Why Your Favorite College Football Team Is No. 1

UConn Huskies Were Best Team in 2008: Connecticut beat Virginia on 09/13/2008 by a score of 45-10. Virginia beat Maryland on 10/04/2008 by a score of 31-0. Maryland beat Wake Forest on 10/18/2008 by a score of 26-0. Wake Forest beat Mississippi on 09/06/2008 by a score of 30-28. Mississippi beat Florida on 09/27/2008 by a score of 31-30 (on the road!). Florida is the 2008 Div 1-A champion. So … Connecticut was the best Div 1-A school for the 2008 college football season! [College Football Transitive Calculator]

The Curious Case Of Jonathan Papelbon

Pitcher Jonathan Papelbon #58 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates after the last out to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in game one of the American League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs at Tropicana Field on October 10, 2008 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Red Sox defeated the Devil Rays 2-0 to take a 1-0 series lead. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)It’s going to be interesting to follow what happens as the Boston Red Sox and Jonathan Papelbon exchange salary figures for arbitration in the coming days. Papelbon signed a record deal last year for closers with 2 years of service time when he signed for $775,000.

And now with Bobby Jenks signing a 1-year, $5.6 million dollar deal in his first arbitration year, you can bet Papelbon will be looking for more than that.

With the Red Sox signing Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis to long-term deals, you know that the Red Sox will want to sign Papelbon to one as well.

But as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com points out, it’s not going to be easy to get that done.

Plus you have what Papelbon is supposedly telling friends, he plans to test the free agent market in 3 years:

Although they have now managed to tie up Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis for six and four years, respectively, the Red Sox should not expect to do the same with closer Jonathan Papelbon, who is telling friends he has no intention of giving up his free agency rights in three years. It’s Papelbon’s position that, in agreeing to switch from starter to closer two springs ago, he made the ultimate sacrifice for the Red Sox considering that closers make less than starters. They also break down more, while starters are coddled.

I really do hope the Red Sox are able to work out some type of deal with him. It would be hard to watch Paps in any other uniform but I can understand his position in wanting to get what is fair and market value for his services.

Want to Be a Patriots Cheerleader?

Want to be the next Caitlin Davis? The New England Patriots have announced that they will be holding auditions to become a Patriots cheerleader on February 28th at the Dana-Farber Field House at 10 AM. All you need is your high school diploma or a GED and $20 to register. Some dancing skills might help too. And remember to take down any incriminating photos you may have on Facebook or Myspace. [patriots.com]

Red Sox Trade Pauley To Orioles

David Pauley #62 of the Boston Red Sox checks first base in the second inning against the New York Yankees on September 26, 2008 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)The Boston Red Sox have traded right-handed pitcher David Pauley to the Baltimore Orioles for right-handed reliever Randor Bierd. Pauley had been designated for assignment last week when John Smoltz was added to the 40-man roster.

Pauley was 0-1 with a 11.68 ERA in 6 appearances (2 starts) for the Red Sox last year while Bierd was 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA in 29 appearances for the Orioles.

In 9 appearances (5 starts) in his career, Pauley is 0-3 with a 9.53 ERA.

Bierd is a non-roster addition and could be given an invitation to spring training with a chance to earn a spot in the Red Sox bullpen.

NCAA Men’s College Basketball Polls – Week 10

The NCAA men’s college basketball polls are out and we have a new No. 1 team in the land in the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Last week’s No. 1 team the Pittsburgh Panthers fell to Louisville on Saturday night. The UConn Huskies moved up a spot to No. 3 in the land while the Panthers slide down to No. 4. in both polls.

