Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they’ll take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2014 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game in Nashville, TN. Tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN. You can also catch the game on your mobile device or tablet on WatchESPN. If you can’t watch the game and live locally in Connecticut, you can always listen to Bob Joyce and Debbie Fiske on the UConn IMG Radio Network.

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UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn Women’s 2014 National Championship Pregame Quotes [sox & dawgs]

UConn’s Stefanie Dolson Named WBCA Division I Defensive Player of the Year [sox & dawgs]

UConn’s Breanna Stewart Selected as Winner of the Naismith Trophy [sox & dawgs]

UConn and Notre Dame Square Off For National Championship Tuesday Night [uconn huskies]

Muffet lets loose on UConn, ‘hate’ not too strong a word [ct post]

Fightin’ Words: No Love Lost Between Notre Dame, UConn [hartford courant]

UConn Recruits Can’t Wait For Their Turn [hartford courant]

For Notre Dame’s McBride, A Shot At Redemption [hartford courant]

Big Date For UConn-ND, But One Will End Up With Ugly Blemish [hartford courant]

UConn-Notre Dame Biggest Women’s Game In 20 Years, Says One Expert [hartford courant]

UConn, Notre Dame rivalry gets chippy heading into title game [new haven register]

Notebook: Hartley, McBride ready to square off one last time [new haven register]

Hartley sets UConn mark for minutes played [sny uconn]

Ralph’s responsibility is scouting Irish [sny uconn]

UConn, ND take rivalry to new level [sny uconn]

40 from 40, Huskies eye ninth NCAA title [sny uconn]

Mutual respect between Hartley, McBride [sny uconn]

Huskies a win away from basketball history [the day]

Geno and Pat: Similiar results, different paths [the day]

A room with some stew(ing) [the day]

Undefeated UConn, Notre Dame in title game matchup to love and hate [sports illustrated]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Get Your 2014 UConn Huskies Men’s Basketball Championship Apparel [sox & dawgs]

Video: Shades of 2011 As UConn Huskies Win 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship [sox & dawgs]

UConn Men’s 2014 National Championship Postgame Quotes [sox & dawgs]

UConn Men Are the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions [sox & dawgs]

Video: 2014 One Shining Moment [sox & dawgs]

Welcome The 2014 National Champion UConn Men’s Basketball Team Home [sox & dawgs]

Nike Celebrates UConn’s Championship Victory [sox & dawgs]

UConn Huskies Men’s Basketball 2014 NCAA Championship Newspaper Covers [sox & dawgs]

Shabazz Napier 2014 UConn Huskies Men’s Basketball Championship SI Cover [sox & dawgs]

Video: UConn Basketball Wins 4th National Championship [sox & dawgs]

Video: Huskies Hound Cats And Cut Down Nets [sox & dawgs]

Video: Inside The Championship – UConn Postgame Reaction [sox & dawgs]

Video: UConn’s Ryan Boatright Talks Title [sox & dawgs]

UConn stuns Kentucky, wins national title [ct post]

The Huskies believed all the way to a national championship [ct post]

Ollie set the tone for UConn’s national title [ct post]

UConn students turn Gampel into a place of celebration [ct post]

CHAMPIONS! UConn Takes The Stairs To NCAA Mountaintop [hartford courant]

Late Run Is A Recruiting Gold Mine For UConn [hartford courant]

That’s Why They Call It The Boat Show [hartford courant]

After A Season Of Doubts, Believe In The UConn Men [hartford courant]

Huskies Climbed To Top Of World One Step At A Time [hartford courant]

UConn beats Kentucky to win fourth national title [new haven register]

Notebook: Shabazz Napier adds Bob Cousy Award to collection [new haven register]

These UConn Huskies were always there for each other [new haven register]

Students, Husky fans celebrate at Gampel Pavilion [new haven register]

Ollie, Napier deliver fourth national title [sny uconn]

Watch: Former Husky Richard Hamilton talks UConn title win [sny uconn]

Ollie: We are born for this [sny uconn]

UConn beats Kentucky 60-54 to win fourth NCAA championship [the day]

