Here are the highlights of the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team’s 79-60 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers at the XL Center in Hartford, CT on Wednesday night.
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Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Geno Auriemma and West Virginia head coach Mike Carey.
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Editors Note: Sorry for the delay on this week’s “In The Red Zone” but with the team having been given Monday off plus working on a bye week it was decided to push it back a few days from its usual Tuesday morning run.
First off I hope everyone had a nice holiday season, no matter which ones you and your family and friends celebrate. Also thanks to all the readers of “In The Red Zone”, the weekly game previews and recaps for stopping by each week for my look at the New England Patriots.
Overall the season for New England was a successful one; they finished 13-3 won another division title and clinched the top seed in playoffs securing home field advantage through the conference championship. Now they just need to get there.
As we all remember the most recent Patriots playoff endeavors haven’t been all that good. Since starting 18-0 in 2007 the Patriots are 48-16 in the next 4 regular seasons but 0-3 in playoff and Super Bowl games, with the loses coming at the hands of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXLII, the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 AFC Wild Card Round and the New York Jets in the AFC Division Round last season.
Since winning his first 10 playoff games, Tom Brady has won 2 NFL MVP Awards but is just 4-5 in the post season. In addition to the above losses are an AFC Conference Championship game loss to Indianapolis in 2006 and a road playoff beat down by Denver in 2005.
New England needs to get back to its winning playoff ways. Brady is a key cog and must play better than he has in some of those previous playoff losses. And the defense needs to be able to hold its own at key moments in the game.
They can’t afford to fall behind like they have the last two weeks and depend on a comeback. It’s time for 60 minutes of solid New England Patriots football, let’s hope they come to play next Saturday night as they make a run at Lombardi Trophy #4 in Indianapolis in February.
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New England head coach Bill Belichick now has 190 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.
Here’s the transcript to Belichick’s weekly day after the game media conference call he even closed with a little nugget on Miami DE Jason Taylor’s retirement.
Patriots clinched the Top Seed in the AFC with the win over Buffalo.
The AFC Playoff Seeds are as follows:
It sets up for Wild Card Weekend games of Cincinnati at Houston and Pittsburgh at Denver.
The Patriots will play either Cincinnati or the winner of Pittsburgh/Denver.
The NFC Playoff Seeds are as follows:
The Patriots were 1-2 against playoff teams in 2011 beating Denver and losing to the New York Giants and Pittsburgh.
Awful Announcing has your full NFL Playoffs Announcing Schedule.
New England finished the season with 13 wins it was the first time they ever earned that win total in a season.
They were 7-1 at The Razor, 6-2 on the road, 5-1 against the AFC East, 0-1 against the AFC North, 1-0 against the AFC South and 4-0 against the AFC West for a 10-2 record vs. the AFC. They finished 3-1 against the NFC East.
New England has won 8 consecutive games after a 2 game losing streak. It is their longest win streak of the season.
Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England is 74-15 at home including the playoffs it is the best record in the NFL in that time period.
The Patriots have lost their last three playoff games. Two at Gillette Stadium (Baltimore and New York Jets) and Super Bowl XLII (New York Giants). Their last post season win was the 2007 AFC Championship game played in Foxboro when they beat San Diego to go to 18-0.
Tom Brady had 3 TD passes to give him 300 TD passes in his career he is now tied with Hall of Fame QB John Elway for 5th place.
Brady has 124 career wins; he is tied with Hall of Fame QB Fran Tarkenton for 5th all-time.
Brady also eclipsed 5,000 passing yards in a season.
Here are the all-time single season passing yards leaders:
Brady also checked in with WEEI-AM/FM for his weekly talk about the game and the upcoming playoffs.
WR Wes Welker now has catches in 98 consecutive games including playoffs, 81 as a Patriot. The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.
TE Rob Gronkowski set a NFL record for most receiving yards in a season by a tight end with 1,327.
TE Aaron Hernandez also eclipsed the 1,000 yards receiving mark possibly making them the most prolific tight end combo in NFL history.
RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis became just the third running back in franchise history with consecutive 10 TD seasons.
DE Mark Anderson had 1 sack on Sunday to give the Patriots two players with 10 or more sacks in a season joining injured team mate Pro Bowler, Andre Carter.
The New England defense sacked the opponents quarterback 40 times in the 16 game season.
CB Sterling Moore was named Pepsi NFL Defensive Rookie of the Week for his 2 INT; 1 TD performance against Buffalo last Sunday.
The Patriots released TE Garrett Mills from the practice squad and signed WR Britt Davis.
New England finished PLUS 17 in turnover differential. The offense gave up 12 INTs and 5 fumbles, while the defense had 23 INTs and 11 fumble recoveries.
In 15 of the 16 games this season the Patriots opened on defense. They won 7 of 16 coin flips and elected to defer each time. Opponents won the coin toss 9 of 16 times and 8 times elected to receive.
The lone game the Patriots opened on offense was Week 3 in Buffalo, a game they lost.
Russ Goldman of Pats Fans has five positives to take away from the Patriots victory over the Bills.
Mike Reiss charts the Patriots offensive snaps and defensive snaps played vs. Buffalo.
He also charted the hits QB Tom Brady took in 2011.
This is good stuff; Ian Logue of patsfans.com has a searchable table of all the team stats.
Patriots Haven has his Patriots report card on the Bills game.
Just for fun here’s The Big Lead’s view on the implosion of the Jets.
The Patriots have a playoff bye and are idle. They will next play Saturday January 14 at 8 p.m. on CBS with a home game at Gillette Stadium against either Cincinnati or the winner of the Pittsburgh/Denver game. Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available on the Friday before the game.
Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem
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
UConn Still Waiting For Word On How to Count Suspension Games [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]
Dom also answered a question in his mailbag [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]
Grading the Huskies vs. Seton Hall [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]
UConn’s Napier a finalist for Bob Cousy Award [CT Post]
Once Again, Zone Defense Gets Best Of UConn [Hartford Courant]
Kemba Walker Adjusting To NBA [Hartford Courant]
Calhoun is really looking forward to getting back to work [The Day]
UConn Women’s Basketball links
UConn wins a rugged affair with West Virginia [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]
Bria Hartley remembers Apache Paschall [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]
Auriemma Deflects Praise For Werth Donation [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]
Delle Donne Approaches Franchise Milestone [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]
Time To Study About Notre Dame [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]
Women set stage for next mega-game [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]
Dolson Struggles Again; Postgame Notes On Faris, Hartley, Buck [Rich Elliott – CT Post]
No. 2 Connecticut Pulls Away From West Virginia, 79-60 [UConnHuskies.com]
Second-ranked UConn women win physical battle with West Virginia [CT Post]
UConn women: What we learned [CT Post]
Huskies Grind Their Way Through Bruising Mountaineers, 79-60 [Hartford Courant]
Auriemma Downplays Role In $4.5M Werth Donation To School [Hartford Courant]
Beat-up Huskies beat up West Virginia [New Haven Register]
UConn women top West Virginia [The Day]
UConn Football links
Catching Up With Incoming UConn QB, JUCO Transfer Chandler Whitmer [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
DC also answered a few questions in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
Juco Transfer Chandler Whitmer Gives UConn Another Option At QB [Hartford Courant]
Georgetown’s Kelly interviewed, UConn’s Brown a candidate for coaching vacancy [New Haven Register]
Other UConn related links
Baseball. Reigning Regular Season Champs Slated Third in Preseason Poll [UConnHuskies.com]
Emails detail UConn’s conference dilemma [CT Post]
Pendergast should finish job by bringing Huskies to Fairfield County [Greenwich Time]
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
HARTFORD, January 4, 2012: Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Whale has returned forward Jeff Prough to its ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors.
