The Red Sox are one of the two major players in talks with the Minnesota Twins about some pitcher they have named Johan Santana or something like that. The Twins are asking for Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz and some other prospects in exchange for Santana. The Red Sox don’t want to part with Ellsbury and have been offering the Twins, Coco Crisp.

So what does this mean for us in Red Sox Nation? It means that we will continue hear different rumors of players that may or may not be with the Sox next year. It could turn out the Yankees sweep the Twins off their feet with an offer or maybe even the Mets. What I do know is that the winter meetings are on horizon, starting Monday in Nashville and the rumors will get even hotter until then.

Other than that, things are pretty quiet. Big Papi anticipates he will be ready for spring training as he starts his rehab from the knee surgery he recently underwent.

There was a pretty good article from Yahoo! Sports about the best GM in the game on Tuesday, Theo Epstein and that will lead off our links for this Wednesday morning.

Two Series titles evidence of growing Theo-logy [Yahoo! Sports]

Wanted: Santana [Boston Herald]

Steinberg is joining Dodgers as marketer [Pro Jo]

Boston slugger David Ortiz anticipates quick rebound from surgery [AP via Boston Globe]

As goes Steinberg so goes Larry? Sox brass in flux [Boston Herald]

Life is good for Lebron James as he had a big hand in giving the Boston Celtics their second loss of the year as the Cleveland Cavs all-world player had 38 points including a big three pointer and 6 made free throws in overtime during the Cavaliers 109-104 win Tuesday night in Cleveland.

James scored 11 of the Cavs 17 points in OT to give Cleveland their fourth win in a row as they improved to 9-6 on the year but more importantly it was a good win against a quality conference opponent. He also added 13 assists. Drew Gooden had a season-high 24 points and 13 rebounds and Zydrunas Ilguaskus had 15 points and 14 boards as Cleveland’s top trio all had double-double’s.

Boston’s Ray Allen led the Green with 29 points. Kevin Garnett had 19 and Paul Pierce added 16 in a losing cause. Rookie Glenn Davis chipped in with 8 points in 6 minutes off the bench.

The Celtics return home on Thursday to face Isaiah Thomas’ New York Knicks, the game will be broadcast nationally on TNT. I don’t believe the Celtics were on TNT at all last season. If you’re going to the game make sure you keep any females you care about away from Thomas and the area of the Knicks bench.

The New England Patriots just announced that they have placed linebacker Rosevelt Colvin on IR with a foot injury, ending his season. He suffered the foot injury in Sunday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots re-signed linebacker Chad Brown to replace Colvin on the roster.

The Patriots also announced that they have activated Troy Brown from the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. Brown will take the spot of rookie defensive lineman, Kareem Brown, who was released.

It’s official UConn Huskies football fans. They are heading to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, NC on December 29th to face an unknown opponent from the ACC. The game will be carried on ESPN. It looks as though it will either be Wake Forest or Florida State.

UConn head coach Randy Edsall was very happy about the decision:

“We are ecstatic to have been selected to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl,”UConn head coach Randy Edsall said. “We were almost picked to play in Charlotte in 2004 and 2005 and I am excited that we will have this opportunity in 2007. This game will be an ideal way to cap off an exciting season of firsts here at UConn. The Meineke Car Care Bowl presents us with an opportunity to play against a good team from the Atlantic Coast Conference in a wonderful city and a top-notch NFL stadium. We greatly look forward to the challenge that our ACC opponent will bring and I know that our team, our fans and myself all eagerly await traveling to Charlotte next month.”

Meineke Car Care Bowl director, Will Webb added this statement:

“We are very excited to invite the University of Connecticut to the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl. We were able to secure the second place team in the Big East Conference, which is a great achievement for UConn and for the Bowl. The Huskies fans also have a proven history of supporting their athletic teams. That enthusiasm should carry over to the streets of Charlotte during the Uptown Street Festival and Pep Rally. Once again, the Meineke Car Care Bowl will be an excellent opportunity for fans to experience an exciting and competitive college bowl game.”

I am sure right now Cincinnati Bearcats fans are in an uproar. If you’ve had a chance to check out the message boards over at the Meineke Car Care Bowl forum, they have been ripping UConn to shreds all day. But in the end the Husky fans will have the last laugh as it looks like Cincinnati will be heading to Birmingham, AL to play in the PapaJohns.com Bowl on December 22nd. South Florida accepted a bid to the Brut Sun Bowl earlier in the afternoon.

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From Chip Malafronte of the New Haven Register:

UConn press conference scheduled for 4:30 today. Sources confirmed its the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

So it’s Charlotte against an undetermined opponent as of right now. I will have more on this after the official announcement.

