Trevardo Williams & Chad Christen Honored By Big East

A nice pair of accolades for two members of the UConn Huskies football team who were part of the team's 23-20 triple-overtime upset win over the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday.

UConn Huskies footballSenior defense end Trevardo Williams was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week while junior kicker Chad Christen was named the Big East Special Teams Player of the Week.

Williams was tabbed as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week after he had seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks to key Connecticut’s defensive effort in the Huskies’ 23-20 triple-overtime win at No. 19/18 Louisville, keeping the Huskies in contention for bowl eligibility. He helped Connecticut hold Louisville to just 27 rushing yards, while the 20 points scored by Louisville were the fewest for the Cardinals this season. Williams has 30.5 sacks in his career, which puts him first among all active BIG EAST players and second among active players nationally.

Christen was named BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Week after he scored 11 points, going 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and 2-for-2 on PATs to help Connecticut to the triple-overtime win against Louisville, giving the Huskies their second win against a top-25 team in school history. Christen hit a 39-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 37-yard kick in the first overtime period before he ended the game with a 30-yard field goal in the third OT.

UConn is back in action on Saturday afternoon when they'll host the Cincinnati Bearcats. If the Huskies win, they'll become bowl-eligible.

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(information from the Big East press release was used in this post)

Patriots DE Jermaine Cunningham Suspended Four Games For PED’s

Jermaine Cunningham #96 of the New England Patriots chases Ryan Fitzpatrick #14 of the Buffalo Bills in the second half at Gillette Stadium on November 11, 2012 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

The NFL announced on Monday that New England Patriots DE Jermaine Cunningham has been suspended by the league for a violation of the drug policy.

Here's the release from the NFL:

Jermaine Cunningham of the New England Patriots has been suspended without pay for four games for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.

Cunningham’s suspension begins immediately. He will be eligible to return to the Patriots' active roster on Monday, December 24 following the team’s December 23 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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photo credit: getty images

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 11/26

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

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. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

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

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

Big East power rankings [andrea adelson – espn.com]

DC answered some questions in his mailbag [desmond conner – hartford courant]

Update on Chandler Whitmer, Trevardo Williams [jim fuller – new haven register]

Upset win sets stage for Saturday's regular-season finale [jim fuller – new haven register]

Former Husky wins Grey Cup [jim fuller – new haven register]

Chandler Whitmer’s status TBA [john silver – sny.com]

UConn football notebook: QB Whitmer sits out practice [ct post]

No Diagnosis On Chandler Whitmer's Injury, But He Rests Sunday [hartford courant]

UConn Football: Five Things We Learned [hartford courant]

Bowl eligibility within reach for Huskies [hartford courant]

UConn Women's Basketball links

Geno Auriemma’s New Deal Will Give Him Time To Make More History [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Impressions From Paradise Jam (Day 3): The Departure [john altavilla – hartford courant]

No Kidding, Geno Is Very Fond Of Stewie [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Turner Has UConn On Her List [rich elliott – ct post]

UConn Working On 5-Year Contract Extension For Auriemma [hartford courant]

UConn Men's Basketball links

Kevin Ollie: Niels Giffey Has Been My MVP All Year [david borges – new haven register]

Notes/Quotes from Stony Brook: “I want to praise (Giffey) as much as possible, so make sure you write that in your articles, OK?” [kevin duffy – ct post]

Post-game breakdown, video: Stony Brook [gavin keefe – the day]

It’s raining three’s [neill ostrout – journal inquirer]

UConn men: As Napier goes, so do the Huskies [john silver – sny.com]

Afterburners [uconn huskies basketball]

UConn men struggle past Stony Brook [ct post]

UConn needs the 3s [ct post]

UConn Men Use Strong Second Half To Top Stony Brook, 73-62 [hartford courant]

Napier's Habit Of Late-Game Reawakenings Must Be Wearing On His Coach [hartford courant]

Huskies rely on 3-pointers to beat Stony Brook [new haven register]

Huskies shoot the lights out [the day]

Other UConn related links

M. Soccer. Nick Zuniga Scores In OT To Send UConn To NCAA Quarterfinals [uconnhuskies.com]

M. Soccer. UConn 2, New Mexico 1 Postgame Quotes [uconnhuskies.com]

M. Soccer. Nicholas Zuniga's OT Goal Puts UConn Into NCAA Quarterfinals [hartford courant]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

2012 BCS Standings – Week 7 (Nov. 25)

By virtue of their win over USC, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play for the BCS Championship in January as they are the No. 1 team in the BCS standings and will be when the final poll is released next week.

