Before we get going here today, I just wanted to say a quick thing. While I really don’t need to apologize for skipping yesterday’s Boston Red Sox news & notes post, I do want to apologize. I had something come up last minute and basically had to get out of here as fast as possible so I wasn’t able to do anything on the site until late last night. For those who do know what was going on, the situation has stabilized.

The Boston Red Sox went north of the border having lost four straight games as the injuries continued to mount. Fortunately, the day off helped the latest player with an injury, Kevin Youkilis, to gather an extra day of rest and it was beneficial for him and the whole team as the bats came out in droves last night.

The Red Sox had 14 hits, including six extra base hits (four HR’s, two doubles) in their 14-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. They got another great start from Jon Lester and the best part of the night was the fact they were able to rest Youk, Marco Scutaro and J.D. Drew who all have been battling nagging injuries.

And oh yeah, the Tampa Bay Rays lost last night so the Red Sox are back to being two games behind them for second place in the AL East. The Red Sox still trail the first place New York Yankees by five games.

Bill Hall and Mike Cameron both had big nights for the Red Sox last night as they both had three hits, including a home run each. Hall knocked in four while Cameron had three RBIs. Youk and Adrian Beltre also had home runs.

Of course Lester was Lester last night. He pounded the strike zone and had great command on all of his pitches. It definitely doesn’t seem like it matters who is behind the plate with him as he continues to get better each start out. Without him, the Red Sox might not be where they are.

Hopefully the Red Sox didn’t use up all of the hits and runs as they get set to face the Blue Jays in just a short while.

We’ll be back in a little bit with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, news and any links from the morning, but for now enjoy the overnight links after the jump.

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Workman in progress: Negotiations with Sox draftee could be interesting [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Run of the place [Boston Globe]

Ellsbury is back, but only temporarily [Boston Globe]

Martinez not ready yet [Boston Globe]

Recap: Red Sox 14, Blue Jays 3 [Boston Herald]

Jacoby Ellbury has some clubhouse mending to do [Boston Herald]

Ex-Red Sox Fred Lynn knows a thing about injuries [Boston Herald]

Hall of a night [Boston Herald]

Divided loyalty [Boston Herald]

Could Lester start the All-Star Game? [Clubhouse Insider]

Brewers may make Hart available; Red Sox interested? [CSN New England]

Sox pile on in 14-3 thrashing of Blue Jays [CSN New England]

Where the Sox stand on signing draft picks [ESPN Boston]

Francona sets post-break rotation [ESPN Boston]

Beckett, Delcarmen throw bullpen sessions [ESPN Boston]

Francona manages off the field, too [ESPN Boston]

Cameron feeling better, producing [ESPN Boston]

Gammons on The Big Show: ‘There is something missing on this team’ [Full Count]

Closing Time: Red Sox 14, Blue Jays 3 [Full Count]

Dealing with the pain, Cameron getting it done [Full Count]

That’s No. 900 for Tito [Full Count]

Red Sox Draft Pick Anthony Ranaudo Tearing Up Cape Cod League [NESN.com]

Bill Hall Sets Personal Records in Red Sox Victory Against Blue Jays Friday [NESN.com]

Red Sox Offense Comes Alive in Terry Francona’s 900th Career Win Friday [NESN.com]

Which Red Sox Player Is the Glue That Holds the Team Together? [NESN.com]

Red Sox bats explode, take out team’s frustrations on Blue Jays [Providence Journal]

Beckett remains on target for Sunday rehab start; Delcarmen happy with progress [Providence Journal]

Youkilis says he’s ‘over’ missing out on All-Star Game [Providence Journal]

Nava making it hard for Red Sox to say goodbye [Providence Journal]

Ellsbury’s absence has been noted in Red Sox clubhouse [Providence Journal]

Hot-hitting Kalish climbing the ladder of Red Sox prospects [Providence Journal]

Sox prospects excited for Futures Game [RedSox.com]

Youkilis over not winning Final Vote [RedSox.com]

Youk’s ankle feeling better after off-day [RedSox.com]

Ellsbury rejoins club to see team doctors [RedSox.com]

Victor won’t return when break concludes [RedSox.com]

Delcarmen feels good after ‘pen session [RedSox.com]

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 read the enemy papers, head over to The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and Toronto Sun websites.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Despite the best efforts of Red Sox Nation, Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis fell short in the 2010 AL All-Star final vote losing out to New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher.

On Friday afternoon, Youkilis thanked Red Sox Nation for its support.

Here’s Youk’s statement courtesy of Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

I wish to say a very sincere “Thank you” to all who voted for me, and put forth such a valiant effort in trying to win for me the Final Vote for the 2010 All-Star Game.

I truly appreciate all the support you all have given me throughout my career, and continue to provide. It means the world to me to have received so many votes, and I would like you fans to know I am humbled, and most appreciative.

Keep rooting on the Sox! We hope to have a strong second half to push us into the playoffs once again. My deepest thanks to all of you, to the Boston Red Sox, and to Red Sox Nation.

