When you look back to the 2007-08 season for the UConn Huskies, rarely ever would you find Jerome Dyson’s name as the leading scorer. You’d expect it to be A.J. Price, Hasheem Thabeet or Jeff Adrien. Then of course there is the off court incident that saw him get suspended.

It appears that Dyson has put his past transgressions behind and is out to prove that he can play some ball as his 21 points helped the No. 2 Huskies to a 76-57 win over the No. 19 Wisconsin Badgers to capture the 2008 Paradise Jam title in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Dyson also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals for UConn (5-0). Jeff Adrien had 14 points and 8 rebounds while freshman Kemba Walker chipped in with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals. He did have 7 turnovers though. Thabeet was named the Paradise Jam MVP and added 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

Keaton Nankivil was the only Badgers (4-1) player in double figures with 11 points. Marcus Landry had 9 points and 5 rebounds while Trevon Hughes and Jon Leuer also added 9 points. Joe Krabbenhoft pulled down a team-high 6 rebounds.

The two teams exchanged baskets early on before the Badgers took a 5 point lead at 14-9. Four straight points by Dyson cut the lead to 1 but a Jason Bohannon 3-pointer pushed the lead back to 4 points. They would get it to 5 points at 24-19 before a 8-0 run by the Huskies would give them the lead for good. The 8-0 run was actually part of an 18-4 run to close out the first half as the Huskies would take a 38-28 lead into the locker room.

Down ten points at 42-32, the Badgers went on an 11-3 run to get with in 2 points but they would get no closer the rest of the way as the Huskies used a 7-0 run and increased their defensive pressure in leaving the Badgers in their dust.

A very successful tournament for the Huskies as they beat two ranked opponents and saw different styles of basketball in each game. They were able to adjust and make the adjustments but ultimately forced their style of basketball on their opponents.

Next up for the Huskies is the Bryant University Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at 1 PM at the XL Center. The game will be broadcast locally on My-TV9.

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Earlier in the day, I passed along an update from Patrick Newman over at NPB Tracker that Japanese free agent Junichi Tazawa had supposedly decided on signing with the Boston Red Sox. It does now appear that this is the case in this update from Newman.

Multiple Japanese media sources (Nikkan Sports, Mainichi, Sponichi) are reporting that Junichi Tazawa is set to sign with the Red Sox as early as December 1. Eneos manager Ohkubo is quoted as saying, “It felt like Tazawa is done negotiating with other teams”.

According the Nikkan Sports piece, Boston’s development plan was an important selling point for Tazawa. Also from Nikkan Sports, Tazawa is set to terminate his contract with the Japan Amateur Association, freeing him up to sign with an MLB organization.

As I said earlier, this is a low risk proposition for the Red Sox. You can amount it to a signing bonus for a #1 draft pick. If Tazawa is all that he’s cracked up to be, he should flourish in the Red Sox minor league system. Portland will be a good place to start because if you can pitch in the Eastern League, you can pitch in the big leagues.

It also goes to show you that you don’t need to overpay someone when Tazawa’s best offer was a 4-year $7 million deal from the Texas Rangers. He had also received a 4-year 5 $4-5 million deal from the Atlanta Braves. The Seattle Mariners had the same offer as the Red Sox, 3-years $3 million.

The three finalists for the Doak Walker Award were announced this afternoon and UConn Huskies running back Donald Brown was not among them. Instead, Michigan State’s Javon Ringer, Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno and Iowa’s Shonn Greene were chosen.

“For me, that’s a disappointment because I think he should be,” coach Randy Edsall said. “He’s the leading rusher in the country; he’s up there (among the best). What else would you have to do? Just because he’s not from a big-name school, a supposed big-name school? He has more yards than them, probably more carries (and) more touchdowns; that is kind of surprising to me. That’s the way it is. He’ll just go about his business and keep working hard and try to help his team win.”

The Doak Walker Award is presented to top running back in the country which right now at least statistically Brown is.

Despite just 98 yards last night, Brown is still leading the country in rushing at 148.63 yards per game. He has scored 16 touchdowns this season. Greene is second on the list at 144.08 ypg and has 17 touchdowns. Ringer is third on the list with 132.50 ypg and has 21 touchdowns.

Where’s Moreno you ask? Moreno is the 13th leading rusher in the country at 113.09 ypg and 15 touchdowns.

Obviously statistics don’t mean a thing for the people who choose this award and it’s a crying shame.