Bowl Championship SeriesIn fact, the top nine is the same as it was last week. The Irish are followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, Florida Gators and Oregon Ducks in the top five.

The Irish will most likely play the winner of the Alabama-Georgia SEC Championship Game which will be played next Saturday.

For the first time in a long time, there are no Big East teams in the top 25 of the BCS standings. This means the Big East is the only conference of the automatic qualifiers without a team in the poll.

You can head over to the BCS website to see how the poll is computed weekly and how the teams are selected for the BCS bowls.

For a full look at the BCS Standings, click on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

Rank Team USA TODAY poll Harris poll Computer rank BCS average PVS
1 Notre Dame 1 .9959 1 .9979 1 1.000 .9979 1
2 Alabama 2 .9478 2 .9530 3 .8700 .9236 2
3 Georgia 3 .9092 3 .9040 4 .8600 .8911 3
4 Florida 5 .8576 5 .8470 2 .9600 .8882 4
5 Oregon 4 .8658 4 .8720 5 .8500 .8626 5
6 Kansas State 7 .7553 6 .7753 6 .7900 .7735 6
7 LSU 6 .7620 7 .7450 8 .7000 .7357 7
8 Stanford 9 .6834 8 .7162 6 .7900 .7299 8
9 Texas A&M 8 .7295 9 .7089 11 .6200 .6861 9
10 South Carolina 10 .6590 10 .6477 8 .7000 .6689 12
11 Oklahoma 11 .5953 11 .5934 10 .6500 .6129 13
12 Nebraska 13 .5186 13 .5193 12 .5800 .5393 14
13 Florida State 12 .5620 12 .5614 19 .2700 .4645 10
14 Clemson 14 .4881 14 .5030 14 .3800 .4570 11
15 Oregon State 17 .2780 15 .3391 13 .5200 .3790 15
16 UCLA 16 .3017 16 .3197 15 .3700 .3304 17
17 Kent State 19 .2285 18 .2452 18 .2800 .2512 23
18 Texas 21 .2115 20 .1952 17 .3400 .2492 16
19 Michigan 24 .1071 23 .1510 15 .3700 .2094 19
20 Boise State 15 .3247 17 .2842 30 .0000 .2030 22
21 Northern Illinois 18 .2556 19 .2153 23 .1100 .1936 NR
22 Northwestern 20 .2129 21 .1666 21 .1800 .1865 NR
23 Oklahoma State 26 .0875 25 .1363 19 .2700 .1646 21
24 Utah State 22 .1790 22 .1523 28 .0200 .1171 NR
25 San Jose State 27 .0712 28 .0410 21 .1800 .0974 NR

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2012 Blogpoll Top 25 – Week 13 Ballot

As many of you know, I am one of the voters in the BlogPoll Top 25. Each week, bloggers across the country representing the various FBS schools get together and put together their own top 25's.

Here at SOX & Dawgs, we are representing the UConn Huskies.

You can check out the ballot I submitted earlier today by clicking on the continue button below if you're on the homepage.

 


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Video: UConn Men Slip Past Stony Brook 73-62

Shabazz Napier, who made 3 of 5 three-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points, is fouled by Stony Brook's Marcus Rouse late in UConn's 73-62 win.

Two members of Jim Calhoun's coaching tree. Two former members of the UConn Huskies men's basketball team.

Only one could win.

Fortunately for Kevin Ollie, it was his team that pulled that out the 73-62 win over Steve Pikell's Stony Brook Seawolves team in front of 8,474 at Gampel Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, UConn improves to 5-1. Stony Brook, playing its second game in as many days, falls to 4-2.

Despite a slow start to the game yet again, Shabazz Napier led the Huskies with 19 points and three steals. Niels Giffey came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points and pull down a career-high eight rebounds to lead UConn in that category.

