According to his wife  Shonda, Curt Schilling will retire rather than return to baseball next season so that he can spend more time with his family.

Shonda Schilling said her hubby is “leaning towards” retirement because he wants to spend more time with her and the kids.

“Gehrig goes to high school next year and it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, where does the time go. We only have four years left with him.’ ” Shonda said. “I think he feels the pressure.”

Shonda adds that they will stay in Massachusetts when Curt does in fact retire.

It should be interesting to see his response to what Shonda has said. With Curt joining WEEI last week, the signals are there to retire. Now we just need to hear it from his mouth.

There are going to be times where the No. 1 UConn Huskies women’s basketball team makes an opponent look like a bad high school team. Tonight just happened to be one of those nights as the Holy Cross Crusaders probably wished they had stayed back in Worcester, MA.

Tahirah Williams led six Huskies in double figures with a career-high 17 points in a 96-37 thrashing of the Crusaders in front of 8,312 at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT.

Williams also added a career-high of 7 rebounds to lead UConn (6-0). Tina Charles, Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore all had 13 points in limited minutes with Moore leading the team with 5 assists. Caroline Doty’s hot hand continued as she was 3-for-3 from 3-point land to finish with 11 points. She has made 10 straight treys and is just 4 short of the national record of 14 straight made. Kaili McLaren rounded out the Huskies in double digits with 10 points.

Every Husky scored in the game with the exception of senior reserve Cassie Kerns. Even Jacquie Hernandes added a career-high 5 points, all of which came in the first half.

After being shutout in the first half, Briana McFadden had 10 second half points to lead Holy Cross (1-6). Whitney Fremeau added 9 points and 6 rebounds while Alyssa May added 9 points and 7 boards.

It’s hard to stay in a game when you make more free throws than baskets in a half and that’s what happened to the Crusaders in the first half as they were 5-of-6 from the line but shot just 4-of-29 (12.9%) from the floor. Meanwhile, it seemed as though every shot UConn threw up went in as they shot an astounding 71.4% (25-of-35) in the first half to take a 63-14 at halftime.

How bad was it for the Crusaders? Their first basket of the second half came on a Fremeau three-pointer and that ended a 32-0 run by the Huskies. It was just that type of night where the Huskies exploited every weakness their inferior opponent had.

So what did the Huskies accomplish in the game? Actually more than you would think. It gave Geno Auriemma a chance to get his younger players more minutes than usual. It gave both the first team and second team a chance to work on the plays and their defense. This really just shows us how talented UConn is from top to bottom on the roster.

Next up for the Huskies is a 10 day break for final exams. They will return to action on December 14th when they head to Madison Square Garden to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Maggie Dixon Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 PM and the game will be broadcast locally on CPTV and also on ESPNU where available.

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As we know, former UConn Husky Mel Thomas has written a book called “Heart of a Husky: Determination, Perseverance, and a Quest for a National Championship” and we’ve all been waiting for it to become available to order.

Well just in time for Christmas, “Heart of a Husky” can now be pre-ordered at MelThomas.com. The cost of the book is $19.95 and right now there are 1,000 copies of the book available. The orders will begin shipping on December 15th.

And if you’re interested in getting an autographed copy of the book, Mel will be returning to the United States from Ireland in mid-December to do a mini book tour. Here are the dates and times of where Mel will be. You can also purchase the book at these appearances as well.

• December 18th, 10 AM to 1 PM – Enfield Senior Center
• December 18th, 7 PM – Waterford, CT Library
• December 19th, 4 PM – UConn Co-op
• December 19th, 7:30 PM – Irish American Community Center in East Haven, CT
• December 20th, 12 PM to 3 PM – Monaco Ford in Glastonbury, CT
• December 21st, 4 PM to 6 PM – Chicken on The Run (Cincinnati, OH)
• December 22nd, 6PM – Mt. Notre Dame High School (Cincinnati, OH)
• December 27th, 1 PM to 4 PM, CT Lighting Centers in Hartford, CT
• December 29th, 7:30 PM – Irish American Community Center in East Haven, CT
• December 30th, 11 AM to 2 PM, Plainville Senior Center in Plainville, CT
• December 31st , 11 AM – UConn women’s game at XL Center in Hartford, CT
• March or April 2009 – UConn Co-op

And while you’re over at MelThomas.com, you can check out her newly designed website which includes updates from her former teammates.

With the signing of Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia being official now, let’s take a look at what Pedroia, Theo Epstein, Terry Francona and Larry Lucchino have to say about the extension.

Pedroia: “I’m extremely excited,” said Pedroia. “I definitely wanted to be here a long time and help the Red Sox win. Today, it happened, and hopefully the next six years, we can win some championships.

“My first thought about the whole thing was, ‘I play for the best team in the Major Leagues.’ Who wouldn’t want to play for the Boston Red Sox? We’re going to have an opportunity to win every year. The fans are the best. The city embraces their team, so why not? It fits.”

Epstein: “It’s something we’re thrilled about,” said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein. “It’s definitely something we wanted as a club and something I think Dustin was looking to do as well. It came together as a product of a lot of hard work. He really embodies just about everything we look for in a Red Sox player. That makes this a great day for the organization.”

Francona: “Congrats to Pedey. I think this is a great day for him and [wife] Kelli, but I also think it is a great day for our organization. Everybody is to be congratulated. With the six-year contract, I feel like I got a bump in salary because of his cribbage skills.”

Lucchino: On behalf of John Henry, Tom Werner, and the entire Red Sox organization, I want to say that we are thrilled that Dustin has chosen to extend his contract with Boston Red Sox. Dustin’s style of play and tremendous work ethic have quickly made him a fan favorite throughout the city of Boston and all across Red Sox Nation. He plays with a kind of gritty determination that serves as an inspiration not only to his teammates but to Red Sox fans of all ages, and we believe Dustin will play a key role in helping to bring more championships to Fenway Park in the years to come.”

