2012 Oscars Nominations

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released the nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards affectionately known as The Oscars.

Oscars Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET.

“Hugo” leads the way 11 nominations including best director for Martin Scorsese and best film of the year. “The Artist” came in second with 10 nominations

For a full look at the 2012 Academy Awards nominations, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
George Clooney in “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis in “The Help”
Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Actress in a Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

Animated Feature Film

“A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
“Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
“Kung Fu Panda 2” Jennifer Yuh Nelson
“Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
“Rango” Gore Verbinski

Art Direction

“The Artist”
Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo”
Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“Midnight in Paris”
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
“War Horse”
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography

“The Artist” Guillaume Schiffman
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Jeff Cronenweth
“Hugo” Robert Richardson
“The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse” Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design

“Anonymous” Lisy Christl
“The Artist” Mark Bridges
“Hugo” Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” Michael O’Connor
“W.E.” Arianne Phillips

Directing

“The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants” Alexander Payne
“Hugo” Martin Scorsese
“Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen
“The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick

Documentary (Feature)

“Hell and Back Again”
Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
“Pina”
Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
“Undefeated”
TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)

“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”
Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
“God Is the Bigger Elvis”
Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
“Incident in New Baghdad”
James Spione
“Saving Face”
Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing

“The Artist” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants” Kevin Tent
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Moneyball” Christopher Tellefsen

Foreign Language Film

“Bullhead” Belgium
“Footnote” Israel
“In Darkness” Poland
“Monsieur Lazhar” Canada
“A Separation” Iran

Makeup

“Albert Nobbs”
Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
“The Iron Lady”
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)

“The Adventures of Tintin” John Williams
“The Artist” Ludovic Bource
“Hugo” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse” John Williams

Music (Original Song)

“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from “Rio” Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Picture

“The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
“The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
“The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
“Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
“Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
“Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
“The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
“War Horse” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

“Dimanche/Sunday” Patrick Doyon
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
“La Luna” Enrico Casarosa
“A Morning Stroll” Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
“Wild Life” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)

“Pentecost” Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
“Raju” Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
“The Shore” Terry George and Oorlagh George
“Time Freak” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
“Tuba Atlantic” Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing

“Drive” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Ren Klyce
“Hugo” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
“War Horse” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
“Hugo”
Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
“Moneyball”
Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
“War Horse”
Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
“Hugo”
Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
“Real Steel”
Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

“The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan
“The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
“Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan Chervin
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius
“Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
“Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor
“Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen
“A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi

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Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 1/24

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 some of the other sports. 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 Men’s Basketball links

Ruling expected soon on Ryan Boatright’s eligibility [CT Post]

Boatright’s Family Stands By UConn Guard [Hartford Courant]

Living in Fear of the N.C.A.A. [NY Times]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

An update on Moriah Jefferson [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

UConn’s Doty has bone bruise [CT Post]

Only A Bruise For Doty, But Still Being Careful [Hartford Courant]

Caroline Doty not expected to be sidelined for long [New Haven Register]

Forget rebuilding years, UConn women’s basketball team just reloads with top talent [The Post-Standard]

UConn Football links

Big East in the Super Bowl [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

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

In The Red Zone – 1/24

New York Giants vs New England Patriots Super Bowl XLVI

Each time I see the replay of Sterling Moore knocking the ball away from Lee Evans I can’t believe that the rookie with only a few games of NFL experience had the presence of mind to make that play. But thank God he did because when you combine that with just an awful field goal attempt by Baltimore it sent the Patriots to Super Bowl XLVI.

I say that whole attempt was bad, not just the awful kick by Billy Cundiff. The snap wasn’t the best, the holder never got the laces spun out and it appeared as if the ball was still being spun as Cundiff made contact. Wide Left.

John Harbaugh was all class in the loss as were the Ravens owners and players. The two teams dislike each other but they respect each other. It’s very different from say Patriots/Jets or Ravens/Steelers where it seems to be more dislike than respect going both ways.

The best part of this win combined with the Giants defeat of the Forty Niners is that Patriots can exercise those Super Bowl XLII demons, right? Wrong, the best is knowing Jets head coach Rex Ryan’s head is about to explode whenever someone asks him for his Super Bowl prediction.

So at the time of this publication there are still 12 more days left until the game. We’ve already given you the low down on the stadium where the game will be played and there will be much more to come from Sox & Dawgs in the next week and half or so.

Enjoy the notes below, some of them we will try to expand on before game time and I’m sure we will have forms of minutia for you along the way as well.

