UConn Huskies point guard Kemba Walker has been a busy bee this summer. He’s been training with the USA Basketball  Men’s Select Team and also playing in the Greater Hartford Pro-Am.

And now according to the press release below from USA Basketball, he’ll continue to play with the Men’s Select Team that will help train the 2010 USA Basketball World Championship Team:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 2, 2010) – Ten members of the USA Basketball Select Team that recently completed training with the USA National Team in Las Vegas, Nev., have accepted invitations from USA Basketball to participate on another USA Men’s Select Team that will train against 2010 USA Men’s World Championship Team finalists during training in New York City. The Select Team members will be in New York Aug. 9-13 and training against the USA World Championship Team finalists Aug 10-13.

Named to the 2010 USA Basketball Select squad that participate in the USA World Championship Team training camp in New York were: JaJuan Johnson (Purdue University / Indianapolis, Ind.); Jon Leuer (University of Wisconsin / Orono, Minn.); Shelvin Mack (Butler University / Lexington, Ky.); Kyle Singler (Duke University / Medford, Ore.); Chris Singleton (Florida State University / Canton, Ga.); Nolan Smith (Duke University / Upper Marlboro, Md.); Howard Thompkins (University of Georgia / Lithonia, Ga.); Mike Tisdale (University of Illinois / Riverton, Ill.); Kemba Walker (University of Connecticut / Bronx, N.Y.); and Chris Wright (University of Dayton / Trotwood, Ohio).

Villanova University head coach Jay Wright will also return to direct the 2010 USA Select Team in New York.

“One of the great developments of our Las Vegas camp was the USA Select Team which consisted of juniors and seniors out of the college ranks that we brought in to scrimmage against the USA National Team. Lorenzo Romar and Jay Wright did a terrific job of coaching the select players in Las Vegas. It worked so well we’ve decided to bring to New York a smaller group of players from that Select Team to do the same thing. They were very valuable to us and it’s a great experience for them,” said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo.

The 10 returning members of the USA Select Team will gather in New York on Aug. 9, and train against the USA World Championship Team finalists on Aug. 10 (1-3 p.m. EDT at John Jay College); Aug. 11 (1-3 p.m. EDT at John Jay College); Aug. 12 (time and site TBD); and Aug. 13 (11 a.m-12:30 p.m. EDT at the New York Knicks practice facility, Tarrytown, N.Y.).

While all 10 Select Team members gained USA Basketball experience during the July 19-24 USA National Team training camp in Las Vegas, six of the selected collegians also boast of prior USA Basketball experience. Mack and Thompkins were members of USA Basketball’s 2009 U19 World Championship Team that finished 9-0 in New Zealand to claim the gold medal. Additionally, Singler and Smith were teammates on the USA’s 2006 U18 Team that captured gold at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship and they were again teammates on the 2007 USA Junior National Select Team that defeated an international select team in the Nike Hoop Summit. Walker was a member of the 2008 USA FIBA Americas U18 Championship Team that collected a silver medal and was named MVP of the tournament, while Johnson has USA Basketball experience through the 2009 USA Basketball Trials.

Photo credit: Hartford Courant

On paper, the pitching matchup between Justin Verlander and Clay Buchholz had low scoring affair written all over it and that’s exactly what happened on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park. Both pitchers were strong with the Boston Red Sox breaking through for three runs early on against Verlander.

From the fourth inning on, the Red Sox weren’t able to do anything against the Detroit Tigers starter as he retired the last 13 batters he faced in the game. But fortunately for the Red Sox, Buchholz was dominating on the mound.

Buchholz had good command and life on his fastball as well as his secondary pitches. Before the top of the 9th, Buchholz had given up two hits while striking out five and walking three. He entered the 9th having thrown 98 pitches and looked to be well on his way to his second complete game of the season.

But a bad bounce in front of Jed Lowrie allowed the leadoff hitter Will Rhymes to reach first and a walk to Ryan Raburn ended his afternoon as he walked off to a standing ovation from the Fenway faithful. Some of whom who were waiting for the game to be over so they could meet their heroes at the Picnic in the Park after the game.

Jonathan Papelbon came in to face the top hitter in the American League in Miguel Cabrera and he promptly took the first pitch fastball from Paps and hit in to deep center for a 2-run double to cut the lead to 3-2. Papelbon rebounded to strikeout Brennan Boesch but the newest Tiger Jhonny Peralta took the first pitch he saw and singled to score the pinch runner Don Kelly to tie the game and give Papelbon his fifth blown save of 2010.

