you thought that the Red Sox should pursue a trade for Miguel Montero of the Diamondbacks,  Taylor Teagarden of the Rangers or Jarrod Saltalamacchia of the Rangers.

[polldaddy poll=”1302236″]

So now we wait for Varitek’s decision. I do hope that he’s back.

Speaking of Varitek, Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe thinks that Varitek might just want a 1-year deal.

Red Sox radio announcer Joe Castiglione, Yahoo! Sports’ Gordon Edes and Red Sox “announcer boy”  Don Orsillo were on hand for the sixth annual WZON Hot Stove Night in Bangor, ME last night. They all think Tek will be back with the Red Sox next season.

Dan Roche of WBZ takes a look at the Red Sox and Boras going down that same road again.

Justin Masterson is valuable to the Red Sox as either a starter or a reliever.

Dan over at Red Sox Monster has a look at LEGO Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Papelbon as well as Jason Giambi’s golden thong.

Paw Prints – The Daily Roundup – 1/27

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

Great win for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they showed the Louisville Cardinals who is going to be boss in the Big East and in all of women’s basketball this season.

The Cardinals decided to go with a junk defense last night, triangle-and-2, leaving Kalana Greene and Tiffany Hayes wide open at times. They were inclined to let them beat them and that’s what happened as Hayes went 6-of-10 from 3-point land and Greene went 6-of-11 from the floor. Maya Moore still got her points, 27, and Renee Montgomery finished with 11 despite not really getting into things offensively.

Ever since her great game against North Carolina, Lorin Dixon has faded into the background and needs to come back out. If she does, this will just make this UConn team even better than it already it is.

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Jim Fuller of the New Haven Register John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant and Joe Perez of the Norwich Bulletin have some postgame notes from the win over Louisville last night.

Tiffany Hayes had a breakout game for the UConn women last night.

Kay Yow’s legacy was felt at Gampel Pavilion last night.

The supporting cast stepped up for the UConn women in last night’s thrashing of Louisville.

John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant has some extras from last night’s win.

After she hit her third straight 3-pointer, Tiffany Hayes did her best Michael Jordan impression.

The game plan of Louisville coach Jeff Walz didn’t work out too well last night.

The UConn women were very well-balanced last night.

Caroline Doty is keeping her spirits up.

Finding some competition for the UConn women might not be easy.

It probably wasn’t a smart idea to challenge Tiffany Hayes last night.

Jim Fuller of the New Haven Register has a look at UConn women’s recruit Michala Johnson.

Geno Auriemma is very impressed with Pat Summitt’s career record.

Maya Moore was named to the Big East Women’s Honor Roll for her play last week.

Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant has some notes on the UConn men’s basketball team.

Dick Vitale of ESPN says the UConn men just keep rolling.

Jeff Adrien has become a very special player in his time at UConn.

The moving back of the 3-point line hasn’t affected the UConn men.

Jeff Adrien was named to the Big East Men’s Honor Roll for his play last week.

Barker Davis of the Washington Times says the Pittsburgh Panthers will win the Big East because they have more heart than the Huskies do.

Mark Wiedmer of the Chattanooga Times Free Press says we can expect to see the UConn men in the Final Four.

Jeff Adrien is a beast on the boards.

Brian Bennett of ESPN.com has a look at where most of the UConn football team’s recruits come from.

Cody Brown has the first entry of his journal up for the Hartford Courant.

UConn women’s hockey players Dominque Thibault and Brittany Wilson were named the Hockey East Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.

UConn will play host to the 2009 Pinnacle of Fitness challenge program.

How Good Are The UConn Women?

The UConn bench erupts during the second half of the Huskies' big win over No. 6 Louisville - ROSS TAYLOR / HARTFORD COURANT

Former Tennessee star and ESPN women’s basketball analyst Kara Lawson let’s us know what we already know about the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team.

[dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x85v9t_kara-lawson-postgame-remarks_sport[/dailymotion]

UConn Women Leave No Doubts With 93-65 Win Over Louisville

For 15 minutes tonight, it looked as though the gap between the No. 1/1 UConn Huskies women’s basketball team and the rest of college basketball might get narrowed a little bit by the No. 6/10 Louisville Cardinals. Then the Huskies turned up their defensive pressure and their execution on the offensive end.

The end result was a 93-65 win by the Huskies in front of 9,428 at Gampel Pavilion and a nationally televised audience on ESPN2.

The win for the Huskies improves their record to 20-0 (6-0 Big East) while Louisville suffers just their second loss of the season (19-2, 6-1).

UConn's Maya Moore goes up for a shot as Louisville's Brandie Radde defends during the first half - Bob Child/APLouisville was leading 32-31 with 4:56 left in the first half, the Huskies went on a 14-0 run to end the first half to take control of the game.

The Cardinals tried to come back early on in the second half when they cut UConn’s 13-point lead to 9. Any chance of a Louisville comeback was put to rest when the Huskies put together a 16-0 run to take a 61-36 lead. Louisville wouldn’t get any closer than 22 points the rest of the way.