Oh and let me know what you think about the rematch I’m interested in your thoughts I’d love to use some in another post. You can leave them in the comments of this post, email them to me or tweet them to me. I look forward to your opinions regardless of who you root for.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

New England head coach Bill Belichick now has 192 career wins including playoffs, which are good for 9th all-time. Former Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks head coach Chuck Knox is 8th with 193 wins.

He is now tied for 3rd in post season coaching wins with long time Redskins coach Joe Gibbs is 3rd with 17. Former Dolphins coach Don Shula is 2nd with 19 and Tom Landry, formerly of Dallas, is 1st with 21.

He is 17-6 in the post season overall, 16-5 with New England.

Here’s is the audio to Belichick’s weekly radio visit to WEEI-AM/FM on Monday afternoon.

The Patriots were 9-1 at The Razor, 6-2 on the road, 5-1 against the AFC East, 1-1 against the AFC North, 1-0 against the AFC South and 5-0 against the AFC West for a 10-2 record vs. the AFC. They are 3-1 against the NFC East.

New England has won 10 consecutive games since losing to the Giants in Week 9.

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England is 76-15 at home including the playoffs it is the best record in the NFL in that time period.

Tom Brady is now 16-5 in the post season and is tied for most all time post season wins with his idol Joe Montana.

Brady has the 3rd most post season TD passes all-time with 36. Brett Favre is 2nd with 44 TD passes in the post season. Montana is first with 45.

Brady’s weekly Monday morning call in on WEEI

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 100 consecutive games including playoffs, 83 as a Patriot. The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

The New England defense sacked Baltimore QB Joe Flacco 3 times in Sundays 23-20 win.

There’s a report that Baltimore kicker Billy Cundiff was distracted prior to attempting the game tying kick.

New England is MINUS 3 in playoff turnover differential. The offense gave up 3 INT and 2 fumble, while the defense had 1 INT and 1 fumble recovery. They finished the regular season as a PLUS 17.

The Patriots are 13-3 at home in the playoffs all-time. They are 9-2 in the post season at Gillette Stadium.

Overall in the playoffs they are 23-15 and 7-1 in AFC Championship Games.

ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss has the Patriots 3 up, 3 down.

Early line on the game has the Patriots MINUS 3 1/2 and an over/under of 55.

The Patriots have been designated as the home team in the Super Bowl based on conference rotation. As the home team they have the choice of which jersey they want to wear and have decided to wear their home blue meaning the Giants will be in their road whites, same as Super Bowl XLII.

Here’s a recap of the jersey’s worn by the Patriots during their previous six Super Bowl appearances.

Brady and Belichick will make a record 5th Super Bowl appearance as a quarterback/head coach combo topping Staubach/Landry; Kelly/Levy and Bradshaw/Noll.

Due to the fact that the Giants and Patriots are playing in the Super Bowl, the players elected to the Pro Bowl will not be able to participate and have been replaced by the NFL. Here is the complete list.

NFL uniform rules do not allow teams to wear their alternate, throwback or third jerseys in post season play.

Some seats for the Super Bowl are going as high for $2,000.

With the Patriots as the home team, Brady will be using Peyton Manning’s locker.

The Patriots will face the New York Giants on February 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium in Super Bowl XLVI. Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available on the Friday before the game.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings – Week 12 (Jan. 23)

AP & ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls

The NCAA men’s basketball polls came out earlier on Monday and after two losses, the UConn Huskies find themselves dropping in the polls.

They fell 11 spots in the AP Poll to No. 24 after being ranked No. 13 last week. The dropoff in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll wasn’t as extreme although they did fall eight spots to No. 19 after being ranked 11th there.

With the Syracuse Orange falling last weekend, the Kentucky Wildcats are on top of both polls. They are followed by the Missouri Tigers, Syracuse, The Ohio State Buckeyes and Kansas Jayhawks. In the coaches poll, the top two are the same followed by Ohio State, Syracuse and Kansas.

Joining the Orange and Huskies in the top 25 from the Big East are the Georgetown Hoyas (9/10) and Marquette Golden Eagles (17/18). The Louisville Cardinals are in a tie for No. 25 in the coaches poll and are among the others receiving votes in the AP Poll.

The West Virginia Mountaineers and the Cincinnati Bearcats are also among the others receiving votes in both polls.

