UConn Huskies women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma will be auctioning his ties that he wears during games for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.

Here’s a look at what went right and what went wrong in last night’s thrashing of BYU.

John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant has a look inside the numbers from last night’s win over BYU.

Joe Perez of the Norwich Bulletin has some thoughts about last night’s spanking of BYU

The last two head coaches of the opponents the UConn women play have had some NBA playing experience.

Jim Fuller of the New Haven Register tells us that former UConn women’s recruit Elena DelleDonne could be back in Connecticut for the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament.

Heather Buck’s parents have finally gotten cable television so they can catch the women’s basketball games.

Geno Auriemma is very high on the way Renee Montgomery is playing.

Joe Perez of the Norwich Bulletin heard back from the Big East about the hit on Tyler Lorenzen at the end of the loss to South Florida.

Rob Lunn checks in over at Thoughts From a Fat White Guy.

A.J. Prices’s mother gave Hasheem Thabeet a tongue-lashing on Friday night.

The UConn men plan to build off their success in the Paradise Jam.

The UConn men’s soccer team pulled off a 2-0 upset of the Virginia Cavaliers in the second round of the Men’s College Cup. They will now face Creighton University on Saturday or Sunday.

UConn men’s hockey player Chris Ochoa received Atlantic Hockey Honor Roll Honors for his performance last week.

The UConn women’s hockey team shutout Brown 4-0.

The UConn Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will be conducting toy drives at the men’s basketball game against Delaware State on December 1st and the women’s basketball game on December 3rd against Holy Cross.

When the Boston Red Sox announced their 2009 spring training schedule yesterday, they also announced the dates for pitchers and catchers to report along with the full squad.

Pitchers and catchers will report on February 12th, 2009 and they will hold their first workout on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. The fest of the team is scheduled to report on February 16th and the first full-squad workout will take place on February 18th.

All this means that spring training is just 78 days away for the Red Sox. I can tell you this, I can’t wait for it to start. It feels like it’s been a full year since we’ve seen the Red Sox play.

Some quick Jason Varitek news. His agent Scott Boras said that the Red Sox have expressed interest in bringing back their Captain but have not talked dollars and years yet.

“We’ve had no financial discussions with the team as of yet regarding Jason,” agent Scott Boras said. “We met briefly when the club expressed interest in bringing Jason back. And we told them we were interested in looking into it. It was something we agreed to discuss in the future. So I’m sure sometime after Thanksgiving we’ll sit down and talk about it.”

Something tells me that since this is taking a long time that Varitek may not be back in a Red Sox uniform. Just a gut feeling I have. I really think if he wanted to come back and the Red Sox wanted him back that a deal would have already been done.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox are exploring other options at catcher in case they can’t re-sign Tek.

Have the Red Sox made an offer to Mark Teixeira? According to Boras, he has received formal offers for Teixeira’s services. No word on what teams have made these formal offers. Of course then again, Boras could be lying about it. Only time will tell about this.

With the Clay Buchholz having a good Arizona Fall League, it’s quite likely he’ll compete for a spot on the Red Sox roster for next season. Of course if the Red Sox sign a free agent pitcher, he could be traded or spend the start of the season in the minors.

Red Sox director of player development Mike Hazen says the Red Sox are close to signing some minor league free agents to fill the rosters. They have already signed Paul McAnulty and Marcus McBeth. They’ve also re-signed Gil Velazquez.

The Red Sox stadium deal does not make sense for Lee County according to Ft. Myers councilman Warren Wright.

Jed Lowrie was a hit at an event he attended at his middle school he went to growing up.

It was all about the M&M girls tonight for the No.1 UConn Huskies as Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore combined for 36 points in a 96-47 thrashing of the BYU Cougars in front of 3,109 at the Marriott Center in Provo, UT.

Montgomery led the Huskies (4-0) in their first road of the game with 19 points, including 5-of-6 from 3-point land. Moore fell 3 assists of a double-double with 17 points, 14 rebound and 7 assists. She also added 2 steals and 3 blocks. Tina Charles added 13 points while Kalana Greene had 11 points. Lorin Dixon also had 11 points, which is a new career-high for her. Kaili McLaren rounded out the 6 Huskies in double figures with 10 points.

The Cougars (2-2) were paced by Mindy Nielson’s 14 points. Keilani Moeaki added 10 points and Coriann Woods chipped in with 9 points. Jazmine Foreman had a team-high 6 assists.

