STORRS, Conn (Sept. 9, 2014) — The UConn men’s basketball team will play 15 home games during the 2014-15 regular season, bringing national powers Texas and Memphis to Gampel Pavilion in Storrs and Cincinnati and SMU to the XL Center in Hartford.

The 2014 National Champion Huskies will play seven home games on campus at Gampel Pavilion and seven home games at the XL Center, as well as an exhibition game at each venue. In addition, UConn will return to Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport for the second straight season to play one home game.

The home schedule will begin at Gampel with an exhibition game against Southern Connecticut on Nov. 4, followed by a second exhibition game on Nov. 9 against Assumption College at the XL Center. The first regular-season game is slated for Gampel Pavilion on Friday, Nov. 14, against Bryant University.

Texas will visit Gampel Pavilion on Sunday, Nov. 30, marking the Longhorns’ first trip to Storrs since Jan. 23, 2010, when they were ranked No. 1 in the country, only to be upset by the Huskies, 88-74. Memphis comes to Gampel for an American Athletic Conference faceoff on March 5, UConn’s final home game of the regular season.

American power Cincinnati will be at the XL Center to face the Huskies on Saturday, Jan. 10, while SMU makes its first-ever appearance in the XL Center on Sunday, March 1. UConn will also have a New Year’s Eve game at the XL Center, facing AAC opponent Temple at a time to be determined.

UConn, which defeated Eastern Washington at Webster Bank Arena last year, will play host to Columbia this season in Bridgeport on Dec. 22.

The American Athletic Conference Championship will be held at the XL Center from March 12-15.

2014-15 UConn Huskies Men’s Basketball Schedule

UConn Huskies head coach Bob Diaco held his weekly pregame press conference and obviously the big topic at hand was the fact that Casey Cochran has stepped away from football for good due to concussions.

Diaco opened up his weekly presser by talking about how exciting it is to prepare for the following week after a win especially with the energy from the players and staff being different.

He said he first learned about Casey’s medical issue last Wednesday when the sports performance team told him about it. He said, the doctors, himself, Cochran and his family got together to speak about his past medical history. He said that Friday afternoon a decision hadn’t been made by the Cochran’s but he thought it was trending towards him being done.

He said they had another conversation on Saturday about it. Casey was on the sidelines and in uniform on Saturday because no final decision had been made yet.

He talked about UConn’s concussion protocols. He said they are for all sports. He stated they get a baseline from them before the season and use that in testing when a concussion is suspected. He said no one can play until they are back to normal no matter how long that takes.

He stated Casey is excited about still having a role with the team and is eager to learn how to be a coach.

Diaco stated he never once had a concussion. He talked about his playing days from being an 8-year-old all the way through college and how he never got one.

After the game he went over to Cochran and Diaco said he did that because he didn’t want him to feel alone.

Even though he’s the head coach, the medical staff can only disclose so much to him unless the student-athlete has given authorization to do so.

In the first question about Tim Boyle‘s role, Diaco stated that Boyle will play going forward.

Diaco said that Cochran will travel to home and road games with the team and that he expects him to continue to be a leader going forward.

He said Boyle has not improved in his leadership abilities as it relates to game stuff. He did say he has top notch traits in that he’s fast, he’s big, he can see over line. He has good vision, strong arm, good escapability. He needs to get better in communicating, clock management, all the things that go into being a QB.

Diaco said that Boyle was being recruited by Notre Dame when he was there.

He stated that Boise is a really exciting, unique team. They have a very explosive offensive system as evidence by 63 first half plays and almost 700 yards of total offense. He said they play hard on defense.

He’s concerned with Boise State RB Jay Ajayi because he’s fast and hard to tackle.

He was happy with the improved defensive effort against Stony Brook.  The communication was better, tackling was better and overall the team went from eight penalties to three.

After watching the film, he was happy with Chandler Whitmer‘s decisions to run.