Since his recall by the Whale December 15, Prough, a fourth-year pro out of Brown University, has skated in five AHL games, registering one goal and four penalty minutes. In 21 games with the Road Warriors prior to joining the Whale, the 5-9, 180-pound Dearborn Heights, MI native struck for 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points, and served eight minutes in penalties.
Prough signed an AHL contract with the Whale August 1, 2011.
The Whale’s next action is this Friday, January 6, a road game in Binghamton against the defending Calder Cup-champion Senators. Faceoff is 7:05 PM, and all the CT Whale Rockin’ Hockey action can be heard live on “The Rock”, 106.9 FM, WCCC, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com. The Whale’s next home game is this Saturday night, January 7, as they battle the Springfield Falcons at 7:00 at the XL Center.
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.
HARTFORD, January 4, 2012: The American Hockey League announced today that Connecticut Whale forwards Jonathan Audy-Marchessault and Mats Zuccarello have been named to the Eastern Conference team for the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic January 29 and 30 in Atlantic City, NJ.
The Eastern and Western Conference All-Star Classic rosters were selected by committees of AHL coaches.
Audy-Marchessault ranks second on the Whale club in points and goals, and tied for second among AHL rookies in points, with 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 34 games. A 21-year-old native of Cap-Rouge, Quebec, Audy-Marchessault signed an AHL contract with the Whale June 23, 2011, after a four-year career with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, in which the 5-9, 175-pounder totaled 98 goals and 141 assists for 239 points in 254 games.
Zuccarello, a native of Oslo, Norway who is in his second North American pro season, is tied for third among Whale skaters in points, with eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points, despite having played in only 18 of Connecticut’s 34 games. The 24-year-old, 5-7, 174-pound Zuccarello has also skated in three games with the parent New York Rangers this season, going scoreless with two penalty minutes.
Signed as a free agent by the Rangers May 26, 2010, Zuccarello spent 42 games with New York last season, amassing six goals and 17 assists for 23 points. In 36 AHL games with the Whale/Hartford Wolf Pack in 2010-11, Zuccarello contributed 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points.
The 2012 AHL All-Star Classic will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League competing in an internationally televised showcase from historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The 2012 AHL All-Star Skills Competition will take place Sunday, January 29, starting at 3:00 PM, and the 2012 AHL All-Star Game will face off at 7:00 PM on Monday, January 30. AHL All-Star Classic tickets, which include both the Skills Competition and the All-Star Game, are on sale now at the Boardwalk Hall box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 736-1420 or at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available for the Post-Skills Party (January 29, 5:30 p.m.) and the 2012 AHL Hall of Fame Induction & Awards Ceremony (January 30, 11 a.m.) at Caesars Atlantic City.
The Whale’s next action is this Friday, January 6, a road game in Binghamton against the defending Calder Cup-champion Senators. Faceoff is 7:05 PM, and all the CT Whale Rockin’ Hockey action can be heard live on “The Rock”, 106.9 FM, WCCC, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com. The Whale’s next home game is this Saturday night, January 7, as they battle the Springfield Falcons at 7:00 at the XL Center.
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.
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.
It’s game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they’ll host the West Virginia Mountaineers at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally here in Connecticut on CPTV.