For a complete look at the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings – Week 12 (Jan. 23), click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

AP Top 25					ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	PVS	RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	PVS
1	Kentucky (61)	19-1	1,620	2	1	Kentucky (31)	19-1	775	2
2	Missouri (2)	18-1	1,532	5	2	Missouri	18-1	725	5
3	Syracuse (2)	20-1	1,506	1	3	Ohio State	17-3	687	6
4	Ohio State	17-3	1,411	6	4	Syracuse	20-1	686	1
5	Kansas	16-3	1,383	7	5	Kansas	16-3	660	7
6	Baylor	17-2	1,234	3	6	Duke	16-3	571	4
7	North Carolina	16-3	1,232	8	7	Baylor	17-2	569	3
8	Duke	16-3	1,176	4	8	North Carolina	16-3	565	8
9	Georgetown	16-3	1,045	10	9	Murray State	20-0	502	10
10	Michigan State	16-4	1,009	9	10	Georgetown	16-3	498	12
11	Murray State	20-0	925	12	11	Michigan State	16-4	453	9
12	UNLV	18-3	886	14	12	San Diego State	17-2	403	16
13	San Diego State	17-2	832	16	13	Florida	15-4	396	14
14	Florida	15-4	709	17	14	Creighton	18-2	343	18
15	Creighton	18-2	682	19	15	UNLV	18-3	337	20
16	Indiana	16-4	609	11	16	Mississippi State	16-4	236	15
17	Marquette	16-4	517	21	17	Indiana	16-4	230	13
18	Mississippi State	16-4	422	18	18	Marquette	16-4	213	22
19	Virginia	15-3	414	15	19	Connecticut	14-5	203	11
20	Michigan	15-5	396	20	20	Saint Mary’s	19-2	193	23
21	Saint Mary’s	19-2	345	24	21	Virginia	15-3	171	17
22	Kansas State	14-4	252	25	22	Michigan	15-5	165	19
23	Florida State	13-6	244	NR	23	Harvard	16-2	99	24
24	Connecticut	14-5	203	13	24	Kansas State	14-4	80	NR
25	Wisconsin	16-5	182	NR	25	Louisville	15-5	49	21
–					25	Wisconsin	16-5	49	NR
Dropped from rankings:					Dropped from rankings:
Illinois 22, Louisville 23					Illinois 25
Others receiving votes:					Others receiving votes:
West Virginia 96, Gonzaga 82, Vanderbilt 40, Louisville 35, Harvard 32, Wichita State 28, Cincinnati 20, Illinois 11, Middle Tennessee 9, Dayton 3, Iona 2, Long Beach State 1					Florida State 41, Gonzaga 34, West Virginia 33, Wichita State 29, Middle Tennessee 28, Vanderbilt 20, Nevada 12, Illinois 6, Cincinnati 4, Southern Miss 3, UCF 3, Iowa State 2, Dayton 1, New Mexico 1

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Red Sox Extend PDC With Greenville Drive

Here’s the release from the Boston Red Sox announcing their extension of their Player Development Contract with the Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League.

Greenville Drive The Boston Red Sox and Greenville (SC) Drive today announced the extension of their Player Development Contract (PDC) for an additional four years. The extension keeps the Red Sox South Atlantic League Single-A affiliate in Greenville through the 2016 season.

Red Sox Director of Player Development Ben Crockett and Drive Co-Owner/President Craig Brown made the announcement.

“As an organization, we truly value our relationship with the Drive and the City of Greenville, and we are excited to extend our affiliation for an additional four seasons,” said Crockett. “Our minor league players benefit greatly from their experience with the Drive’s outstanding staff under the leadership of Craig Brown and Mike deMaine, as well as Greenville’s state-of-the-art ballpark and passionate fan base.”

The Red Sox originally entered into an agreement with the Drive when the franchise moved from Columbia, SC to Greenville for the 2005 season. The PDC had since been extended twice, most recently for four years through 2012 prior to the 2008 season.

“This is a great day for the Greenville Drive and the entire Upstate of South Carolina,” said Brown. “The partnership we have forged with the Boston Red Sox is of enormous importance to us and the very talented Major League prospects that consistently play for the Drive at Fluor Field. The true test of a world class organization is the delivery of sustained success over a period of time and the Red Sox have set the standard in this regard. In the end, the success of an organization is the result of its people, and working with the Red Sox ownership group, Ben Cherington, Mike Hazen, Ben Crockett, the coaching staffs and entire the Red Sox organization has been a wonderful experience. The Red Sox set the bar very high both on and off the field, which serves as an inspiration to our organization. We are delighted to formally extend our relationship and look forward to the continued development of our partnership for many years to come.”