Omar Calhoun rounded out the Huskies in double figures with 14 points but did commit six turnovers. Ryan Boatright led the Huskies with seven assists to go along with his nine points.

Dave Coley led the Seawolves with 15 points while Tommy Brenton had 14 points. Jameel Warney pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds and also had eight points and two blocks.

It wasn't a pretty game for the Huskies. There's going to be a lot of games like this.

Until Tyler Olander can keep himself out of foul trouble or either Enosch Wolf or Phil Nolan can establish themselves in the post, UConn is going to need to rely on its guards to get the job done.

I thought Giffey stepped up nicely in place of R.J. Evans getting more minutes. And he responded. We'll need much more of that this season from him.

But a win is a win and I know they'll take it.

The Huskies are back in action on Thursday night when they'll host the New Hampshire Wildcats at at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.  Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally in Connecticut on SNY.

Stony Brook Seawolves @ UConn Huskies 11.25.12 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Kevin Ollie as well as some of his players (will be added when they become available).

Here are UConn's postgame notes.

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photo credit:  mark mirko – hartford courant (no. 6 in gallery)

2012 NCAA Football Rankings – Week 14 (Nov. 25)

AP & USA Today Coaches Polls

The NCAA football rankings are out and there's no doubt who the No. 1 team is. And as sick as it makes me to say, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will finish the regular season as the No. 1 team in both polls.

They are followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, The Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida in the AP Poll. In the Coaches Poll, the top three teams are the same and they are followed by the Oregon Ducks and Florida Gators.

There are no Big East teams ranked this week in the AP Poll. However, the Louisville Cardinals and Rutgers Scarlet Knights are still ranked in the Coaches Poll at Nos. 23 and 25 respectively. They are among the others receiving votes in the AP Poll.

The Cincinnati Bearcats are the only team from the Big East among the others receiving votes in both polls.

For a full look at the 2012 NCAA Football Rankings – Week 14 (Nov. 25), please click on the continue reading button below if you're on the home page.

AP Top 25 USA Today Poll
RK TEAM REC PTS PVS RK TEAM REC PTS PVS
1 Notre Dame (60) 12-0 1500 1 1 Notre Dame (56) 12-0 1469 1
2 Alabama 11-1 1400 2 2 Alabama (2) 11-1 1398 2
3 Georgia 11-1 1331 3 3 Georgia (1) 11-1 1341 3
4 Ohio State 12-0 1294 4 4 Oregon 11-1 1277 4
5 Florida 11-1 1262 6 5 Florida 11-1 1265 6
6 Oregon 11-1 1242 5 6 LSU 10-2 1124 7
7 Kansas State 10-1 1079 7 7 Kansas State 10-1 1114 8
8 Stanford 10-2 1061 11 8 Texas A&M 10-2 1076 10
9 LSU 10-2 1056 8 9 Stanford 10-2 1008 11
10 Texas A&M 10-2 1043 9 10 South Carolina 10-2 972 12
11 South Carolina 10-2 916 13 11 Oklahoma 9-2 878 13
12 Oklahoma 9-2 834 14 12 Florida State 10-2 829 5
13 Florida State 10-2 764 10 13 Nebraska 10-2 765 14
14 Nebraska 10-2 704 17 14 Clemson 10-2 720 9
15 Clemson 10-2 667 12 15 Boise State 9-2 479 22
16 Oregon State 8-3 528 16 16 UCLA 9-3 445 16
17 UCLA 9-3 505 15 17 Oregon State 8-3 410 17
18 Kent State 11-1 355 23 18 Northern Illinois 11-1 377 23
19 Northern Illinois 11-1 349 24 19 Kent State 11-1 337 25
20 Utah State 10-2 274 25 20 Northwestern 9-3 314 NR
21 Michigan 8-4 217 20 21 Texas 8-3 312 15
22 Northwestern 9-3 189 NR 22 Utah State 10-2 264 NR
23 Texas 8-3 185 18 23 Louisville 9-2 184 18
24 Oklahoma State 7-4 174 22 24 Michigan 8-4 158 20
25 Boise State 9-2 145 NR 25 Rutgers 9-2 152 19
Dropped from rankings: Dropped from rankings:
VLouisville 19, Rutgers 21, Mississippi State 25 Oklahoma State 21, Mississippi State 24
Others receiving votes: Others receiving votes:
San Jose State 78, Louisville 73, TCU 67, Penn State 61, Rutgers 50, Vanderbilt 48, San Diego State 15, Fresno State 12, USC 7, Arkansas State 5, Arizona 4, Cincinnati 3, Ball State 1, Mississippi State 1, North Carolina 1 Oklahoma State 129, San Jose State 105, Vanderbilt 94, Fresno State 39, TCU 34, San Diego State 28, Cincinnati 17, Arizona State 13, Arkansas State 13, Mississippi State 11, Middle Tennessee 7, Louisiana Tech 5, UCF 5, Arizona 3, Toledo 2, USC 1, Baylor 1