Maya Moore picked up the 21st double-double of her career with 27 points and 11 rebounds to go with 4 assists and 3 steals. Freshman Tiffany Hayes had her best game of the season so far with a career-high 23 points while Tina Charles added a double-double of her own with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kalana Greene added 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists with Renee Montgomery chipping in with 11 points, 6 assists and 3 steals. Lorin Dixon added 5 assists.

Besides All-American Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham, the Cardinals virtually had no other offense. McCoughtry had 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots while Bingham had 17 points and 6 rebounds.

So how did UConn take control of the game. Well as Geno Auriemma said in the postgame show that his team stopped turning the ball over. Plus Louisville was playing a a triangle-and-2 leaving leaving Hayes and Greene open.

If you’re going to leave anyone open on UConn, you have to hope they aren’t going to make their shots. And that wasn’t the case for Louisville as Hayes was 6-of-1o from 3-point land and Greene was 6-of-11 from the floor.

Next up for the UConn women is a trip to President Barack Obama land when they will take on the Georgetown Hoyas Saturday afternoon at 3 PM. The game will be televised locally on CPTV.

Geno’s postgame interview with Rebecca Lobo and some notes after the jump.

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NCAA Men’s College Basketball Polls – Week 11

AP Poll, USA Today/ESPN PollThere’s a new No. 1 team in men’s college basketball this week and it’s the team I loathe the most, the Duke Floppers Blue Devils. The good things is out UConn Huskies basketball team moved up to the No. 2 spot in the land after an impressive win over Notre Dame on Saturday night. Some thought that win might propel them to the top spot but Duke’s thrashing of Maryland was just a little more impressive.

AP Top 25 PVS ESPN/USA Today Poll PVS
1. Duke (62) 18-1 1,789 2 1. Duke (30) 18-1 774 2
2. UConn (6) 18-1 1,694 3 2. UConn (1) 18-1 733 3
3. Pittsburgh (3) 18-1 1,647 4 3. Pittsburgh 18-1 706 4
4. Oklahoma (1) 19-1 1,539 6 4. Wake Forest 16-1 666 1
5. North Carolina 17-2 1,529 5 5. Oklahoma 19-1 663 5
6. Wake Forest 16-1 1,509 1 6. North Carolina 17-2 636 6
7. Louisville 15-3 1,351 9 7. Louisville 15-3 547 12
8. Marquette 17-2 1,209 11 8. Marquette 17-2 538 10
9. Michigan State 16-3 1,136 7 9. Michigan State 16-3 475 7
10. Xavier 17-2 1,084 15 10. Xavier 17-2 458 13
11. Texas 14-4 1,017 14 11. Clemson 17-2 425 9
12. Clemson 17-2 929 10 12. Texas 14-4 402 15
13. Butler 18-1 916 16 13. Butler 18-1 384 17
14. Arizona State 16-3 834 17 14. Arizona State 16-3 378 16
15. Syracuse 17-4 808 8 15. Syracuse 17-4 321 8
16. Purdue 15-4 724 18 16. UCLA 15-4 311 11
17. UCLA 15-4 544 13 17. Purdue 15-4 267 18
18. Memphis 16-3 530 22 18. Saint Mary’s 18-1 212 22
19. Illinois 17-3 401 25 19. Memphis 16-3 193 24
20. Gonzaga 14-4 381 23 20. Illinois 17-3 181 24
21. Villanova 15-4 276 20 21. Villanova 15-4 113 21
22. Saint Mary’s 18-1 247 NR 22. Notre Dame 12-6 97 19
23. Washington 15-4 218 NR 23. Georgetown 12-6 92 14
24. Kentucky 16-4 217 NR 24. Minnesota 17-3 84 20
25. Georgetown 12-6 189 12 25. Gonzaga 14-4 60 NR
Others Receiving Votes Others Receiving Votes
Notre Dame 154, Minnesota 138, Kansas 84, Florida 65, Missouri 52, Virginia Tech 37, Baylor 34, West Virginia 32, Davidson 27, Utah State 23, Dayton 14, California 13, UNLV 4, Florida State 3, Ohio State 1, Virginia Commonwealth 1. Florida 59, Utah State 56, Kentucky 50, Baylor 42, Washington 41, California 31, Missouri 22, Dayton 18, Davidson 14, Kansas 13, Brigham Young 6, Florida State 3, UNLV 2, Virginia Tech 1, West Virginia 1.
Dropped From Rankings Dropped From Rankings
Notre Dame 19, Minnesota 21, Florida 24. Baylor 23.

Paw Prints – The Daily Roundup – 1/26

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

It’s game day for the No. 1/1 UConn Huskies women’s basketball as the No. 7/10 Louisville Cardinals come to Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 with Pam Ward (play-by-play), Carolyn Peck (color) and Rebecca Lobo (sideline) on the call.

The top spot in the Big East is on the line tonight.

We will see just how big the gap is between UConn and Lousiville tonight.

Louisville and UConn are the only two undefeated teams left in the Big East.

Two of the best players in the country, Angel McCoughtry and Maya Moore, will tangle at Gampel tonight.