You have to love Tito saying he’s getting a raise from this as well. As you should know by now, Tito and Pedroia play cribbage before every game and obviously a small amount of money is exchanged. Maybe now Tito raises the stakes a little bit.

It truly is a great signing for the Red Sox though. They bought out his last pre-arbitration year plus his 3 arbitration years and two years of free agency for a price that fits into the market for young players. You also have to love the committment of Pedroia who doesn’t really care about the money (don’t get me wrong, he’s getting paid handsomely).

David Ortiz may be the voice of the Red Sox but Pedroia is the face of the Red Sox. His work off the field and his play on the field is an inspiration to those who are graced to watch him on a daily basis. I can only imagine how much smack talk Pedroia will be doing at API in Arizona this winter.

The Baseball Hall of Fame ballots are out and former Red Sox great Jim Rice has one final try at gaining enshrinement in Cooperstown. He garnered over 70% of the vote last season and should get in. Anything can happen though but I will say that Rice deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Former Red Sox first baseman Mo Vaughn is a first-timer on the ballot this year.

Even Justin Masterson doesn’t know right now whether he’ll be starting or relieving for the Red Sox next season.

“As far as where that’s put me, I think it continues to leave me in the same spot that I have always been in,” Masterson wrote in an e-mail addressing the Ramírez trade. “That whether I will be starting or relieving is still up in the air.

“I don’t really think I’ll have much of an understanding of what it will be until I get to spring training and we go through that process. I will be coming in with the mindset of a starter just because it’s easier to go from that to reliever than think I’ll be a reliever and then move to a starter.”

One thing’s for certain, Masterson will definitely have some sort of role here. Personally, I think even if with the Ramirez trade, they should keep Masterson in the bullpen.

Baseball Winter Meetings start on Monday in Las Vegas and the Red Sox have some money to spend.

Tickets for the 2009 Pawtucket Red Sox season will go on sale Saturday and the prices will be the same as they were in 2008.

John Sickels has a look at the top 20 Red Sox prospects for 2009.

My apologies for the lateness of the morning UConn Huskies roundup post. I had some personal things to tend to this morning and I’m back now playing a little catch up here on the site.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they will play their final game before taking an 11 day break for final exams as the Holy Cross Crusaders come to Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM and the game will be televised locally on CPTV.

The UConn women have plenty of long range options.

Freshman Caroline Doty has earned the nickname “Bang-Bang” and high praise to start her career.

John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant has more on Caroline Doty.

Transfer Jessica McCormack has returned to practice after resting her sore Achilles tendon.

Geno Auriemma is expecting a chess match from the Crusaders tonight.

Holy Cross will have a tough time matching up with the Huskies tonight.

Sheri Coale’s hand bag is going for more money than Geno Auriemma’s tie.

Rich Elliot of the Connecticut Post has a look at the numbers for tonight’s matchup with Holy Cross.

The Walter Camp of the Year Award finalists were announced and with no surprises, UConn RB Donald Brown wasn’t among them.

Randy Edsall reiterated that he has no interest in the Syracuse head coaching job.

Aaron Bryant will cherish the memories of being a walk-on for the UConn football team.

Chip Malafronte of the New Haven Register has some notes from yesterday’s press conference as does John Silver of the Journal Inquirer.

Glen Mourning will not be returning to the UConn football team next season.

There is very little at stake for the Huskies in Saturday’s finale.

Rob Lunn checks in again with another “mustache” entry over at Thoughts From a Fat White Guy.

Representatives from the Sun Bowl will be on hand for Saturday’s game.

The press is back for the UConn men’s basketball team.

Gavin Edwards is working hard to keep his role for the UConn men.

It’s a blast from the past for the UConn men.

Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant has some travel day notes for the UConn men.

Craig Austrie and Jerome Dyson will arrive in Buffalo just before game time due to academic reasons.

David Gillett has UConn at the top of his Big East power rankings.

The UConn men’s hockey team lost to Sacred Heart 5-3.

UConn women’s field hockey player Melissa Gonzalez was featured in this week’s SI Faces in the Crowd.

While the formal announcement will come at 3 PM this afternoon, the Boston Red Sox have signed AL MVP Dustin Pedroia to a 6-year $40.5 million contract.

The contract buys out the rest of his arbitration years and also his first two years of free agency. He will also receive a signing bonus of $1.5 million.

He will receive the following salaries for the length of the contract:

• 2009 – $1.5 million
• 2010 – $3.5 million
• 2011 – $5.5 million
• 2012 – $8 million
• 2013 – $10 million
• 2014 – $10 million
• Club option
  2015 – $11 million (or a $500,000 buyout)

Here are some notes about the deal from Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe.

• If the Red Sox exercise the option, Pedroia’s contract will be worth $51 million over seven years, an average of just under $7.3 million per season. Without the option, the deal is worth an average of $6.75 million, which immediately becomes Pedroia’s average annual salary from 2009 to 2014. That $6.75 million is the number which will be used in the formula to determine the Sox’ payroll for luxury tax purposes.
• The option will increase to $13 million if Pedroia wins another MVP at any point over the next six years. Anytime he finishes in the top three of the voting, his option would increase by $1 million each time, capping at $13 million. At most, barring award incentives, the deal could be worth $53 million over seven years.

As Massarotti said, this is a great deal for Pedroia and the Red Sox. It gives Pedroia the security and allows the Red Sox to wrap Pedroia up at a fairly reasonable price.

It does make you wonder if the Red Sox will give Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Papelbon contract extensions as well.