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UConn-Cincinnati Kickoff Time Set For 12/1

Cincinnati Bearcats @ UConn Huskies

We had to wait until things played out this weekend in the Big East to find out what time the UConn Huskies football team would take on the Cincinnati Bearcats next Saturday.

And now we know.

ESPN and the Big East announced that the game on Saturday, December 1st between the Huskies and Bearcats at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.

The game has meaning for both teams.

For UConn, a win over Cincinnati makes them bowl-eligible.

For Cincinnati, they'll have to wait and see how the Louisville-Rutgers game plays out on Thursday night. If Louisville wins, then the Bearcats would need to win to grab a share of the Big East title and a possible BCS bid.

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Connecticut Whale 3, Springfield Falcons 2

Springfield, MA, November 25, 2012 – Ryan Bourque’s goal with 15.6 seconds left in the third period gave the Connecticut Whale a 3-2 win over the Springfield Falcons Sunday at the MassMutual Center.

CT WhaleThe victory extended a Whale win streak to four games and lifted Connecticut to two games above .500 for the first time on the season, at 9-7-1-0 for 19 points.

With the game seemingly headed for overtime, Kelsey Tessier broke up a Matt Calvert feed inside the Whale zone and sent Bourque up left wing.  Bourque unloaded a shot from an extreme angle, and it found its way between Springfield goaltender Paul Dainton’s right arm and his body for the winner.

Bourque also had an assist for the Whale, which also got goals from Matt Gilroy and Marek Hrivik.  Jason Missiaen made 32 saves in the Connecticut net, after Cam Talbot had started the previous 11 straight.  Sean Collins scored both Springfield goals, with Jonathan Audy-Marchessault assisting on both, and Dainton stopped 23 shots.

The Whale, who had never led in two previous losses to Springfield, opened the scoring just 2:23 into Sunday’s game, on Gilroy’s sixth goal of the season and third in the last three games.

Tommy Grant worked the puck out of the left-wing corner to Gilroy, and he weaved across the slot before jamming the puck past a sprawling Dainton.

Springfield tied it at 6:29, with Collins poking his own rebound past Missiaen and into the Whale net, after Collins stepped out from below the goal line to Missiaen’s left.

It took the Whale only 1:38 to regain the lead, as Hrivik, who had nine assists in 14 games but no goals, scored his first of the year at 8:07.  Dainton stopped Blake Parlett’s drive from the right point, but the rebound deflected right to Hrivik at the bottom of the left circle, and he banged a shot into the top corner.

That lead stood up until the 15:11 mark of the second period, when Collins scored his second of the game to tie it for the Falcons.  David Savard sent Collins down left wing with a pass, and Collins was able to speed outside the Whale defense and fire a shot off of Missiaen and up under the crossbar.

The Whale are now off until this Friday night, November 30, when they finish a stretch of seven out of nine games on the road with a visit to Providence to take on the Bruins (7:05 PM faceoff, “Beethoven Radio” AM 1290, www.ctwhale.com).  After that, seven of the next eight for the Whale are at home, starting with a battle this Saturday against the Syracuse Crunch.  That game faces off at 7:00, and the first 3,000 fans receive a Whale poster, courtesy of SuperCuts.

Tickets for all Whale regular season home games at the XL Center are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, through TicketMaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.

To continue reading, please click on the continue reading button below if you're on the home page.