According to Patrick Newman of NPB tracker, Japanese free agent Junichi Tazawa has already decided to accept the offer from the Boston Red Sox and that he will officially sign in December.

Sponichi has published a detailed account of the contract Boston offered to Junichi Tazawa. The article also quotes ”They want me to come over, and I understand how I can develop. I feel like it’s a good team”. Nikkan Sports is reporting that Tazawa has already decided on the Red Sox, and says that he’ll be able to officially sign at the beginning of December.

Highlights of the contract:

• 3 year, $3M contract (that’s $1M/year)
• Major League contract
• start off at class AA
• remain a starter
• personal translator

For the Red Sox this is a low risk proposition that could end up showing some fruitful rewards. For Tazawa, it’s a chance to develop the right way in one of the best minor league systems in all of baseball. If he ends up officially signing with the Red Sox, he could work his way up quick through the Red Sox system.

According to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, the Boston Red Sox have initially offered Jason Varitek a 1-year contract.

According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the Red Sox’ initial contract offer to free agent catcher Jason Varitek this offseason was for one year. It was not determined what the monetary worth of the offer would be, although indications were that it didn’t approach the annual average commanded by Jorge Posada ($13.1 million). Varitek’s agent, Scott Boras, referenced the Yankee catcher’s contract as an appropriate point of reference when assessing his client’s worth at the General Managers’ meetings early this month. Red Sox officials refused comment on the negotiations, while Varitek’s representatives did not respond to inquiries on the matter.

I know the Red Sox have values that they place on the free agents but to me this is a slap in the face to Varitek. I figured the Red Sox initial offer would have been 2 years.

Update: Scott Boras stated the Red Sox have not talked to him about Tek at all.

“I’ve had no financial discussions with (Red Sox GM) Theo (Epstein) regarding Jason Varitek,” said Boras

We all know how honest Boras and agents are.

It’s game night for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they will take on the Wisconsin Badgers in the finals of the Paradise Jam. Tip-off is scheduled for around 8:30 PM and the game will televised on the Fox Sports Net.

Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant has some postgame notes from the win over Miami yesterday for the men’s basketball team.

Hasheem Thabeet’s good friend Jack McClinton lit up the Huskies for 27 points yesterday.

David Gillett says Hasheem Thabeet had a colossus effort yesterday.

Chip Malafronte of the New Haven Register, Neill Ostrout of the Connecticut Post, Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant and John Silver of the Journal Inquirer all have their postgame notebooks from last night’s loss to South Florida.

The UConn football team fell out of the Big East race with their loss to South Florida last night.

There were plenty of penalties on the Bulls and Huskies last night.

Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant has a look at what went right and what wrong for the Huskies last night.

Jeff Jacobs of the Hartford Courant says last night’s game was so bad it was interesting.

Robbie Frey has been big for the Huskies on special teams this year.

Rich Elliott of the Connecticut Post has some more notes from the UConn women’s thrashing of Rhode Island on Saturday.

John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant explains why Jessica McCormack can’t travel with the Huskies.

The UConn women have played unselfishly to start the season.

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

Three members of the UConn women’s soccer team will be participating in the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Soccer Association Senior Bowl on December 7th.

It was a game that South Florida desperately needed to win. For the UConn Huskies, it was a game that was needed to keep their slim Big East title hopes alive and a chance at a better bowl game.

In the end, it was the South Florida Bulls who came out on top as they got a 4th quarter touchdown run for Jamar Taylor to beat Huskies 17-13 in front of 42,422 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL.

The loss for the Huskies drops them to 7-4 and 3-3 in the Big East while the Bulls are now 7-4 and 2-4 in conference. Even though the Bulls were bowl eligible, this win pretty much guarantees them a spot in the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl. For the Huskies, it could be a trip to Toronto or parts unknown.

To be honest with you, I didn’t really see that great of an effort from the Huskies tonight. If anything, I’d call their play uninspiring except maybe for the flea-flicker touchdown pass from Tyler Lorenzen to Ellis Gaulden. When the Huskies are unable to run the ball, their limited passing game with Lorenzen at the helm suffers.

The Huskies came into the game knowing that rushing yards would be hard to come by against the No. 5 rushing defense in the country. The Huskies brought in the nation’s leading rusher in Donald Brown so something had to give. And in the end it was UConn’s running game that lost out as the Bulls held Brown to 96 yards, his first game under 100 all season.