UConn’s 33-game home winning streak is on the line tonight.

This could be the UConn women’s last test in the Big East this season.

John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant hopes that Geno Auriemma and Pat Summitt can put their differences aside to play a game to help raise money in Kay Yow’s memory.

Kay Yow was a popular subject after Saturday’s win over Cincinnati.

Former Husky Mel Thomas has been invited to training camp with the Seattle Storm.

The UConn men don’t seem to mind playing on the road.

Jim Calhoun is looking for consistency from Gavin Edwards.

The UConn men are looking very strong right now.

UConn Huskies quarterback Zach Frazer was seen at the UConn/Notre Dame game wearing a Huskies football t-shirt.

Rob Lunn tells us why UConn is the new “running back U” over at Thoughts From a Fat White Guy.

Lunn also shares the story of his Jeep rolling over in upstate NY last weekend over at Thoughts From a Fat White Guy.

2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards® Winners

screen-actors-guild-awardsHere is the list of winners from 2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards ® show.

Winners in Bold

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

  • RICHARD JENKINS / Walter Vale – “THE VISITOR” (Overture Films)
  • FRANK LANGELLA / Richard Nixon – “FROST/NIXON” (Universal Pictures)
  • SEAN PENN / Harvey Milk – “MILK” (Focus Features) *
  • BRAD PITT / Benjamin Button – “THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON” (Paramount Pictures)
  • MICKEY ROURKE / Randy – “THE WRESTLER” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

  • ANNE HATHAWAY / Kym – “RACHEL GETTING MARRIED” (Sony Pictures Classics)
  • ANGELINA JOLIE / Christine Collins – “CHANGELING” (Universal Pictures)
  • MELISSA LEO / Ray Eddy – “FROZEN RIVER” (Sony Pictures Classics)
  • MERYL STREEP / Sister Aloysius Beauvier – “DOUBT” (Miramax Films) *
  • KATE WINSLET / April Wheeler – “REVOLUTIONARY ROAD” (Paramount Vantage)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

  • JOSH BROLIN / Dan White – “MILK” (Focus Features)
  • ROBERT DOWNEY, JR. / Kirk Lazarus – “TROPIC THUNDER” (Paramount Pictures)
  • PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN / Father Brendan Flynn – “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
  • HEATH LEDGER / Joker – “THE DARK KNIGHT” (Warner Bros. Pictures) *
  • DEV PATEL / Older Jamal – “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

  • AMY ADAMS / Sister James – “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
  • PENÉLOPE CRUZ / Maria Elena – “VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA” (The Weinstein Company)
  • VIOLA DAVIS / Mrs. Miller – “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
  • TARAJI P. HENSON / Queenie – “THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON” (Paramount Pictures)
  • KATE WINSLET / Hanna Schmitz – “THE READER” (The Weinstein Company) *

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

  • THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Paramount Pictures)
  • DOUBT (Miramax)
  • FROST/NIXON (Universal Pictures)
  • MILK (Focus Features)
  • SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (Fox Searchlight Pictures) *

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Mel Thomas Will Get Shot With Storm

UConn co-captain Mel Thomas (25) is all jacked up after hitting a back breaking three late in the game against Purdue.  - Depth of Field PhotoWhen former UConn Husky Mel Thomas headed to Ireland, she went there with one goal. To get a tryout in the WNBA. And according to her grandmother via Jim Fuller of the New Haven Register,  she will get that chance with the Seattle Storm.

Fuller ran into Mel’s grandmother on a flight out of Cincinnati today and passed this along.

She asked me if I went to the game and I said I did and I covered the team. She then told me who she was and of course the reporter instincts in me took over. When I spoke to Mel last month to write a story on her recently-released book, she was hoping to get herself into a WNBA camp and headed over to Ireland to play for the Waterford Wildcats. I asked me if Mel had any luck getting an invite and she told me Mel has agreed to a contract with the Storm. Mel will be returning to the U.S. in time to be ready for the start of Seattle’s training camp. It could be a good fit as Seattle was second to last in the WNBA in 2008 in 3-point percentage. She will join former UConn stars Sue Bird and Swin Cash with the Storm.

Mel is averaging 22.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals with the Wildcats.

It’s good to see Mel get the opportunity and at least she’ll be somewhat comfortable with two former Huskies there as well.

Report: Varitek Has A Deadline

Jason VaritekAccording to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, the Boston Red Sox have given Jason Varitek a deadline to accept the deal that was recently offered.

WEEI.com has learned from source close to the negotiations that the two-year offer made by the Red Sox to catcher Jason Varitek is for $5 million for the first year, along with a club option for $5 million or a $3 million player option for season No. 2 of the deal. It is believed incentives would be part of the agreement. The Red Sox have set a deadline for Varitek to accept the offer, although it is not known what that is.

Very interesting with the details. You have to wonder though is this enough to get the job done or will the Red Sox and Varitek part ways for good.

Please take a moment to vote in the poll in the left sidebar about Varitek’s situation.