The Butler Did It, Caron Kills Celtics

Caron killed them - Getty PhotoThe Washington Wizards used a 25-6 run in the final quarter to erase a 14 point Boston Celtics lead on their way to an 88-83 win at the TD BankNorth Garden in Boston.

The loss was the second in-a-row, with the back-to-back loses coming at the hands of the Wizards, and 3rd in their last four games as the Celtics dropped to 30-6 on the season. It is the first losing streak of the year.

Former UConn Husky Caron Butler was the guy who did the Green in when he pushed Paul Pierce away and hit a runner in the lane with 19.8 seconds left to give the Wiz an 84-83 lead. Butler had 21 points and Antawn Jamison added 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Curt Schilling wearing his 2004 World Series ring and his wife, Shonda, looking good courtside. - Getty PhotoThe Celtics, had a chance to tie in the waning seconds but another UConn product Ray Allen missed the three. The Green were led by Kevin Garnett who had 23 points, 9 boards and 6 assists, Pierce added 18 points and Allen had 16.

Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and his wife, Shonda, took in the game courtside tonight.

The Celtics will try to snap the skid at home against Portland on Wednesday.

As The Santana Turns – Are They or Aren’t They?

As The Santana Turns @ SOX & Dawgs

Now you will understand why I gave the whole Johan Santana trade talks a soap opera name because it’s turning into one.

Earlier this morning, there was a report that the Yankees had withdrawn their offer for Santana.

For the second time this offseason, the Yankees have pulled their Phil Hughes-centered trade offer for Johan Santana off the table. The Yankees, then, will not restart trade talks with the Twins unless Hank Steinbrenner has another change of heart, a baseball official with knowledge of the talks told 1050 ESPN Radio’s Andrew Marchand.

The Yankees’ desire Monday to turn their attention away from the two-time Cy Young winner leaves Boston and the New York Mets as Minnesota’s trade partners, the official told Marchand.

Then Hank Steinbrenner opened his mouth again tonight outside of Legends Field in Tampa.

“It’s still in the deciding process. We’re still discussing it. There’s still a little talk back and forth.”

“There wasn’t an official offer anyway. You can’t withdraw something that wasn’t there,” Steinbrenner said. “There was no official offer on the table at this time.

The Mets and Red Sox still have interest in acquiring the left-hander as well.

All I can say is that Minnesota needs to decide if they are going to trade him or keep him. This shi* is getting ridiculous.

Paw Prints – Roundball & Gridiron News

Paw Prints @ SOX & Dawgs

If you didn’t see the UConn men’s game on Saturday versus Georgetown or haven’t read my recap or any other media recap, you didn’t know that head coach Jim Calhoun missed Saturday’s game with flu-like symptoms.

According to the various media outlets in the state here, Calhoun’s wife, Pat, accompanied him to the UConn Health Center on Saturday night when the team returned home. Calhoun was checked out and released that night and that time, they weren’t sure whether or not Calhoun would be at practice today. The team had yesterday off.

Those same media outlets reported today that Calhoun was not at the 9:30 AM practice this morning and that he had stayed home to rest. There is no word if he’s expected at practice tomorrow or will be well enough to coach on Thursday. My guess is that after a few days of rest and fluids, he will be back on the sidelines.

Tyvon Branch breaks up a pass - AP PhotoI had hoped to show you some of the stats accumulated by the UConn players in the Hula Bowl on Saturday but unfortunately there was no stat crew at the game. Yes I am serious.

There were only a couple thousand fans in 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium. Some players complained about overcrowded hotel rooms. In the press box, there was no statistics crew, let alone a bowl representative.

I can tell you that both Donald Thomas and Tyvon Branch played in the game. Thomas did suffer a minor injury but returned to the game later.

If you have CSTV on your cable system or satelitte dish, don’t forget to check out UConn’s Danny Lansanah in the 2nd annual Texas Vs. The Nation Collegiate All-Star Bowl on February 2nd. The game will take place at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX, at 5:00 PM ET.

Maya Moore picked up her fourth Big East Women’s Freshman of the Week award for the week ending 1/12. Moore averaged 24 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the Huskies two wins last week. Tina Charles was named to the Big East Honor Roll as well for her efforts last week.

Red Sox News & Notes – 1/14

Red Sox News & Notes @ SOX & Dawgs

After serving a 24-hour suspension for failure to report some relevant Red Sox news, I am glad to say I am back. In all seriousness though, I had meant to post about the charity autograph signing the Red Sox rookies were going to hold today and lucky for me it was canceled due to the snowstorm that came through New England late last night and today. I can say that down here in West Haven, CT, we didn’t get any snow at all.

With the cancellation of the autograph signing today, the Red Sox have rescheduled the charity autograph signing until Wednesday, January 16th. It will take place from 4:45 to 5:30 PM and will still be held at the Official Red Sox Team Store on Yawkey Way. To get an autograph, you will need to make a donation of $20 to the Red Sox Foundation. This will entitle you to an autograph of each player that’s participating.