During last year’s game against the Cougars, the Huskies opened up the game with a 23-0 run on their way to an 80-34 win. This year it was a little different early on for the Cougars as they held strong tying the game at 7 on a Nielson layup. The Huskies followed that up with a 10-2 run and continued to expand their lead. BYU cut the lead back down to 13 with a 6-0 run before the Huskies went on an 11-3 run to take a 47-26 lead.  Nielson banked in a 3 at the buzzer to cut the UConn lead to 18 at the half.

The Huskies started the second half with a 28-7 run in the first 8 minutes of the second half to put the game way out of reach. Geno Auriemma then cleared out his bench as the reserves would outscore the Cougars 21-12 the rest of the game.

UConn’s defense continues to be outstanding as the Cougars had no answer for the relentless defensive pressure. The Huskies will need more of the same as next up for the Huskies is their first test of the season when the No. 4/4 Oklahoma Sooners come to Gampel Pavilion on Sunday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:15 PM and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

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The Boston Red Sox released their 37-game spring training schedule today that features 18 games at City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers, FL.

Tickets will also be available beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6 at the City of Palms Park box office, on www.redsox.com, or by calling 877-REDSOX9. Handicap accessible seating is also available by calling 877-REDSOX9. Ticket prices remain the same as they were in 2008.

2009 Boston Red Sox Spring Training ticket prices

• Standing Room – $10.00
• Lawn – $12.00
• Bleachers – $15.00
• Reserved Standing Room – $15.00
• Reserved Seats – $23.00
• Box Seats – $26.00
• Right Field Deck – $26.00
• Dugout Box-Row 2 – $36.00
• Dugout Box-Row 1 – $40.00
• Home Plate Box – $46.00

Here is the full 2009 Boston Red Sox spring training schedule.

SS – split squad games

Michael Tranghese, Commissioner of The BIG EAST Conference, in response to inquiries about the conference’s bowl selection procedures, has issued the following information:

The BIG EAST would like to clarify the guidelines for its bowl selection process. Recent public statements have created some confusion as to which teams are eligible to be selected.

After the BIG EAST’s representative for the Bowl Championship Series has been determined, either the Brut Sun Bowl or the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl may select a BIG EAST team or Notre Dame.

Teams that complete their regular seasons with 6-6 records may be selected only after it is assured that teams with winning records have received a bowl invitation under the conference’s affiliated bowls.

According to the 2008 NCAA Postseason Football Handbook, “In the case of conference contractual affiliation, all conference teams with winning records must be placed in one of the contracted bowl games before any institution with a record of six wins and six losses may be placed in a contracted bowl game.”

The BIG EAST has agreements with five bowl games in addition to the Bowl Championship Series. Currently, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and USF all have at least seven wins. Rutgers has six victories. If Rutgers reaches seven wins, there will be no opportunity in the BIG EAST bowl alignment for a 6-6 team.

Rutgers and Louisville meet on Thursday, Dec. 4, in the final regular-season game for both teams. If Rutgers wins, its record will be 7-5.

If Louisville wins, Rutgers and Louisville will finish 6-6, enabling a BIG EAST-affiliated bowl to select a 6-6 team. Notre Dame’s record is 6-5 with one game remaining, Nov. 29 at USC.

The BIG EAST has already received several inquiries from other bowls regarding the possibility of inviting a 6-6 BIG EAST team.

Press release courtesy of the Big East Conference

It’s game night for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they will take on the BYU Cougars tonight at 9 PM. The game will be televised locally on CPTV here in Connecticut.

The UConn women are a well-traveled group.

The UConn freshman are attracting a lot of attention.

The football game against Pittsburgh on December 6th is being held for a “six-day window”. This means ESPN is holding it until Sunday to see what happens this weekend before announcing the game time.

Where will the UConn Huskies football team land in a bowl game? Chip Malafronte of the New Haven Register, John Silver of the Journal Inquirer, Brian Bennett of ESPN.com.

The Huskies gave up some big plays in the loss to South Florida on Sunday night.

As we found out yesterday, Donald Brown is not among the finalists for the Doak Walker Award. Here’s a look at his numbers for the season.

Ellis Gaulden’s persistence paid off with his first career touchdown on Sunday night.

Tyler Lorenzen took a good hit to the head that should have been called a personal foul at the end of the game on Sunday night.

Rob Lunn has his thoughts about the loss to South Florida over at Thoughts From a Fat White Guy.

Paradise Jam MVP Hasheem Thabeet says UConn is about team and not individuals.

Former Husky Doug Wiggins was suspended by UMass after being arrested.

Former Husky Nate Mile’s court case was continued.

David Gillett has his take on last night’s win over Wisconsin.

Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant has some postgame extras.

Three UConn women’s field hockey players were named to the 2008 Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-America Teams.