Celtics Blowout Mavericks

This game was over in the 1st quarter when former UConn Husky Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce scored 30 of the Boston Celtics’ 38 points pushing them to a 124-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks in front of another packed house at the TD BankNorth Garden.

Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett shoots over Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki, of Germany, during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Boston, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)It’s the 8th straight win for the Celtics (37-9) after going 2-7 in their previous nine games.

Allen, Garnett and Eddie House all led the Celtics with 23 points. House tied his career-high of 7 three-pointers. Rajon Rondo made his bid for the All-Star Game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 14 assists and 4 steals. Pierce finished with 8 points.

The Celtics made 16-of-27 (59.3%) three-pointers in the game and shot 50.8% (50-of-93) from the floor.

The Mavericks (25-19) were led by Jason Terry’s game-high 27 points. Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard both added 18 points.

Believe it or not the Mavericks actually led in this game at 12-10. But after that it was all Celtics.They were leading 15-14 before a 12-0 run put the game out of reach.

Any chance of the Mavericks coming back in the 3rd quarter was negated by Garnett who had 10 points in the quarter.

The Celtics are back in action on Wednesday night when they will host the Sacramento Kings at the TD BankNorth Garden at 7:30 PM.

Pedroia’s Older Brother Arrested

Released on $50,000 Bond: Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia’s brother Brent has been arrested on child molestation charges. “According to an arrest report, he’s suspected of oral copulation and lewd acts with a child under 14.” He was released on bond and had no comment for reporters. [ProJo Sox Blog]

Paw Prints – The Daily Roundup – 1/25

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

David Borges of the New Haven Register and Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant have some postgame notes from the UConn men’s win over Notre Dame.

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Here’s some analysis of UConn’s win over Notre Dame last night.

Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant has some extras from UConn’s win.

Every thing was looking good for Notre Dame before the game and at the end their 45-game home winning streak was lost.

Gavin Edwards was flying high for the Huskies last night.

The Huskies snapped two of Notre Dame’s streaks last night.

Jim Calhoun is always working.

It’s been a long journey to UConn for Ater Majok.

UConn found a way to shut down Kyle McAlarney last night

Here’s a photo gallery of last night’s game from the South Bend Tribune.

ESPN Game Day fever took over in South Bend for the game last night.

David Gillett has a look back at former Husky Scott Burrell’s days in Chicago.

John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant has some extras from the UConn women’s win over Cincinnati.

Here are some thoughts on Kay Yow from Geno Auriemma.

There will be a moment of silence before Monday night’s game against Louisville for Kay Yow. Maya Moore will also be honored with her commemorative ball for scoring 1,000 points.

Kay Yow’s death hit close to home for Geno Auriemma.

The injury to Caroline Doty has affected Tiffany Hayes.

Geno Auriemma thinks no one will be able to match the win total of Pat Summitt.

Cincinnati’s offense forgot to show up last night.

Caroline Doty should bounce back quicker this time.

Here’s a post I did about the UConn football players who participated in the Senior Bowl last night.

The UConn men’s hockey team lost 6-0 to Mercyhurst.

Dominique Thibault scored the only goal for the UConn women’s hockey team in their 1-0 win over Northeastern.

Beatty, Butler, Brown Play In Senior Bowl

Senior Bowl logo

The Under Armour Senior Bowl was played last night in Mobile, AL and the UConn Huskies had three former players participate for the North Squad in offensive lineman Will Beatty, defensive back/kick returner Darius Butler and defensive end Cody Brown.

Beatty started at left tackle and saw his draft stock rise during the week. He is being projected as a late 1st round to mid 2nd round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft in April. He is ranked as the 6th best offensive tackle.

Here is some video on Beatty who most pundits say improved his draft stock during the Senior Bowl week of practices.

[dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x852lr_will-beatty_sport[/dailymotion]

Butler started at left cornerback and made 4 tackles and had a pass breakup. He also had one kickoff return for 26 yards. He is being projected as a 2nd round draft pick. He is ranked as the 6th best cornerback available.

North defenders Marcus Freeman of Ohio State (55) and Cody Brown of Connecticut (52) chase down Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson of the south squad in the fourth quarter of the Senior Bowl college football game, Saturday Jan. 24, 2009 in Mobile, Ala.(AP Photo/Chip English)Brown saw action in the game at outside linebacker and made 1 tackle. He is being projected as a 3rd round pick. He is ranked as the 6th best outside linebacker.

West Virginia quarterback and Senior Bowl MVP Pat White led the South team to a 35-18 win over the North Squad.

In case you wondering where the other draft eligible Huskies were projected here is the list:

  • Donald Brown – projected to go in the 2nd to 3rd round. He is the 5th rated running back available.
  • Dahna Deleston – right now isn’t projected to be drafted.  He is the 31st best strong safety available. A good showing in the Texas vs The Nation game next Saturday could change that.
  • Julius Williams – right now isn’t projected to be drafted. He is the 41st best defensive end available. A good showing in the Texas vs the Nation game could change his draft status as well.
  • Robert Vaughn – projected to go in the 4th to 5th round. He is rated the 7th best free safety available. (As HHF points out in the comments, Vaughn will be back at UConn for his final season. This is actually Vaughn’s draft ranking for the 2010 NFL Draft.)

    The Mayor Retires

    Sean Casey #22 of the Boston Red Sox attends batting practice before his team takes on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in game one of the American League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs at Tropicana Field on October 10, 2008 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

    Rob Bradford of WEEI.com is reporting that former Boston Red Sox first baseman Sean “The Mayor” Casey is retiring from the game of baseball and will be taking a job with the MLB Network.