The players expected to participate include pitchers Clay Buchholz, Devern Hansack, Michael Bowden, Hunter Jones, Justin Masterson, and Dustin Richardson; catcher Dusty Brown; infielders Aaron Bates, Chris Carter and Jed Lowrie; and outfielders Bubba Bell and Jonathan Van Every

Also, if you are interested to know where the offseason improvements are at, check out this video.

Chargers – Patriots, Round 2

Ron Burgundy, KVWN Channel 4 Newsteam

“Good evening. I’m Ron Burgundy and here’s what happening in your world tonight.”

The New England Patriots will host the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship game Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. These two teams are not strangers to each other as the Patriots eliminated the Chargers in the AFC Divisional round last season with a 24-21 win at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. This year the two clubs met in Week 2 in Foxboro. It was the first game after the camera incident and a nationally televised game in which the Patriots whipped the Chargers 38-14. Here’s some of what Sox & Dawgs wrote on the game:

“May I have your attention! I have just been handed an important news bulletin…….” The Patriots whip the Chargers, 38-14 at Gillette Stadium in front of a national television audience and improve to 2-0. The Chargers drop to 1-1. You know the old saying, “You mess with the bull, you get the horns” well that applies here as LaDainian Tomlinson and the rest of the whiney cry baby Chargers got their asses kicked up and down the field tonight. This should show teams to just shut their mouths and play the game on the field. Have fun on that long ass, late night plane ride back to California. The Patriots battle cry. Camera’s? We don’t need no stinking camera’s. Folks this team is pretty damn good, in fact it may be the best team they’ve ever had and that’s saying a lot.

I guess I was pretty succinct. Continue reading →

Patriots Lose Director Of College Scouting

New England Patriots Director of College Scouting Thomas Dimitroff has been named the new general manager of the Atlanta Falcons. 

hey Falcons fans here's your new GM, maybe someone can find him a comb.Dimitroff was one of six candidates for the job that included Philadelphia Eagles general manager Tom Heckert, Chris Mara who is the New York Giants president of player evaluation, a pair of Green Bay scouting officials, director of pro personnel Reggie McKenzie and personnel analyst John Schneider, as well as Indianapolis Colts vice president of football operations, Chris Polian.

Dimitroff, replaces former general manager Rich McKay who stepped down from that position but will continue as the team president, and his first order of business will be to help in the selection of a new head coach.

Dimitroff has been with the Patriots for six years. He joined the franchise in 2002 as a national scout and then was named director of college scouting a year later.  He also worked nine seasons in the scouting departments of the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.

Dimitroff isn’t a sexy selection for the general manager’s job but he is widely respected as a talent evaluator and that should help the Falcons greatly as they try to rebuild.

Picking Up The Blitz Ver 2.3

I heard the other day that a 30 second televsion ad for the Super Bowl is going to cost $2.7 million.   That’s $90,000 a second.  If Ian and I gave them like $9 and some change do you think we could get 1/10,000 of a seconds worth of ad time?  You know just a quick flash of the blog name. 

Red Sox News & Notes – 1/13

Red Sox News & Notes @ SOX & Dawgs

Good article in the Boston Herald about the state of the Red Sox bench for the upcoming season. As we all know, Doug Mirabelli was re-signed by the Sox this week as Jason Varitek’s backup. Also on the bench is either Coco Crisp or Jacoby Ellsbury for the backup outfielder position. Alex Cora is the backup middle infielder. So what is needed?

Well for starters the Red Sox will need a backup first baseman and/or a left-handed bat off the bench.

“There is a good chance that we’ll acquire one or two more complementary players to round out our bench,” general manager Theo Epstein acknowledged by e-mail late last week, shortly after the club reached an agreement with backup catcher Doug Mirabelli. “With our depth in center field, we should be in a position to have speed and outfield defense available off the bench. (Alex) Cora is dependable protecting our middle infield and adds a lot to the club.

“We may sign a left-handed bat to give us depth in the corner infield, but with (Brandon) Moss learning to play first and (Kevin) Youkilis able to slide to third base, we do have some protection. By the time all is said and done, we should have a bench comparable to what we’ve had here in the past.”

Taking a look at the remaining left-handed free agents at first base, the crop isn’t that deep. Sean Casey, Eric Hinske, Ryan Klesko and Brad Wilkerson is all that remains. Very slim pickings.

If Moss isn’t ready to play first at the start of the season, it is conceivable that he could start the year in Pawtucket to learn the craft a little more and be an insurance  policy down the road should an injury happen.

I am not worried though as Theo said, the bench will be similar to ones in the past and we all know they were pretty decent. I know some don’t like Mirabelli as Tek’s backup but considering the alternatives, it’s really not that bad having Mirabelli back there.