The Drive have compiled a winning record in five of seven years since becoming an affiliate of the Red Sox, including each of the last four seasons, and have made the playoffs twice in the last three years, reaching the South Atlantic League Championship Series in 2010. Alumni who have recently appeared in the Majors with the Red Sox include Lars Anderson, Daniel Bard, Michael Bowden, Clay Buchholz, Felix Doubront, Ryan Kalish and Ryan Lavarnway. Greenville’s Fluor Field at the West End, which opened in 2006, is modeled after Fenway Park.

Greenville is one of Boston’s six minor league affiliates, joining Triple-A Pawtucket (International League), Double-A Portland (Eastern League), High-A Salem (Carolina League), Short-A Lowell (New York-Penn League) and Rookie Gulf Coast Red Sox (Gulf Coast League).

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is scheduled as the featured guest at the Sixth Annual Greenville Drive Hot Stove Event tonight at the Huguenot Mill in Downtown Greenville, SC.

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Red Sox To Sign Cody Ross

With Carl Crawford possibly out for the beginning of the season and well, no sure thing in right field, the Boston Red Sox had a little bit of a conundrum as far as outfield depth.

But now, that doesn’t appear to be an issue.

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com and confirmed by Alex Speier of WEEI.com and Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston, the Red Sox have signed free agent outfielder Cody Ross to a one-year contract. Edes reports that the deal is worth $3 million plus performance incentives.

Ross spent last season with San Francisco Giants after joining them in late August of 2010 off of waivers from the Florida Marlins. He played an integral part in helping the Giants win the 2010 World Series over the Texas Rangers.

Before the signing of Ross, the Red Sox had only one starter from last year’s outfield, Jacoby Ellsbury, healthy. Ryan Sweeney, who came over in the trade with Andrew Bailey for Josh Reddick, along with Darnell McDonald and even possibly Mike Aviles, were also in the mix for some time in the outfield.

But it looks like the trade of Marco Scutaro to the Colorado Rockies did more than one thing. Obviously it freed up the payroll to sign Ross. But it also meant that Aviles probably wouldn’t be spending too much time in the outfield with him and Nick Punto as the obvious choices to play shortstop in 2012.

Now it looks like once Crawford is healthy and back patrolling the outfield, Sweeney and Ross will split time in the outfield. I’m guessing that new skipper Bobby Valentine will use Sweeney against righties (he bats lefty) and Ross against lefties (he bats righty). Where DMac figures in this is anyone’s guess but unless the Red Sox carry three catchers (highly unlikely), he’ll probably be the fifth outfielder again.

Ross is a career .261 hitter with a career OBP of .323 and OPS of .779. He plays a good outfield and unlike previous years past, he’ll get to learn how Fenway plays since the Red Sox’ new spring training home, Jet Blue Park, has the same exact field dimensions as the Fens.

Another good low cost option for new GM Ben Cherington. Now the question remains, does he have enough money to pursue a trade for another starting pitcher or even a free agent pitcher like Roy Oswalt.

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Photo credit: Getty Images

Whale Sign Forward Randy McNaught

HARTFORD, January 23, 2012: Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Whale has signed forward Randy McNaught to an American Hockey League contract.

CT Whale McNaught, a 6-5, 221-pound native of Nanaimo, B.C., comes to the Whale from the University of Calgary, where he was scoreless with 24 penalty minutes in 12 games this season. Last year McNaught, 21, was with the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants, but his season was limited to eight games by injury. In those eight contests, McNaught had a goal and an assist for two points, along with 27 PIM.
A seventh-round (190^th overall) selection by the parent New York Rangers in the 2010 NHL Draft, McNaught suited up for 154 total contests in a four-year WHL career with the Chilliwack Bruins, Saskatoon Blades and the Giants. His career stats include 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points, and 321 penalty minutes.

RANDY McNAUGHT’S AMATEUR RECORD

The Whale return to action this Friday night, January 27, as they host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the XL Center. Faceoff is 7:00 PM, and that begins the Whale’s “Trading Card Weekend”, as 5,000 fans will receive the Whale’s second set of player trading cards, sponsored by Webster Bank. The featured players for this set are All-Star Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, Cam Talbot, Ryan Bourque, Kelsey Tessier, Jordan Owens and, in a historical tribute, former Hartford Wolf Pack star Ryan Callahan, now captain of the parent New York Rangers.