    Casey signed with the Red Sox last year to backup Kevin Youkilis at first base and hit .322 with 17 RBIs in 69 games for the Red Sox.

    He spent 12 seasons in the big leagues with the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers and the Red Sox. In his career, he hit .302 with 130 home runs and 735 RBIs. He had a career OBP of .367 and was a 3-time All-Star (1999, 2001 and 2004), all with the Reds.

    While Casey gave us some of his funnier moments last  season with his blog over at WEEI.com, nothing will beat the Sean Casey Crawl back to second base against the Yankees last season.

    Hat Tip to Texy at Center Field for the video

    UConn Men End Notre Dame’s 45-Game Home Winning Streak

    Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody, left and Ryan Ayres, right, attempt to keep Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet out of the lane during the first half of UConn's 69 - 61 win over Notre Dame - Joe Raymond/AP Photo

    During the build up for tonight’s game all of the talk was centered around Luke Harangody and Hasheem Thabeet about Thabeet’s comments in ESPN The Magazine back in November. While Harangody may have won the statistical war, all that matters for the No. 3 UConn Huskies is the result.

    Connecticut guard Jeff Adrien displays his jersey following his team's 69-61 victory over Notre Dame in a NCAA college basketball game Saturday Jan. 24, 2009 in South Bend, Ind. Adrien scored 12 points and had 19 rebounds. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)Jerome Dyson scored 15 points to lead a well-balanced scoring attack as the Huskies beat the No. 19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at a sold-out Joyce Center in South Bend, IN. The win by UConn ends Notre Dame’s 45-game home winning streak and is their 7th straight win. Their last loss came against Georgetown back in late December.

    UConn improves to 18-1 (7-1 Big East) while Notre Dame dropped their third straight game to fall to 12-6 (3-4).

    As I said above, all of the buildup was centered around Thabeet’s comments in ESPN The Magazine back in November and what would happen. The crowd was hostile towards Thabeet and the Huskies and Harangody would won the statistical battle. He had 24 points and 15 rebounds while Thabeet had 9 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.

    Dyson also added 9 rebound and 3 assists while A.J. Price had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Jeff Adrien had another great game as he had the 42nd double-double of his career with 12 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.

    Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody, right, drives the lane as Connecticut forward Gavin Edwards defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday Jan. 24, 2009 in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)To me though, it was the play of Gavin Edwards off the bench that helped the Huskies out. He came in and helped UConn maintain their lead at crucial points, scoring 8 points and pulling down 3 rebounds.

    Kyle McAlarney and Tory Jackson both added 9 points with Jackson pulling down 7 rebounds. Tyrone Nash chipped in with 8 points as well for Mike Brey’s squad.

    Notre Dame controlled the tempo in the first half that saw UConn hold a 1 point lead 30-29 at the half.

    In the second half, UConn got out to a 10 point lead but Notre Dame cut that lead down to two points at 49-47.  Jim Calhoun called timeout and let his team have it on the sidelines. It worked though as the Huskies came out and went on a 6-0 run that was part of a 13-1 run to take control of the game.

    UConn won this game with it’s athleticism and defensive pressure. With McAlarney going cold after hitting his first 3 three-pointers, Notre Dame had to  rely offensively on Harangody and that just wasn’t enough for them tonight.

    The Huskies are off until Wednesday night when they head to Chicago to take on the DePaul Blue Demons. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 PM and the game will be televised locally on My-TV9 here in Connecticut.

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    UConn Women Rout Cincinnati 65-34

    Maya Moore had 18 points to lead the No. 1 UConn Huskies women’s basketball team to a 65-34 Big East win over the Cincinnati Bearcats in front of 2,346 at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati.

    Connecticut forward Maya Moore reacts after making a three point shot against Cincinnati in the first half of an NCAA women's college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)The win for the Huskies improves their record to 19-0 (5-0 Big East) while the Bearcats drop to 13-6 (3-3). It’s the second straight season that UConn has won their first 19 games (21-0 to start last year).

    Moore also had 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Tina Charles added 13 points and 4 rebounds while Renee Montgomery had 11 points. Tiffany Hayes rebounded from her poor performances in the past two games chipping in with 10 points, 5 rebounds  and 3 assists. Kalana Greene added a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with 6 points.

    Val Schuster led the Bearcats with 11 points and pulled down 4 rebounds. Kahla Roudebush and Jill Stephens both added 7 points while Angel Morgan had 6 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

    This game was pretty much over about a minute into the game or so.

    With the score tied at 2-2, the Huskies went on a 26-0 run, lead by 14 of Moore’s 16 first half points, as the Bearcats went 12:39 without a field goal or any points. Stephens finally got the Bearcats on the board with a jumper but at the point the game was out of reach for the Bearcats as the Huskies took a 39-7 lead at the half.

    If there was any bright spot for the Bearcats, it was the fact that they outscored UConn 27-26 in the second half.

    As we’ve seen the past three games, Geno Auriemma’s squad has ramped up the defensive pressure and it showed tonight as Cincinnati shot 10.7% (3-of-28) in the first half.  After such a great game on Monday night against North Carolina, Lorin Dixon was pretty much a non-factor in the game.

    The Huskies now head home for a Big Monday matchup on ESPN2 when Angel McCoughtry and the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals come to Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM.

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