AP Top 25 PVS ESPN/USA Today Poll PVS
1. Wake Forest (68) 16-0 1,793 2 1. Wake Forest (25) 16-0 769 3
2. Duke (4) 16-1 1,721 3 2. Duke (6) 16-1 747 2
3. Connecticut 16-1 1,590 4 3. Connecticut 16-1 688 4
4. Pittsburgh 16-1 1,569 1 4. Pittsburgh 16-1 679 1
5. North Carolina 16-2 1,510 5 5. Oklahoma 17-1 649 5
6. Oklahoma 17-1 1,498 6 6. North Carolina 16-2 643 6
7. Michigan State 15-2 1,394 7 7. Michigan State 15-2 566 10
8. Syracuse 17-2 1,146 8 8. Syracuse 17-2 520 8
9. Louisville 13-3 1,090 20 9. Clemson 16-1 472 9
10. Clemson 16-1 1,043 10 10. Marquette 16-2 469 14
11. Marquette 16-2 1,003 14 11. UCLA 14-3 443 7
12. Georgetown 12-4 979 13 12. Louisville 13-3 377 20
13. UCLA 14-3 897 9 13. Xavier 15-2 360 16
14. Texas 13-4 858 11 14. Georgetown 12-4 349 12
15. Xavier 15-2 848 15 15. Texas 13-4 344 11
16. Butler 16-1 726 17 16. Arizona State 15-3 337 15
17. Arizona State 15-3 671 16 17. Butler 16-1 332 18
18. Purdue 14-4 553 19 18. Purdue 14-4 193 19
19. Notre Dame 12-5 469 12 19. Notre Dame 12-5 180 13
20. Villanova 14-3 353 23 20. Minnesota 16-2 154 17
21. Minnesota 16-2 298 18 21. Villanova 14-3 152 22
22. Memphis 14-3 208 NR 22. Saint Mary’s 17-1 134 25
23. Gonzaga 12-4 201 NR 23. Baylor 14-3 82 21
24. Florida 16-2 175 NR 24. Illinois 15-3 72 NR
25. Illinois 15-3 159 NR 25. Memphis 14-3 72 NR
Others Receiving Votes Others Receiving Votes
Baylor 148, Saint Mary’s 137, Kentucky 105, California 82, Florida State 34, Kansas 23, Ohio State 20, Missouri 14, Davidson 14, Tennessee 14, Utah State 12, Washington 12, West Virginia 8, Miami (FL) 8, Arkansas 6, Michigan 5, Dayton 4, George Mason 1, LSU 1. California 65, Florida 52, Gonzaga 35, Utah State 31, Ohio State 22, Brigham Young 22, Dayton 16, Missouri 13, Kentucky 12, Davidson 9, Kansas 3, West Virginia 3, Washington 2, Miami (FL) 2, Florida State 2, Arkansas 2, Michigan 1.
Dropped From Rankings Dropped From Rankings
Baylor 21, California 22, Tennessee 24, Michigan 25. California 23, Michigan 24.

Maya Moore Named Big East Women’s Player of The Week

UConn's Maya Moore gets set to shoot during the second half. Moore scored a career-high 40 points to reach 1,000 faster than any player in Connecticut history - BOB CHILD / APThis really shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who saw UConn Huskies sophomore Maya Moore’s performance on Saturday afternoon against the Syracuse Orange.

The Big East Conference has named Moore as the Big East Player of the Week for the week-ending 1/18.

Moore had a record-breaking game as she hit a UConn and Big East record 10 three-pointers in the game against Syracuse. She also had 40 points and 13 rebounds in the game. Her 29th point got her to 1,000 in her career becoming the fastest Husky to do it. She did it in 55 games while former Husky Svetlana Abrosimova did it in 63 games.

For the week, Moore averaged 29 points and 12.5 rebounds. She also shot 56.8% from the floor and hit 11-of-18 three-pointers during the wins over DePaul and Syracuse.

Paw Prints – The Daily Roundup – 1/19

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

It’s game day for the No. 1 UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they are in Chapel Hill, NC to take on the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 PM and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

The news wasn’t good yesterday for Caroline Doty who learned that she had tore her left ACL for the second time in 15 months.

Since she’s played in more than half of the games this year, Caroline Doty won’t be eligible for a medical redshirt.

All eyes in the women’s basketball world will be on UConn and North Carolina tonight.

Here are some things to look for in the UConn/UNC game tonight.

There are plenty of differences between the UConn women and North Carolina.

The injury to Caroline Doty shifts the focus for UConn tonight.

UNC and UConn are looking to light up the scoreboard tonight.

Here’s a look at the season-ending injuries suffered by players in the UConn women’s program since the 1995-96 season.

Rich Elliot of the Connecticut Post has some morning notes from Chapel Hill as does Jim Fuller of the New Haven Register and John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant.

David Borges of the New Haven Register, Matt Stout of the Norwich Bulletin, Gavin Keefe of the New London Day and Neill Ostrout of the Connecticut Post all have some postgame notes from the UConn men’s win over Seton Hall yesterday.

Stanley Robinson found himself in Jim Calhoun’s doghouse during the win over Seton Hall.

The UConn men had a Famous visitor yesterday.

David Borges of the New Haven Register has some other UConn men’s recruiting news.

The Huskies relied on a 3-guard look for most of the game yesterday.

Here are some quotes from the postgame press conferences yesterday.

The Huskies were downright awful at the free throw line yesterday.

Hasheem Thabeet answered an early wake-up call during the game yesterday.

David Gillett has his take on yesterday’s win over Seton Hall.

Former UConn men’s player and assistant coach Steve Pikiell has led Stony Brook to their best start in 15 years.

The UConn football team picked up a committment from a running back yesterday.