He said the team needs to continue to have a winning focus. It’s not all about winning or losing the game. It’s about winning the day, the task, the moment. It’s all part of the process.

He stated that it’s important that Chandler slides when he can. He said he needs to get as many yards as he can then slide.

He said that Andreas Knappe is back and healthy. He’ll battle with Dalton Gifford for the starting right tackle spot.

There is no set plan for how many snaps Boyle will get in the game. They’ll go over his participation on Thursday.

He said Boise QB Grant Hedrick is a dual threat. He’s faster than BYU QB Taysom Hill but not as big. He’s a make you miss type of runner.

He said it will take all three phases of the game to limit the number of plays by Boise.

He was not pleased with the one big drive by Stony Brook but overall things were good. He thought the coverage was good despite the two big catches.

He said the tight ends having no catches was a by product of the game. He said there some near misses and had they caught them that the question wouldn’t have been asked.

He ended by talking about it’s a good thing for the players to understand how Boise plays since it’s similar to BYU. It’s still going to be a challenge though.

We’ll have more coming up over the coming days about reactions from the players on the Cochran news, what they think about Casey being a coach, and a few other things.

Ahead of Tuesday’s pregame press conference for the Boise State Broncos game this Saturday, UConn Huskies football coach Bob Diaco has released his two-deep for the game and there are some changes to it from the one versus Stony Brook.

The most obvious change is at quarterback where Tim Boyle moves into the number two spot behind Chandler Whitmer after the announcement yesterday of Casey Cochran‘s career being over due to concussions. Redshirt freshman Will Rishell is listed third on the depth chart as well at quarterback.

Dalton Gifford is now in an “OR” situation with Andreas Knappe at right tackle. Knappe had missed the first two games with a lower leg injury. Thomas Hopkins, who was backing up Gifford, is no longer listed on the depth chart.

We’ll learn more today about how Diaco will move forward with the quarterbacks so be sure to check back later this afternoon.

Offense

LT: 71 Richard Levy (RSo., 6-6, 305)
74 Paul Nwokeji (RJr., 6-6, 287)

LG: 65 Gus Cruz (RSr., 6-4, 296)
77 Trey Rutherford (Fr., 6-5, 289)

C: 73 Alex Mateas (RSr., 6-4, 309)
70 Kyle Bockeloh (RSo., 6-3, 284)

RG: 60 Tyler Samra (Jr., 6-2, 288)
63 Ryan Crozier (Fr., 6-4, 297)

RT: 78 Dalton Gifford (RJr., 6-4, 304)
53 Andreas Knappe (RSo., 6-8, 300)

TE: 49 Sean McQuillan (RJr., 6-3, 239)
80 Tommy Myers (RFr., 6-5, 238)

WR: 85 Geremy Davis (RSr., 6-3, 216)
8 Thomas Lucas (RFr., 6-2, 198) OR
5 Noel Thomas (So., 6-1, 187)

QB: 10 Chandler Whitmer (RSr., 6-0, 192)
14 Tim Boyle (So., 6-3, 216)
16 Will Rishell (RFr., 5-10, 185)

FB: 34 Jazzmar Clax (RFr., 5-11, 241)
36 Matt Walsh (So., 6-1, 227)

TB: 44 Max DeLorenzo (RJr., 5-11, 210)
26 Joshua Marriner (RFr., 5-9, 193)

WR: 4 Deshon Foxx (Sr., 5-10, 172)
9 Kamal Abrams (RJr., 5-11, 182) OR
1 Dhameer Bradley (So., 5-9, 166)

Defense

DE: 56 Angelo Pruitt (RSr., 6-2, 287)
93 Folorunso Fatukasi (RFr., 6-4, 307)

NG: 90 Julian Campenni (RJr., 6-0, 299)
92 Mikal Myers (RSo., 6-1, 312)

DT: 97 B.J. McBryde (RSr., 6-5, 304)
95 Kenton Adeyemi (RJr., 6-4, 268)