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UConn Women’s Basketball links
Geno reacts to trade of Swin Cash [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]
Defense Is The Word When UConn-West Virginia Play [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]
Game preview: West Virginia at UConn women [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]
Benching Provided A Spark For Stokes; Banks Progressing [Rich Elliott – CT Post]
No. 2 Huskies Welcome West Virginia For BIG EAST Home Opener [UConnHuskies.com]
Banks progressing for UConn women [CT Post]
Expect Good Defense When West Virginia Meets UConn [Hartford Courant]
Huskies ready to head inside [New Haven Register]
UConn women’s basketball glance [The Hour]
UConn Men’s Basketball links
From Jersey It Came [David Borges – New Haven Register]
George Blaney’s Take [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]
Wrapping Things Up [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]
Seton Hall 75, UConn men 63: the wrap [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]
Post-game breakdown, video: Seton Hall [Gavin Keefe – The Day]
Notes/Quotes from Seton Hall: “We had Victor Cruz in the locker room” [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]
Square One [UConn Huskies Basketball]
Seton Hall rocks UConn [CT Post]
UConn Beaten Soundly By Seton Hall, 75-63 [Hartford Courant]
Huskies Gave Pirates Fans Lots To Laugh At [Hartford Courant]
Notebook: Drummond Knows Who Pope Is Now [Hartford Courant]
Seton Hall stuns 8th-ranked Huskies [New Haven Register]
Seton Hall overpowers No. 8 Huskies [The Day]
UConn Football links
A Few Words From Clemson Transfer WR Bryce McNeal [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
DC also answered a question in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
Other UConn related links
Search For Permanent Athletic Director To Begin [UConnHuskies.com]
W. Lacrosse. Woods Announces Deep 2013 Recruiting Class [UConnHuskies.com]
M. Ice Hockey. Brant Harris Named AHA Player of the Week [UConnHuskies.com]
M. Track. Inside The Track [UConnHuskies.com]
W. Ice Hockey. UConn’s Unbeaten Streak Comes to a Halt vs. No. 9 Harvard [UConnHuskies.com]
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
Here are the lowlights (or highlights depending on your rooting interest) of the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team’s 75-63 loss to the Seton Hall Pirates on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
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The NCAA women’s basketball rankings are out for the first time in the new year and the UConn Huskies remain as the No. 2 team in the land behind the Baylor Lady Bears.
The top five in both polls is the same as it has been the last two weeks. Baylor and UConn are followed by Notre Dame, Stanford and Maryland.
Joining the Huskies and Fighting Irish in the top 25 from the Big East are the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10/10), Louisville Cardinals (14/12), Georgetown Hoyas (15/16) and DePaul Blue Demons (20/18).
There are no teams from the Big East among the others receiving votes in both polls.
For a complete look at the 2012 NCAA Women’s Basketball Rankings for Week 8 (Jan. 3), 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 | Baylor (39) | 13-0 | 975 | 1 | 1 | Baylor (29) | 13-0 | 773 | 1 |
| 2 | Connecticut | 11-1 | 925 | 2 | 2 | Connecticut (2) | 11-1 | 742 | 2 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 13-1 | 903 | 3 | 3 | Notre Dame | 13-1 | 714 | 3 |
| 4 | Stanford | 11-1 | 860 | 4 | 4 | Stanford | 11-1 | 684 | 4 |
| 5 | Maryland | 13-0 | 818 | 5 | 5 | Maryland | 14-0 | 650 | 5 |
| 6 | Tennessee | 9-3 | 745 | 7 | 6 | Duke | 10-2 | 611 | 7 |
| 7 | Duke | 9-2 | 717 | 8 | 7 | Tennessee | 9-3 | 590 | 8 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 14-0 | 670 | 9 | 8 | Texas A&M | 9-2 | 543 | 9 |
