Apparently the fine folks who run the programming department at FOX 61 in Hartford, CT didn’t see the latest Quinnipiac Poll that said the people in the state of Connecticut are split between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

Because we as Red Sox fans in CT will be stuck watching the Yankees take on the Dodgers on Saturday night.

It’s already happened once this year when the Yankees were taking on New York Mets back on May 22nd. And yes, FOX 61 does get to select which game they want to air.

Yes I know the Yankees are taking on their former manager Joe Torre and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles. Yes I know the rivalry dates back to when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. But why on God’s green earth do I give a flying f*** about that. I just want to watch the Red Sox play.

When you look at the demographics from the Quinnipac Poll shown below, the markets were the Yankees are the top team, the cable providers there have both FOX 5 from NY and FOX 61 from CT. And if you look in the markets where the Red Sox are the top team, they have FOX 61 from their cable provider.

So why couldn’t FOX 61 choose the Red Sox game when half the state will already be getting the Yankees game? If FOX honestly didn’t have some good shows, I’d boycott them. As a Red Sox fan, this is a complete and utter outrage. Once was okay, twice is not.

And remember the last time this happened, Daisuke Matsuzaka almost threw a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The only thing we can do is complain to FOX 61 by lighting up their phone lines at 860-727-0082, fill up their fax machine at 860-293-0178 or send them an email complaining.

So unless something changes, I’ll be listening to the game with Joe Castiglione and Dave O’Brien on the Red Sox radio network.

And now that my rant is over for now, here’s how the MLB on FOX games for 6/26 breakdown:

New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers, 74%
Announcers: Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Chicago Cubs at Chicago White Sox, 16%
Announcers: Kenny Albert & Mark Grace

MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Louisville, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis

Boston Red Sox at San Francisco Giants, 9%
Announcers: Dick Stockton & Eric Karros

MARKETS INCLUDE: Boston, Providence, Sacramento, San Francisco

Thanks to Ken from Fangs Bites for passing along the press release.

Thanks to Jonathan Papelbon blowing the save for the second straight night, the Laser Show was needed again because without him, the Boston Red Sox might not have beaten the Colorado Rockies last night.

Daisuke Matusuzaka wasn’t spectacular on the mound but did leave the game with a 6-2 lead. Unfortunately for Terry Francona, the bullpen was full of suck for the most part as they combined to give up nine runs.

Manny Delcarmen allowed three runs without retiring a batter while Hideki Okajima got two outs but gave up three runs. Scott Atchison allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings while Ramon Ramirez and Daniel Bard both didn’t allow a run in a 1/3 of an inning. And finally, Papelbon gave up two runs in two innings.

But it was Dustin Pedroia aka the Laser Show who stole the show at Coors Field on Thursday night with his three home run night.

Pedroia’s first home run in the 4th inning got the Red Sox going as it cut the Rockies lead to 2-1. His second home run of the night was a 2-run homer and it gave the Red Sox an 11-8 lead in the 8th inning. And his final homer, another 2-run shot, came in the 10th inning to put the Red Sox out front 13-11. And oh by the way, he was a triple short of the cycle as he also had a single and a double to go with the three homers and knocked in five runs.

Adrian Beltre had a nice night at the plate as well with three hits and three RBIs. Even Dice-K got in on the action with a hit and an RBI.

The concerning part of last night’s game though was the implosion of the bullpen. Yes we know it’s going to happen from time to time especially given they had been great as of late. But it’s not like it was limited to the one person. It was just about everyone.

We should also be concerned with Papelbon’s latest struggles but it’s not time to for us to cry for Bard to be the closer just yet. What I feel the Red Sox need is to acquire another bullpen arm like they did last year in Billy Wagner. I really think that would go a long way to helping the Red Sox return to the playoffs.

The Yankees were off yesterday so the Red Sox and the Rays, who also won, both picked up a ½ game and are now in a virtual tie for second, two games behind the Yanks.

And I’d have to think we’ve probably seen the last of Mike Lowell in a Red Sox uniform. He was placed on the disabled list yesterday with soreness in his surgically repaired hip. Or as I like to say, the ol’ phantom DL move. Lowell’s had a good run with the Red Sox but it’s definitely time for the two to part ways.

We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups in San Francisco, batter/pitcher matchups, news and any links.

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

And if you must check out the enemy papers, head over to the Denver Post and Colorado Springs News Gazette websites.

Photo credit: AP Photos

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

UConn Football links

Big Time Recruit: David Stevenson UConn-Bound [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

UConn-Michigan Football Tickets On Sale Friday [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Another strong game for Hartley [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Tina Charles chat transcript [ESPN.com]

Moore, Charles, Auriemma Nominated For ESPYs [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Hartley Leads U.S. Past Brazil [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Taurasi Considers Taking A Break [Hartford Courant]

Taurasi discusses Europe’s lure in women’s basketball [Norwich Bulletin]

Taurasi’s WNBA days could end, by her choice [The Republican-American]

Hartley finds mentor in Rizzotti [ESPN HoopGurlz]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

How Does UConn Stack Up? [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Sticks Gets Picked [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Stanley Robinson Selected By Orlando Magic In NBA Draft [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Daniel Orton, Stanley Robinson With Magic [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

UConn’s Robinson Drafted By Magic With 59th Pick [Hartford Courant]

Next to last for Robinson [Journal Inquirer]

UConn’s Robinson selected by Magic [New Haven Register]

Robinson goes 59th overall [The Day]

Other UConn related links

Baseball: Turning Pro [Shoreline Times]

Hathaway Honored By NACDA [UConnHuskies.com]

Photo credit: AP Photos

I can only imagine the night that former UConn Huskies small forward Stanley Robinson had while watching the 2010 NBA Draft.

After hearing 58 other players have their names called, Robinson finally heard his when the Orlando Magic took him in the 2nd round with the 29th pick (59th overall).

The pundits had said that Robinson would be drafted in the late first round to early second round.

Robinson will most likely be part of the Magic’s 2010 Summer League team that will be playing in Orlando from July 5-9. The Magic will be joined by teams from the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats.

Photo credit: AP Photos

The Big East released the home and away schedules for the 2010-11 Men’s Basketball season and we find our UConn Huskies facing the Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish, Louisville Cardinals and Marquette Golden Eagles twice.

Here’s how the home and away Big East schedule breaks down for UConn:

Home: Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, USF, Syracuse, Villanova

Away: Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John’s, Seton Hall, West Virginia

If you’d like to see how the rest of the league breaks down, head over to the Big East Men’s Basketball website.

I would expect the full 2010-11 UConn Huskies men’s basketball schedule to be released in late August or early September.