DE: 47 Reuben Frank (RSr., 6-4, 246)
57 Cole Ormsby (RFr., 6-3, 248)

LB: 46 Marquise Vann (RJr., 6-0, 226)
55 Jon Hicks (RSo., 6-2, 236)

LB: 32 Jefferson Ashiru (RSo., 6-2, 233)
39 Junior Joseph (RFr., 6-1, 242)

LB: 2 Graham Stewart (RJr., 6-1, 227)
10 Cameron Stapleton (RFr., 6-4, 226)

CB: 16 Byron Jones (RSr., 6-1, 196)
7 John Green (RSo., 5-10, 179)

S: 22 Andrew Adams (RJr., 6-0, 197)
28 Jordan Floyd (RSo., 6-0, 206)

S: 20 Obi Melifonwu (RSo., 6-3, 210)
23 Junior Lee (RJr., 6-0, 214) OR
19 Ellis Marder (RSo., 6-1, 193)

CB: 6 Jhavon Williams (RSo., 5-10, 190)
21 Jamar Summers (Fr., 6-0, 180)

Special Teams

K: 17 Bobby Puyol (RSo., 5-10, 174)
94 Chase Briley (Fr., 5-11, 165)

P: 42 Justin Wain (RSo., 6-3, 204)
94 Chase Briley (Fr., 5-11, 165)

HL: 82 Blake Feagles (RFr., 5-10, 205)

KR: 4 Deshon Foxx (Sr., 5-10, 172)
26 Joshua Marriner (RFr., 5-9, 193)

PR: 4 Deshon Foxx (Sr., 5-10, 172)
18 Brian Lemelle (So., 5-10, 165)

LS: 66 Dominick Manco (RJr., 6-0, 213)
67 Adam Mueller (RSr., 6-1, 212)

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a DAILY basis.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

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UConn Football links

Breaking News: UConn QB Casey Cochran’s Playing Career Over Due To Concussions [sox & dawgs]

Video: UConn Football Coach Bob Diaco On Importance of His First Win [sox & dawgs]

Deshon Foxx Named AAC Special Teams Player of the Week [sox & dawgs]

UConn QB Casey Cochran Done With Football, A Few Thoughts From His Dad [desmond conner – hartford courant]

Report Card: UConn Vs. Stony Brook [desmond conner – hartford courant]

UConn suddenly extremely thin at quarterback [jim fuller – new haven register]

Boise State to be shorthanded this week as well [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn alumni report: Week 1 [jim fuller – new haven register]

Wrapping up The American Week 2: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly [john silver – sny uconn]

Tale of the Tape: UConn defense vs. Stony Brook [the uconn blog]

Davis Continues To Shine [uconn huskies]

UConn football coach Bob Diaco Knows What Huskies Face In High-Powered Boise State [hartford courant]

What’s Happening To Attendance At UConn Home Football Games? [hartford courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Stewart, Team USA Open Training Camp Today [rich elliott – ct post]

Auriemma, Bird, Moore Talk First Day Of Camp [rich elliott – ct post]

UConn’s Auriemma moving on from most publicized phone call of his career [jim fuller – new haven register]

Source: Tennessee did not report UConn over phone call to Mo’ne Davis [knoxville news sentinel]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. Former Husky Matt Barnes Called Up To Big Leagues By Red Sox [sox & dawgs]

Field Hockey. Field Hockey Moves Past Columbia, 4-0 [uconn huskies]

Field Hockey. Nina Klein Named Conference Defensive Player of the Week [uconn huskies]

M. Cross Country. Men’s Cross Country Opens 2014 Season On Saturday [uconn huskies]

W. Soccer. Hill’s Brace Leads UConn Past Stony Brook, 4-0 [uconn huskies]

W. Soccer. Incredible Goal By UConn Women Soccer’s Rachel Hill [uconn huskies youtube]

BOSTON, MA – In conjunction with Major League Baseball, the Red Sox  announced their 2015 regular season schedule. The Red Sox will open on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, April 6. The club’s home opener is slated for Monday, April 13, against the Washington Nationals.