Papelbon did escape the inning by getting a double play ball but the damage was done. Buchholz wouldn’t be getting his 12th win of the season.

As we’ve learned throughout the 2010 season, the Red Sox don’t have the word quit in their vocabulary.

Lowrie worked his way on with an infield single and gave way to a pinch-runner in Darnell McDonald. Eric Patterson then worked a walk off of Brad Thomas. Tigers skipper Jim Leyland brought in Friday’s winning pitcher Robbie Weinhardt to face Marco Scutaro who would be bunting.

Scutaro put down a nice bunt down the third base line and Weinhardt’s throw to first got past Kelly allowing McDonald to score and set off another walk-off celebration for the Red Sox.

The blown save by Papelbon is concerning right now but fortunately for him the offense picked him up. It’s a shame Buchholz wasn’t able to get his 12th win because he certainly deserved it on Sunday.

But two walk-off wins in a row can do a lot for a team’s confidence and the Red Sox clearly need that as we approach the last two months of the season.

We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, any news and links from the day but for now enjoy the overnight links after the jump.

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

Youk’s diary: Clearing the air [Kevin Youkilis – ESPN Boston]

How Ryan Kalish ended up with the Red Sox [Alex Speier- WEEI.com]

Their daily walkoff [Boston Globe]

Dominant Buchholz fine with the end result [Boston Globe]

After deadline, Lowell still feeling left out [Boston Globe]

Better by leaps and bounds [Boston Globe]

Recap: Red Sox 4, Tigers 3 [Boston Herald]

Deal with this: Clay Buchholz a keeper [Boston Herald]

Jonathan Papelbon unfazed by BS [Boston Herald]

Marco Scutaro magic [Boston Herald]

Red Sox win again in the ninth, 4-3 [CSN New England]

Sox players proving they deserve a shot [CSN New England]

Ones that got away: Traded prospects [ESPN Boston]

Kalish day after: ‘Crazy, but crazy’s fun’ [ESPN Boston]

Clay Buchholz: unplugged [ESPN Boston]

Terry Francona: unplugged [ESPN Boston]

Lowrie getting comfortable again [ESPN Boston]

Sox save Pap [ESPN Boston]

Tuesday a likely target for Ellsbury [ESPN Boston]

How waiver deals work [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Red Sox 4, Tigers 3 [Full Count]

Picking up Pap [Full Count]

Report: Yankees sought Lowell at deadline [Full Count]

Who Will Be Top Dawg of the Week for Red Sox Against Indians and Yankees? [Jerry Remy – NESN.com]

Red Sox Prospect Tyler Wilson Back on Mound After Recovering From Heart Ailment [NESN.com]

Return of Healthy Jed Lowrie Continuing to Translate Into Success for Red Sox [NESN.com]

Red Sox Save Best Work for Late on Way to Taking Series With Tigers [NESN.com]

How Many Games Do Red Sox Need to Win in August to Stay in Playoff Race? [NESN.com]

Clay Buchholz: ‘I’d Give the Ball to Jonathan Papelbon Any Day’ [NESN.com]

Red Sox’ Hot Bats Look to Take Advantage of Indians’ Struggling Staff [NESN.com]

Rebuilding Indians Look to Develop Young Talent, Climb Into Contention by 2013 [NESN.com]

Sox lose lead, come back for another walk-off win [Providence Journal]

Doubront prepared to do what it takes [Providence Journal]

Buchholz still gets antsy at trade deadline [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Lowell still in limbo [Providence Journal]

Francona impressed by Lowrie’s hitting [RedSox.com]

Red Sox pull out thrilling win on Tigers error [RedSox.com]

Does Red Sox’ approach suit you? [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying, head over to the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News and MLive.com websites. You can also check out what our Bloguin brother, Detroit4lyfe, has to say.

Photo credit: AP Photo

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.

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

DC was busy answering questions in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Big East predictions [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Out Like a Lamb [David Borges – New Haven Register]

2010 Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

INCH A-Z: Garrett Bartus [Inside College Hockey]

Detroit Tigers @ Boston Red Sox 1:35 p.m. Fenway Park – Boston, MA SP: Justin Verlander vs Clay Buchholz TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 8/1 [SOX & Dawgs]

We’re going to do things a little differently here today since I woke up late. The plan for today is to combine the normal morning post along with the lineup post. This way I can talk about yesterday’s game while preparing you for today’s game.