Sincerely, Kevin Youkilis

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

USC losing Shoemate to UConn [ESPN.com]

Scouting Week 1: Michigan vs Connecticut [ESPN.com – Big Ten Blog]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Moore likes what she sees [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Moore again the new kid on block in U.S. training camp [Norwich Bulletin]

Auriemma has high expectations for U.S. [ESPN.com]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Beverly Not Down and Out [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Of Dove, Wolf and Huskies [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Video: Enosch Wolf In Action [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

UConn men’s notebook: Walker on USA Basketball’s Select Team [CT Post]

UConn’s Walker, Dyson await game with U.S. team [New Haven Register]

German big man will need time to mature [The Day]

Other UConn related links

Baseball: Huskies in the News [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball: Four Huskies Make Summer League All-Star Rosters [UConnHuskies.com]

For not doing enough to help get you to the 2010 MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim next Tuesday.

If you want me to turn in my Red Sox Nation card, I will. I thought I did enough. I campaigned for you on Twitter and Facebook. I even made sure to make a few posts here on the site. Heck, I even got my mom in on the whole voting thing and she ended up as your Assistant Campaign Manager. I thought I did my best but it doesn’t look like my best was good enough this time.

Sure it might be a blessing in disguise so now that you can let your gimpy ankle have a few days off next week but I feel you deserve to be there with all the other great stars. If it weren’t for you, we (the Boston Red Sox) might not be where they are right now.

I feel as though Red Sox Nation as a whole let you down as we couldn’t help you beat Nick Swisher of the hated New York Yankees. I mean after all, we are the same groups of fans who helped vote in Johnny Damon in 2002 and Hideki Okajima in 2007.

But when the time came to get one of the best Red Sox this players this season, we just couldn’t get it done. Even with the partnership with the Cincinnati Reds to get Joey Votto there, which he won, it just wasn’t enough.

The one thing I don’t understand in all of this if Votto finished with over 13 million votes and Swisher won with 9.8 million votes, how come you didn’t get more votes than Swisher. Logic would dictate that you should have won. But then again when does anything logical ever happen.

So Youk, before you enjoy your four days off next week, let’s take care of business in Toronto over the weekend and shoot down the Blue Jays. And whether you think it or not, you’re an All-Star in my book.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Here’s the press release from the Florida Gulf Coast University women’s basketball program naming former UConn Huskies women’s basketball star Mel Thomas as their director of operations:

FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU Women’s Basketball Head Coach Karl Smesko has announced the addition of former UConn standout Mel Thomas as Director of Basketball Operations. Thomas joins the staff at FGCU after playing professionally overseas.

“Mel’s experience both as a professional player and as a captain at UConn will be a great asset to our program,” said Smesko. “Mel was known for being a tough, smart player who could really shoot. Those are attributes we pride ourselves in our program.”

Thomas comes to FGCU after playing professional basketball for the Artego Bydgoszcz in the Polish Basketball League last season. She played for the Bausch & Lomb Waterford Wildcats in Ireland during the 2008-2009 season.

“I am very excited to join the women’s basketball program at FGCU,” said Thomas. “This is a great program with tremendous potential and I hope to be a part of the Eagles’ first run at the NCAA Tournament. I’m confident this team will continue to grow and develop under Coach Smesko and I’m thrilled to be a part of the FGCU family.”

The Cincinnati, Ohio native, who led Mount Notre Dame High School to a perfect 28-0 record and the school’s first Division I Ohio State Basketball Championship (2004), joined the UConn Huskies in 2004, where she succeeded at the highest levels both academically and athletically. Thomas was a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, and is a graduate of UConn’s School of Business.

Thomas was named co-captain of her team in both her junior and senior seasons. In her senior year, she played a key role in UConn winning the BIG EAST regular season and tournament championships, and in their run to the NCAA Final Four. She finished her career with 1,098 points and is currently ranked fifth in UConn history in three-pointers made with 224. In Thomas’ four years as a Huskie, the team recorded an amazing 125-19 (.868) overall record and a 58-6 (.906) record in BIG EAST Conference competition, while picking up a pair of regular season conference championships (2007 and 2008) and three conference tournament titles (2005, 2006, 2008).

After her playing days at Connecticut were over, Thomas authored a book that she used to share her love and appreciation for UConn with everyone. She kept a diary throughout her senior year which became her book, ‘Heart of a Husky’. ‘Heart of a Husky’ is a depiction of her experiences as she worked towards winning a National Championship.

Thomas was also a member of the United States Pan American Games team in the summer of 2007 when the U.S. won the gold medal for the first time since 1987.

WHAT THEY”RE SAYING ABOUT THOMAS:

“Mel Thomas will always be remembered as one of the toughest kids ever to play at UConn.”

“She is a tremendous inspiration to anyone who aspires to compete at the highest levels, in any endeavor.”

“Mel Thomas is a winner – and a great role model for kids and adults of all ages.”

– Geno Auriemma, UConn Women’s Basketball Head Coach (from the Foreword of ‘Heart of a Huskie’)

Update 2:30 p.m.: This is similar to the position that former Husky Ann Strother had at Colorado University in 2007 and it most likely wouldn’t preclude her from any playing opportunities should they arise.

Photo credit: AP Photos