Then the next night, this Saturday, January 28, when the Springfield Falcons visit the XL Center for a 7:00 game, will feature a giveaway of additional sets of the first group of Whale trading cards. That array included cards of All-Star Mats Zuccarello, Wade Redden, Kris Newbury, Chad Johnson and Carl Hagelin. Also, after the game on Saturday night, Audy-Marchessault and Zuccarello will conduct an autograph session in the XL Center atrium to sign their cards.

Tickets to all 2011-12 Whale home games are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com and through TicketMaster Charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Save on your tickets, and get the best seats, with a ticket plan for the Whale’s 2011-12 AHL campaign, which are on sale now. For information on season seats and mini plans, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 728-3366 to talk with an account executive today.

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

Lucas Oil Stadium: Home of Super Bowl XLVI

Lucas Oil Stadium

On Sunday, February 5, the New England Patriots and the New York Giants will face off in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For most of us who are Patriots fans know this as the “The House that Peyton Built”, as it is the regular season home of Indianapolis Colts and their current quarterback Peyton Manning. He just happens to be one the Patriots nemeses and the older brother of the Giants quarterback, Eli Manning.

This is the first Super Bowl to be held in Indianapolis and Lucas Oil Stadium, which opened for the 2008 NFL season. Designed by HKS and A2so4 Architecture at a cost of $720 million, “The Luke” sits 63,000 for the Colts regular season games but for the Super Bowl it will be expanded to 70,000. It has a Field Turf playing surface.

This isn’t the first big event at Lucas Oil having recently hosted the first Big Ten Football Championship game and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in 2010.

The all purpose stadium which replaced the RCA Dome, that resided next door, features both a retractable roof and a window wall that allows for play indoors or outdoors. The building features a brown brick exterior trimmed in Indiana Limestone and is meant to compliment the other older structures downtown.

NFL rules state that the home team will make the call 90 minutes prior to game time on whether or not the roof will be opened or closed. But in the event of a Super Bowl game that decision is left up to the NFL. With Indianapolis being a ‘winter weather” city expect the roof at “The Drum” to be closed on Super Sunday.

The stadium, in addition to the regular seating, has 137 luxury suites, eight field suites, 12 super suites and the Quarterback Suite, a 200 seat semi-private party room.

Above the playing surface are two high definition scoreboards; each one measuring 97 feet by 53 feet and situated in opposing corners.

Lucas Oil Stadium and the city of Indianapolis were awarded the Super Bowl back in 2008 based on a bidding system. They were selected over Houston, Texas and Glendale, Arizona, the site of the last Super Bowl between the Giants and the Patriots in February 2008.

Here is a link for a list of prohibited items at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Maps and Directions for Lucas Oil Stadium.

A 360 degree view of Lucas Oil Stadium.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Photo credit: AroundIndy.com

KML Wins Sixth Big East Freshman of the Week Honors

UConn Huskies women’s basketball freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis picked up her sixth Big East Freshman of the Week honors on Monday. She only needs four more to tie former Husky Maya Moore’s record of being named ten times.

Here’s the release:

STORRS, Conn. – Freshman forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis earned her sixth BIG EAST weekly accolade of her career as she was tabbed the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the second consecutive week as announced by the conference office on Monday.

UConn's Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis shoots over Cincinnati's Bjonee Reaves in Big East action at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs. Mosqueda-Lewis, chosen as the 2011-12 BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year, gets the nod after averaging 16.7 ppp and 6.7 rpg in a 3-0 week for Connecticut. UConn defeated two ranked opponents this week with an 86-35 win over No. 24 North Carolina and an 88-44 win over No. 21 DePaul.

Mosqueda-Lewis shot 39 percent from the field and 40 percent from the three as she tallied double-figures in all three games with 15 against UNC and 10 against Cincinnati. She recorded her third 25-point night of the season as she led the Huskies over No. 21 DePaul, while also leading the team in rebounds with seven.

Notre Dame’s Devereaux Peters was named as the Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the BIG EAST. Peters averaged 19.5 ppg in an average of 20 minutes per game.

The Huskies return to the court on Wednesday, Jan. 25, to take on Syracuse at 7 p.m. in Syracuse, N.Y. The game will be televised on CPTV.

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Photo credit: Cloe Poisson – Hartford Courant