Lots of Red Sox news to get to this afternoon (better late than never huh).

Last night, MLB held their premiere for the “2007 World Series Film” and Matt Damon provided the punch-line at the end:

“The Red Sox are 2007 World Champions,” the Cambridge homey, Red Sox fanatic and DVD narrator announced, “Suck on it New York!”

Manny Delcarmen, Curt Schilling, Larry Lucchino, Terry Francona and a host of others joined Red Sox Nation at the Wang Theatre to watch the film last night. Schilling wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion as he showed up in a flannel shirt and jeans. Francona also announced that the pitchers and catchers will report on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) and their first workout will be on Feb. 16th. The first full-squad workout will be on February 22nd and the team will leave for Japan on March 18th.

Playoff shares were announced yesterday by MLB and the Red Sox 47 full shares will each receive $308,235.75. For some of the younger Red Sox players, that is as much they make in the season. And for others in the organization, that is life changing money. Schilling said it appropriately:

“I know there have been times in the past where shares meetings have probably not been the most charitable event, but this is an incredible giving group of guys,” pitcher Curt Schilling said last night at the premiere of the Red Sox’ World Series DVD at the Wang Theater. “I think our shares meeting is kind of an extrapolation of how we feel about our family. I think we gave away something like 1.2 million rings (in 2004), but it was important to be very inclusive this time around. You hope as veterans you pass that along to players. I have no idea what the share amount was, but that’s life-changing money for guys that are our families – clubhouse guys, guys that work around the ballpark, that’s money that will change their lives forever.

Last but not least, Dr. Charles Steinberg has left the Red Sox to take the same position with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Champs opt to $hare [Boston Herald]

Loyalty not an act for this fan [Boston Globe]

Steinberg leaving Red Sox to take job with Dodgers [ProJo SoxBlog]

Damon a champion at bringing Sox crowd to its feet [Boston Herald]

Reporting dates adjusted for Japan trip [Boston Globe]

Red carpet night for the champs [Pro Jo]

I’m looking to sell this collectors edition Cal Ripken Beer Stein. The stein commemorates Ripken’s all-time consecutive games played streak while the Hall of Fame member played for the Orioles. Price $50 plus shipping costs. It was never used and only displayed the only marks are a few rub marks on the base. It is a limited edition and numbered, I just do not have the certificate. If you are interested in it email me at djstevem[at]gmail[dot]com.

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It turns out that the Cincinnati Bearcats athletic department has posted the following message to their fans in the scout.com forum:

Bearcats Need Your Help in Showing Fan Support to Meineke Car Care Bowl Committee

The Meineke Car Care Bowl is meeting on Tuesday, November 27 and will choose between Cincinnati, Connecticut, and Rutgers for the BIG EAST team that will face a representative of the ACC in the December 29 game, set for Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

Please take a moment to drop an e-mail with BRING THE BEARCATS TO CHARLOTTE in the subject line and send it to the following members of the Meineke Car Care Bowl Staff. We need you to show your support for the Bearcats and let them know that Cincinnati Football has a strong fan following.

Executive Director Will Webb – wwebb@raycomsports.com

Bowl Director George Johnson – gjohnson@raycomsports.com

Media Relations Director Frank Kay – fkay@raycomsports.com

Thanks for your great support throughout the 2007 season and throughout the upcoming postseason where the Bearcats will be chasing the second 10-win season in school history.

So you know what that means Huskies fans. It’s time to start our own grassroots campaign. The fans over at the Boneyard have already started sending in the emails and you can see what they have said by clicking here.

As a UConn fan, I implore you to send off emails to them. They are expecting the emails people so let’s get emailing. You can email each of them by clicking on their email address below.

Executive Director Will Webb – wwebb@raycomsports.com

Bowl Director George Johnson – gjohnson@raycomsports.com

Media Relations Director Frank Kay – fkay@raycomsports.com

My emails are sent off. So please get emailing people.

A very sad day today as Sean Taylor of the Washington Redskins has passed away from his injuries suffered in a burglary at home his home on Sunday night. Taylor was 24-years-old and is survived by his father, mother, step-mother and 1-year old daughter and other family members.

His girlfriend and daughter weren’t not injured in the apparent home invasion. The intruders fired two shots, one of which struck Taylor in the groin area, striking the femoral artery and causing major blood loss. He underwent hours of surgery but was unable to recover from his wounds.

This was a man who had been in trouble with the law but was turning his life around. It is a tragic event that this had to happen to someone with so much more life to live for.

My condolences go out to the entire Taylor family, his friends and his teammates with the Washington Redskins and the entire Redskins organization.