| 9 | Texas A&M | 9-2 | 647 | 10 | 9 | Kentucky | 12-2 | 509 | 6 |
| 10 | Rutgers | 11-2 | 586 | 11 | 10 | Rutgers | 11-2 | 482 | 11 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 12-2 | 560 | 6 | 11 | Ohio State | 15-0 | 478 | 12 |
| 12 | Miami (FL) | 11-2 | 540 | 12 | 12 | Louisville | 12-2 | 411 | 13 |
| 13 | Texas Tech | 12-0 | 522 | 13 | 13 | Miami (FL) | 11-3 | 394 | 10 |
| 14 | Louisville | 12-2 | 487 | 14 | 14 | Green Bay | 12-0 | 378 | 14 |
| 15 | Georgetown | 12-2 | 481 | 15 | 15 | Georgia | 12-2 | 341 | 15 |
| 16 | Georgia | 12-2 | 356 | 17 | 16 | Georgetown | 12-2 | 321 | 16 |
| 17 | Green Bay | 12-0 | 337 | 18 | 17 | Texas Tech | 12-0 | 261 | 18 |
| 18 | Purdue | 11-3 | 233 | 20 | 18 | DePaul | 13-2 | 236 | 19 |
| 19 | Nebraska | 12-1 | 224 | 23 | 19 | Penn State | 11-3 | 182 | 17 |
| 20 | DePaul | 13-2 | 222 | 21 | 20 | Delaware | 10-1 | 153 | 20 |
| 21 | Delaware | 10-1 | 201 | 19 | 21 | Vanderbilt | 12-1 | 146 | 21 |
| 22 | Penn State | 10-3 | 188 | 16 | 22 | Purdue | 12-3 | 136 | 21 |
| 23 | Texas | 10-2 | 175 | 22 | 23 | North Carolina | 11-2 | 130 | 23 |
| 24 | Vanderbilt | 12-1 | 102 | 25 | 24 | Gonzaga | 12-2 | 68 | 24 |
| 25 | North Carolina | 10-2 | 99 | 24 | 25 | Texas | 10-2 | 64 | 25 |
| Dropped from rankings: | Dropped from rankings: | ||||||||
| None | None | ||||||||
| Others receiving votes: | Others receiving votes: | ||||||||
| Gonzaga 12, Virginia 11, LSU 6, South Carolina 3, Georgia Tech 2, Kansas 1, Michigan 1, Colorado 1 | Nebraska 50, Georgia Tech 12, Kansas 10, Michigan 4, South Carolina 2 | ||||||||
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Here is a press release from the Boston Red Sox announcing the signing of 12 free agents to minor league contracts. A few of these we already knew about.
BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today announced the signings of 12 free agents to 2012 minor league contracts. All 12 players have also been invited to Boston’s Major League Spring Training camp as non-roster players.
The 12 free agents are right-handed pitchers Brandon Duckworth, Charlie Haeger, Will Inman, Doug Mathis, Tony Pena Jr., Carlos Silva and Chorye Spoone, left-handed pitchers Jesse Carlson, Rich Hill and Justin Thomas, shortstop Pedro Ciriaco and utility player Nate Spears.
Carlson, 31, missed all of 2011 on Toronto’s disabled list due to rotator cuff surgery performed on May 24. The left-hander last pitched in 2010, splitting that season between Toronto and the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas. He has appeared in 162 Major League contests, all with the Blue Jays from 2008-10, and has combined for an 8-8 record, three saves, a 3.63 ERA (57 ER/141.1 IP) and 114 strikeouts at the Big League level. Since being selected in the 15th round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft by Detroit, he has pitched in the Tigers, Astros, Blue Jays and Rangers organizations. A native of New Britain, Carlson attended the University of Connecticut.
Ciriaco spent the majority of 2011 with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A Indianapolis club, where appeared at shortstop (46 games), second base (18), third base (1) and left field (6) while hitting .231 (64-for-277) with seven doubles, three triples, two homers, 24 RBI and 31 runs. The 26-year-old also played in 23 games over six separate stints for Pittsburgh last season and owns a .333 average (13-for-39) with three doubles, two triples and seven RBI in 31 career Major League games, all with the Pirates over the last two seasons. Signed by Arizona as an international free agent on February 28, 2003, he is a .273 hitter (951-for-3,482) with 131 doubles, 39 triples, 25 home runs, 332 RBI and 486 runs in 875 career minor league games in the Diamondbacks (2003-10) and Pirates (2010-11) organizations. A native of San Pedro de Macoris, Ciriaco also appeared in 28 games for Toros del Este of the Dominican Winter League this offseason.