The club will open the season on the road for the fifth straight year. This year will be the club’s first regular season opener in Philadelphia since 1954, the last year the city had an American League franchise, the Athletics. It also marks the first time the Red Sox have ever opened a season against a National League team.

The Red Sox are scheduled to play 76 games versus their American League East rivals, 19 games each against the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, and Tampa Bay Rays.

The Red Sox will face the National League East Division for Interleague play. In addition to the Nationals, the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Miami Marlins will visit Fenway Park.

2015 Boston Red Sox Schedule

BOSTON – Former UConn baseball ace Matt Barnes was promoted to the major leagues by the Boston Red Sox on Monday, Sept. 8. Barnes becomes the fourth former UConn baseball player to play in the MLB this season, setting a new program record.

Barnes joins his former teammates Nick Ahmed (’11) of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Mike Olt (’10) of the Chicago Cubs and George Springer (’11) of the Houston Astros as ex-Huskies playing the majors in 2014. The previous record for the UConn baseball program was three players in the majors in the same year, previously accomplished in 2003 and 1961.

A first round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2011, Barnes enjoyed a breakout campaign in the minors this year prior to his promotion. The right-handed hurler made 22 starts for Class-AAA Pawtucket, winning eight games and holding a 3.95 ERA in 127 innings. Barnes struck out 103 batters for the PawSox against 46 walks, holding opponents to a .247 batting average against.

His season picked up a tremendous amount of momentum after he went seven no-hit innings for Pawtucket back on Aug. 2. In his last seven starts, beginning with that outing, Barnes went 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA and fanned 44 against 10 walks in 58.2 innings.

During his time at UConn from 2009-11, Barnes etched his name in the UConn record books. He set a program record with 247 strikeouts in 256.2 career innings, winning 24 games (third all-time). The 2011 Big East Pitcher of the Year, Barnes was a First Team All-American and Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist in his stellar junior season.

UConn QB Casey Cochran (12) drops back to pass in the second quarter on August 29, 2014 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT

This just in from UConn:

STORRS, Conn. (September 8, 2014) —  The University of Connecticut football program, the UConn Division of Athletics medical staff and the Cochran family have decided that redshirt sophomore quarterback Casey Cochran (Monroe, Conn.) will permanently discontinue playing football due to Cochran sustaining multiple concussions during his career.

All those involved in the decision making process feel it is in the best interest of Cochran to end his football playing career and focus on his continued well-being.

“A silver lining in this matter is that Casey has an interest in pursuing a career in coaching,” said UConn head coach Bob Diaco. “We can now accelerate his development in that area as he transitions from a player role to a mentor role as he continues to serve the team.”

UConn PR Deshon Foxx looks for the end zone ahead of him in the third quarter against the Stony Brook Seawolves on September 6, 2014 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – University of Connecticut senior Deshon Foxx (Lynchburg, Va.) was named the American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday for his performance in UConn’s win over Stony Brook on Saturday.

Foxx finished with 91 all-purpose yards and scored what proved to be the decisive points in the win. Foxx had a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter to put the Huskies ahead 19-10. He finished the game with 85 yards on three punt returns and added a six-yard reception. Foxx ranks 14th nationally in punt return average (14.0) through two weeks of the season.

In addition, UConn senior wide receiver Geremy Davis (Lawrenceville, Ga.) was named to the league’s weekly Honor Roll. Davis had six receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s win for an average of 18.3 yards per reception.

Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch was named the Offensive Player of the Week while USF linebacker Nigel Harris was the Defensive Player of the Week.

The Huskies return to action on Saturday when they play host to Boise State at noon. The game will be televised on ABC and ESPN2 and heard on the UConn IMG Sports Radio Network.

photo credit: ian bethune – sox & dawgs