Once again the special teams of head coach Randy Edsall’s squad failed him as the Bulls took the opening kickoff back 70 yards to set up the short field. The Bulls captialized on the short field to take a 7-0 lead out of the gate. After a field goal late in the first half, the swiss cheese kickoff team of UConn gave up a 71 yard return. This time they were bailed out when Aaron Bagsby picked off Matt Grothe at the 2 yard line.

I’d love to question the play calling of UConn because to me it didn’t seem like they knew what they were doing at times. Edsall and offensive coordinator Rob Ambrose didn’t do enough to help out Brown. They rarely called any play action at all to maybe try and fool the defense. Other than the flea flicker it was really an uninspiring night from the Huskies.

Sure they showed heart and they never gave up. The fumble by Lorenzen was huge late in the 4th quarter. Could the call have gone either way? Sure but with the ruling on the field being a fumble and not down by contact, the evidence wasn’t clear enough to over turn the call.

Either way, the Huskies need to play better football. They have one game left against Pittsburgh and a likely bowl appearance.  They will need to play inspired ball on Senior Day to have a chance against Pittsburgh.

Scoring:

1st quarter

USF – Benjamin Williams 3 yard run (Maikon Bonani PAT) – USF 7 UConn 0

2nd quarter

USF – Bonani 29 yard field goal – USF 10 UConn 0

CON – Dave Teggart 21 yard field goal – USF 10 UConn 3

3rd quarter

CON – Tyler Lorenzen 43 yard pass to Ellis Gaulden (Teggart PAT) – UConn 10 USF 10

4th quarter

USF – Jamar Taylor 25 yard run (Bonani  PAT) – USF 17 UConn 10

CON – Teggart 35 yard field goal – USF 17 UConn 13

Offensive Player of the Game:

Just pick a player who had good stats. I really don’t think anyone deserved player of the game in my humble opinion.

Defensive Player(s) of the Game:

UConn Huskies linebacker Scott Lutrus was everywhere tonight as he had 14 tackles (12 solo and 2 assisted).

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

With USF up 17-13 and UConn driving with ease midway through the 4th quarter, a fumble by Tyler Lorenzen when he was going to the ground and a recovery by the Bulls killed the Huskies momentum for the rest of the game.

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Hasheem Thabeet was the man for the No. 2/2 UConn Huskies tonight as his double-double helped them to a 76-63 win over the No. 16/17 Miami Hurricanes to advance to the finals of the Paradise Jam. They will take on the Wisconsin Badgers who beat the San Diego Toreros in the late game.

Thabeet had 19 points, 14 rebounds and 7 blocked shots to lead the Huskies. A.J. Price also added his own double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and added 5 assists. Jerome Dyson chipped in with 12 points and Kemba Walker added 11 points off the bench.

For the Hurricanes, Jack McClinton had a game-high 27 points and pulled down 5 boards. The only other Hurricane in double-figures was Dwayne Collins who had 16 points and 14 rebounds. Cyrus McGowan added 8 points in the losing effort.

The Huskies got off to a quick start as they got out a 24-7 lead on the strength of a 16-0 run. During the run, the Hurricanes missed 18 straight shots and were held scoreless for 9 minutes. The Huskies pushed the lead to 33-14 before a 17-2 run by the Hurricanes cut the UConn lead to just 4 points at 35-31. UConn responded by scoring the final 4 points of the half to take an 8 point lead into the locker room.

In the first 7 minutes of the second half, UConn got the lead back up to 15 points before the Canes responded to get the lead back under 10 points. Thabeet then hit two old fashioned 3 point plays to put UConn back up 13 points. The lead went to 17 points behind Thabeet and Price before Miami went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 8 points at 69-61 with under 4 minutes to go. The Huskeis stayed strong down the stretch making their free throws and hitting key shots to get the win.

It was a good win for the Huskies who showed their poise by not completely giving in when things got tough. It is concerning to see them lose their big leads but this is a more experienced UConn team that can handle this sort of situation.

Quick turn around for the Huskies as they get set to play the Badgers in the finals of the Paradise Jam tomorrow night at 8:30 PM.

Miami Hurricanes @ UConn Huskies 11.23.08 Paradise Jam semifinals box score

Ladies and gentlemen please
Would you bring your attention to me?
For a feast for your eyes to see
An explosion of catastrophe

Like nothing you’ve ever seen before
Watch closely as I open this door
Your jaws will be on the floor
After this you’ll be begging for more

Welcome to the show
Please come inside
Ladies and gentlemen

Ladies and Gentleman Saliva

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