Duckworth, 35, returns to the Red Sox organization after going 8-6 with a 3.97 ERA (52 ER/118.0 IP) and 88 strikeouts in 22 games (21 starts) for Triple-A Pawtucket last season. He last pitched in the Majors with Kansas City in 2008, going 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA (19 ER/38.0 IP) in seven starts for the Royals. Originally signed by the Phillies as a non-drafted free agent on August 13, 1997, Duckworth has gone 23-34 with one save and a 5.28 ERA (300 ER/511.0 IP), 376 strikeouts and 228 walks in 134 Major League games (84 starts) over parts of eight seasons with the Phillies (2001-03), Astros (2004-05) and Royals (2006-08).
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Haeger, 28, pitched for San Diego’s Triple-A Tacoma affiliate and Boston’s Double-A Portland club in 2011, combining to go 6-3 with a 5.44 ERA (59 ER/97.2 IP) and 84 strikeouts over 17 starts. After signing with Boston as a minor league free agent on July 22, he was 4-1 with a 3.24 ERA (18 ER/50.0 IP) and 49 strikeouts with 22 walks in eight starts for the Sea Dogs to close out the year. Originally selected by the White Sox in the 25th round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Haeger owns a 2-7 record with one save, a 6.40 ERA (59 ER/83.0 IP) and 69 strikeouts in 34 career Major League games (10 starts) with the White Sox (2006-07), Padres (2008) and Dodgers (2009-10).
Hill, 31, pitched in the Red Sox organization in 2011 before undergoing season-ending Tommy John Surgery on June 9. He threw 8.0 scoreless innings over nine appearances out of the bullpen for Boston in 2011 and has held opponents scoreless in all 15 outings with the club dating back to September 14, 2010, the longest streak ever to begin a Red Sox career. The native of Milton, MA also pitched for the PawSox last season, going 1-0 with one save, a 1.13 ERA (2 ER/16.0 IP) and 18 strikeouts. In 93 career Major League appearances (70 starts) between the Cubs (2005-08), Orioles (2009) and Red Sox (2010-11), Hill owns a 22-20 record with a 4.73 ERA (214 ER/407.1 IP) and 370 strikeouts.
Inman pitched exclusively for San Diego’s Triple-A clubs over the last two seasons. In 2011, the 24-year-old tied for sixth in the Pacific Coast League with 120 strikeouts over 42 games (17 starts) with Tucson while going 5-11 with a 6.15 ERA (80 ER/117.0 IP). Selected by the Brewers in the third round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, the right-hander has appeared in 173 career minor league contests (136 starts) over seven campaigns in the Brewers (2005-07) and Padres (2007-11) organizations. Inman has averaged 9.03 strikeouts per nine innings (785 K’s/782.0 IP) in the minor leagues with a 47-45 record, one save and a 3.76 ERA (327 ER).
Mathis, 28, spent time in 2011 with San Francisco’s Triple-A Fresno affiliate and Oakland’s Triple-A Sacramento affiliate, combining for a 4.27 ERA (41 ER/86.1 IP), 64 strikeouts and an 0-5 record in 17 starts. He also pitched for the Samsung Lions of Korea Professional Baseball last season, where he went 5-2 with a 2.52 ERA (18 ER/64.1 IP). Mathis has appeared in 45 Major League games (six starts), all with the Rangers from 2008-10, and is 3-3 with a 4.84 ERA (47 ER/87.1 IP) and 44 strikeouts in his Big League career. He was selected by Texas in the 13th round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft and pitched in the Rangers system through the 2010 season.
The 30-year-old Pena spent the 2011 season with Pawtucket, his first year in the Red Sox system and his second full campaign as a pitcher. He went 9-6 with three saves, a 3.56 ERA (46 ER/116.1 IP) and 65 strikeouts in 33 appearances (14 starts) with the PawSox and also pitched in 23 games with Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League during the offseason, going 1-0 with three saves and a 3.20 ERA (7 ER/19.2 IP). Signed by Atlanta as an international free agent on July 21, 1999, Pena played primarily shortstop before converting to pitcher during the 2009 season. He hit .228 (189-for-829) with four home runs and 66 RBI in 327 games over parts of four Big League seasons with the Atlanta (2006) and Kansas City (2007-09) and made one Major League pitching appearance in 2008. Pena’s father Tony, a former Major League catcher who played for the Red Sox from 1990-93, is currently the bench coach for the New York Yankees.