It was an emotional run for Boatright [the day]

Manuel plans to reward Huskies’ Ollie for a job well done [the day]

UConn Huskies 2014 National Champions [uconn huskies basketball]

Early mock sends UConn’s Napier to Wizards [csn washington]

Shabazz Napier leads UConn to NCAA title with win over Kentucky, tells world ‘This is what happens when you ban us’ [ny daily news]

The Connecticut Huskies sit on college basketball’s Iron Throne (and somewhere Jim Boeheim nods) [the post-standard]

Shabazz Napier slams NCAA in post-championship interview [usa today]

For Ryan Boatright, one bad step can’t prevent so many great ones [usa today]

UConn fan lost $100,000 bracket prize for the worst reason [usa today]

UConn’s men drew inspiration from women in their lives [usa today]

A Magical Season for the Huskies, and a Title to Boot [new york times]

Conference’s Snub Haunts UConn [new york times]

Shabazz Napier Now Stands Apart Among UConn Guards With 2 Rings [zags blog]

The Connecticut Huskies Are Champions. What do They Do Now? [forbes]

UConn Huskies complete turnaround with national title win over Kentucky [sports illustrated]

UCONN Huskies Mascot Gets Frisky During Celebration [black sports online]

The Top 5 UConn Huskies In School History [dime magazine]

UConn Football links

Diaco Expects Undivided Focus At UConn Practice [hartford courant]

Other UConn related links

Student Athletes In Labor Unions? Lawmaker Is Researching The Idea [hartford courant]

Baseball. UConn Baseball Geared Up For Midweek Action [uconn huskies]

The Red Sox made an interesting move when they signed journeyman infielder Ryan Roberts to play third base until Will Middlebrooks returns. The Roberts contract cost the Red Sox a million dollars, which isn’t a lot of money in baseball terms, but Middlebrooks ostensibly only has a calf strain. The recovery period for this injury should be a couple weeks of rest, a few at bats in Pawtucket, then a return to Boston by the end of the month.

So why would the Red Sox spend a million on a journeyman who, in this situation, is essentially a one month rental? Why not bring up Garin Cecchini, the 22 year old phenom who’s killing it in Pawtucket right now, for a cup of coffee in The Show?

Here are two possible answers to that question. First is that Cecchini isn’t ready: he’s only played 5 games of AAA ball after being in Portland last year, and he hit under .200 in Spring Training. Second answer regards Cecchini’s options: if the Red Sox keep him in the minors for 20 games in 2014, then they extend their control of his contract out to 2020. Given the gargantuan sums of cash being spent on free agents right now, spending $1 million now on a journeyman to ensure that you keep Cecchini under an extra year of control makes sense.

Still, it’s feasible that Cecchini could have been called up for a month to fill in for Middlebrooks, then sent back down to Pawtucket to get his 20 games in so the Red Sox can keep their 2020 option on him. Why shell out a million to a journeyman to do this job?

What makes the Ryan Roberts signing interesting is what it means for Middlebrooks. The Red Sox either know that Middlebrooks’ injury is worse than what’s being reported, or they are so disappointed with his performance that they are sending Middlebrooks a message: “Third base isn’t yours, you need to earn it.”

Middlebrooks has considerable power potential at the plate, but his MLB career thus far has been a disappointment. He’s made three trips to the DL in three seasons, and his stat line of .227 BA, .271 OBP with 17 HR last year would barely cut it if he was a catcher, but it’s unacceptable for a third baseman. If Middlebrooks provided a great glove then his troubles at the plate would be more palatable, but he made 10 errors in only 92 games last season.

For the Red Sox, it’s at the point where having a third baseman who can field well and have an OBP around .300 – .320 is more valuable than seeing if Middlebrooks can ever mature and become the ballplayer everyone wants to see.  Middlebrooks has shown flashes of greatness, but the Red Sox just spent a million on a player who could serve as the bridge to Cecchini. The team isn’t bleeping around anymore: It’s do or die time for Middlebrooks.

Fresh off winning the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship over the Kentucky Wildcats on Monday, UConn Huskies PG Shabazz Napier is featured on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated.

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