The month of July was not kind to the Boston Red Sox. They were very close to the top spot in the AL East but never got over the hump. Instead, they battled themselves to a 12-13 record in the month of the July and find themselves 7.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place and 5.5 games behind the Tampa Rays for second place and also in the wild card standings.

The month of August will probably tell us whether the Red Sox will have a shot at playing in the postseason or they’ll be making tee times and vacation plans. I certainly do hope they will be playing for a shot at the postseason.

The non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone for all 30 MLB teams and we the saw the Red Sox stand pat for the most part. They did make two small moves sending Ramon Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants and trading for Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Texas Rangers.

A few years ago, it would  have cost the Red Sox Clay Buchholz but they were able to get him for two minor leaguers, $350,000 and a PTBNL. The cost of Salty was cheaper because he’s had problems throwing the ball back to the pitcher or as it’s known in the baseball world a case of the yips.

Salty was optioned to Pawtucket after the trade where the Red Sox will continue to monitor his progress on the yips. Should the Red Sox not be able to sign Victor Martinez to deal after the season, it’s quite possible we could see Salty as the every day catcher in 2011. But until then, it’s time to concentrate on 2010.

Another big move the Red Sox made yesterday was the surprising move of designating Jeremy Hermida for assignment. Interestingly enough, Hermida had options left on his contract but was designated instead. He started out hot for the Red Sox but cooled down and then never really found his stroke after coming back from the disabled list where he had been after breaking ribs in a collision with Adrian Beltre.

The Red Sox brought up Ryan Kalish who has risen through the Red Sox system this year. He’s comparable to Trot Nixon and will bring the Red Sox some good pop as well as good defense once he gets acclimated to left field in Fenway Park. Dustin Richardson was brought up to replace Ramirez on the roster probably only because Michael Bowden wasn’t eligible to be called back up until tomorrow.

The bases clearing double by David Ortiz secured another Red Sox comeback win yesterday and showed they will not quit. Just like Friday night, Papi came through in the clutch but this time it led them to a win. It was a curious move by Jim Leyland though that may have helped as well.

With two runners on base and Kevin Youkilis at the plate, Leyland decided it was best to intentionally walk Youk. Although it’s unconventional to put the winning run on base, Leyland played the numbers. You see Big Papi was 0-for-8 against Phil Coke with three strikeouts so the odds were in Tigers favor.

And as you all know, Big Papi is now 1-for-9 against Coke with a double and three RBIs. Hopefully that moment plus the return of Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia to the lineup in the near future can spark the Red Sox to the promised land.

Keep reading for today’s pitching matchups, lineups, and batter/pitcher matchups.

After coming back for a 5-4 win on Saturday afternoon, the Red Sox will be looking to take the rubber game of a three-game set against the Tigers at Fenway Park in what figures to be a battle of two heavyweight pitchers.

This afternoon’s game will start at 1:35 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Tigers television market, you can catch the game on FOX Sports Detroit.  If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

All-Star Clay Buchholz will make his 18th start of 2010 for the Red Sox and Terry Francona. In his previous 17 starts, he is 11-5 with a 2.71 ERA. He’s made one start against the Tigers in 2010 back on May 14th in which he picked up the win after allowing one run over 6 1/3 innings. He’s made three career starts against the Tigers in his career and is 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA.

All-Star Justin Verlander has made 21 starts in 2010 for Jim Leyland and is 12-6 with a 3.74 ERA.  He hasn’t faced the Red Sox this season but holds a 2-2 record with a 3.90 ERA in four career starts against them. He’s made three of those starts at Fenway Park and is 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA.

Here are today’s starting lineups:

Here’s how the hitters have fared against this afternoon’s starting pitchers in their careers:

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying, head over to the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News and MLive.com websites. You can also check out what our Bloguin brother, Detroit4lyfe, has to say.

Photo credits: AP Photo, Getty Images, Getty Images

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.

Thank you for stopping and by 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

Huskies Look To Add Finishing Touch [Hartford Courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Blasts from the past [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

New Haven summer basketball league still a hotbed [New Haven Register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Which hoops power will bounce back best? [Rivals.com]