Silva, 32, pitched in the Yankees organization last season, combining to go 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA (11 ER/36.0 IP), 28 strikeouts and six walks between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (4 starts), Double-A Trenton (1 start) and High-A Tampa (2 starts). A veteran of nine Major League seasons with the Phillies (2002-03), Twins (2004-07), Mariners (2008-09) and Cubs (2010), he is 70-70 with two saves, a 4.68 ERA (645 ER/1,241.2 IP), 554 strikeouts and just 238 walks allowed in 316 career Big League outings (180 starts). No active hurler with at least 750.0 innings pitched has fewer walks per nine innings than Silva (1.73). A native of Venezuela, he was originally signed by the Phillies as an international free agent in 1996.
Spears, 26, returns for his third season in the Red Sox organization. He spent most of 2011 with Pawtucket, where he hit .248 (78-for-315) with 19 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 45 RBI, 49 runs and 49 walks in 96 games while appearing at all four infield positions as well as left and right field. A left-handed hitter, Spears made his Major League debut in three games for the Red Sox last September. Originally selected by Baltimore in the fifth round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, he has hit .273 (894-for-3,279) with 171 doubles, 43 triples, 55 home runs, 375 RBI, 531 runs, 424 walks and 85 stolen bases in 958 minor league games in the Orioles, Cubs and Red Sox organizations.
Spoone, 26, has spent all seven years of his professional career in the Orioles organization since being selected by Baltimore in the eighth round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft. The right-hander reached the Triple-A level for the first time last season, when he combined to go 7-6 with his first career save, a 4.50 ERA (61 ER/122.0 IP) and 80 strikeouts in 19 starts and a career-high-tying 12 relief outings between Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie. In seven minor league campaigns, Spoone owns a 36-41 record with a 4.14 ERA (290 ER/630.2 IP) and 476 strikeouts.
Thomas spent the 2011 season with the Pirates Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis, where went 8-2 with three saves, a 3.89 ERA (30 ER/69.1 IP) and 59 strikeouts compared to 24 walks, including a 2-0 record and a 1.08 ERA (2 ER/16.2 IP) over his final 13 outings. Last year, his third straight season pitching exclusively in relief, the 27-year-old southpaw led the International League with 12 holds and a career-high 63 appearances. He limited left-handed hitters to a .188 batting average (19-for-101) and just one extra-base hit. A fourth-round selection by Seattle in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Thomas is 45-35 with 14 saves, a 4.15 ERA (306 ER/664.1 IP), 600 strikeouts and 282 walks allowed in 258 career minor league games (76 starts). He has also made 20 Major League relief appearances between the Mariners (2008) and Pirates (2010). In nine games this offseason for Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan Winter League, Thomas went 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA (2 ER/6.2 IP).
All of the free agents are on the Pawtucket roster.
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.
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It’s game day for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they’ll play their final game without Jim Calhoun at the helm. They will take on the Seton Hall Pirates at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised locally in Connecticut on SNY.
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UConn Men’s Basketball links
Dissing the Pope? [David Borges – New Haven Register]
George Blaney’s Husky Message: Turn Up The Energy Level [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]
UConn: Wrapping Things Up From Practice At Gampel [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]
News, video from Monday’s UConn practice [Gavin Keefe – The Day]
Notes/Quotes: January 2nd [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]
Know Your Enemy: Seton Hall [UConn Huskies Basketball]
UConn’s Andre Drummond: Herb who? [CT Post]
Pirates’ Solid Play Drawing Opponents’ Attention [Hartford Courant]
Huskies hope to grow in Garden State [New Haven Register]
No. 8 UConn men visit Seton Hall tonight [The Day]
Pirates face defending national champion Connecticut Huskies at home [The Setonian]
UConn Women’s Basketball links
Swin Cash traded to Chicago [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]
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