Connecticut Whale 3 at Springfield Falcons 2
Sunday, November 25, 2012 – MassMutual Center

Connecticut 2 0 1 – 3
Springfield 1 1 0 – 2

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Gilroy 6 (Bourque, Grant), 2:23. 2, Springfield, Collins 3 (Johansen, Audy-Marchessault), 6:29. 3, Connecticut, Hrivik 1 (Parlett, Kolarik), 8:07. Penalties-Johansen Spr (high-sticking), 3:58; Collins Ct (delay of game), 9:15; Drazenovic Spr (checking to the head), 16:59.

2nd Period-4, Springfield, Collins 4 (Savard, Audy-Marchessault), 15:11. Penalties-Erixon Spr (tripping), 6:10.

3rd Period-5, Connecticut, Bourque 4 (Tessier), 19:44. Penalties-Segal Ct (tripping), 8:13; Newbury Ct (interference), 11:12.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 10-5-11-26. Springfield 9-12-13-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 3; Springfield 0 / 3.
Goalies-Connecticut, Missiaen 2-2-0 (34 shots-32 saves). Springfield, Dainton 1-2-1 (26 shots-23 saves).
A-2,898
Referees-Chris Ciamaga (24), Graham Skilliter (48).
Linesmen-Jim Briggs (83), Rich Patry (52).

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Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 11/25

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

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. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you're on the home page.

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

It's game day for the UConn Huskies men's soccer team as they'll take on the New Mexico Lobos in the third round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. The game can be heard live at WHUS.org with a free webstream linked to uconnhuskies.com.

It's also game day for the UConn Huskies men's basketball team as they'll take on the Stony Brook Seawolves at Gampel Pavilion at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast locally here in Connecticut on SNY and is also available online at WatchESPN. You can also listen on the IMG/UConn Radio Network.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Men's Basketball links

Evans sidelined with injury [gavin keefe – the day]

No. 21 Men's Basketball Takes On Stony Brook On Sunday [uconnhuskies.com]

Drummond showing positive strides with Pistons [ct post]

Missing its 'rock' in Evans, UConn men regroup [ct post]

Stony Brook's Pikiell Building A Successful Program On Long Island [hartford courant]

Huskies look to bounce back without R.J. Evans [new haven register]

Injury to Evans leaves Huskies shorthanded [the day]

Stony Brook at Connecticut preview [cbssports.com]

UConn Women's Basketball links

MVP Stewart leads UConn to title [carl adamec – sny.com]

Warde Manuel: Geno’s New 5-Year Deal Almost Done [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Warde Manuel On Football, Bowl Games, Conferences And Geno’s Deal [john altavilla – hartford courant]

For UConn Women, Home Is Where Their Coach Works [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Mosqueda-Lewis Has A Concussion [john altavilla – hartford courant]

UConn women turn back Purdue in Paradise Jam [ct post]

Huskies Wrap Up Paradise Jam With Easy Win Over Purdue [hartford courant]

UConn Women Bonding In The Virgin Islands [hartford courant]

UConn Football links

Warde Manuel On Football, Bowl Games, Conferences And Geno’s Deal [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Report Card: UConn Vs. Louisville [desmond conner – hartford courant]

Big East helmet stickers: Week 13 [matt fortuna – espn.com]

UConn works overtime to stun Louisville [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn football: Something to get excited about [john silver – sny.com]

UConn defeats Louisville in 3 OTs [ct post]

UConn football notebook: McCombs back on top of his game [ct post]

UConn Has The Will, Stays Alive By Beating Louisville [hartford courant]

A Tough Day To Be A Quarterback [hartford courant]

The Wrap [hartford courant]

UConn's Defense Carries The Day Against Louisville [hartford courant]

Huskies upset No. 19 Louisville in 3 overtimes [new haven register]

Other UConn related links

M. Ice Hockey. Ambrosie Notches Game Winner In 3-2 Victory Over Air Force In OT [uconnhuskies.com]

W. Ice Hockey. Huskies Fall to Quinnipiac in Nutmeg Consolation [uconnhuskies.com]

M. Soccer. Travel Advisory For Men's Soccer Match [uconnhuskies.com]

Who will ACC find the coolest, UConn or Louisville? [ct post]

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