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UConn Football links

DC answered a few questions in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

The Big East’s best: No. 18 Scott Lutrus [ESPN.com – Big East Blog]

Kramer: Big East in trouble [ESPN.com – Big East Blog]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Wooden’s Thoughts on ‘Beautiful Game’ an Inspiration to Women’s Hoop Coaches [Fanhouse]

Lobo to find Fame in Tennessee [New Haven Register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Calhoun in Bristol [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Jim Calhoun Speaks At Shepard Meadows Fundraiser [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Jim Calhoun And The Media [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Jim Calhoun On UConn’s Five Freshmen [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Calhoun Says He’s Excited For Five Incoming Freshmen, Does Not Address Program’s Problems [Hartford Courant]

Boston Red Sox @ Cleveland Indians 7:05 p.m Progressive Field SP: Jon Lester vs Mitch Talbot TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Evening Red Sox Delight – 6/10 [SOX & Dawgs]

The Boston Red Sox were shut out by their former pitcher Justin Masterson and the Cleveland Indians last night. Tonight, they’ll look to return the favor in the series finale at Progressive Field.

Tonight’s game will start at 7:05 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. The game will be shown on STO (SportsTime Ohio) in the Indians television market. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

Jon Lester looks to continue the good roll he’s been on as of late. In 12 starts this season, Lester is 7-2 with a 2.73 ERA. He’s made six career starts against the Indians and is 3-0 with a 3.89 ERA. Three of those starts have come in Cleveland where he is 1-0 with a 6.06 ERA.

Mitch Talbot has made 11 starts for the Indians this season. He was acquired by the Tribe when they traded former Red Sox prospect Kelly Shoppach to the Rays. In his 11 previous starts, he is 7-4 with a 3.54 ERA. Talbot has faced the Red Sox just once in his career and that came out of the bullpen. In that outing which consisted of three innings, he allowed four runs on five hits and and three walks. One of those hits was a home run by Kevin Youkilis.

Lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, and links after the jump.

And here is the how hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:

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Strasburg bumps Red Sox from TBS on Sunday [SOX & Dawgs]

Next stop for Ellsbury: Arizona [Clubhouse Insider]

Doctors: New rib injury for Ellsbury [Clubhouse Insider]

Ellsbury diagnosed with new rib fracture [CSN New England]

Ellsbury heads to Arizona for rest, rehab [ESPN Boston]

Another delay – and a long one – for Ellsbury [Extra Bases]

Statement from the Red Sox on Ellsbury: second rib fracture was discovered [Extra Bases]

Remy on D&C: Pedroia will ‘turn it around’ [Full Count]

Five Sox prospects named to Carolina League All-Star game [Full Count]

Doctors: Ellsbury has rib fracture from dive [Full Count]

MRI Reveals Jacoby Ellsbury Has New Rib Fracture [NESN.com]

Red Sox Manager Terry Francona Talks Jacoby Ellsbury’s Latest Injury News [NESN.com]

Ellsbury diagnosed with different fracture [RedSox.com]

In the overnight links this morning, I linked over to a few posts that said injured Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury would need a little more rest. A little while ago, Jon Heyman of SI.com tweeted that Ellsbury would be need at least two more weeks of rest but the examination revealed a “bigger issue”.

2nd opinion on ellsbury ribcage injury reveals bigger issue. he needs at least 2 more weeks rest.

What this bigger issue is anybody’s guess right now as the Red Sox have not said anything else publicly about the injury. But that’s due to the fact that Red Sox skipper Terry Francona hadn’t talked with Dr. Yocum or Dr. Gill until after the game last night. So my best guess is that he’ll address during this afternoon’s media briefing before the finale with the Cleveland Indians.

Ellsbury originally injured his ribs on April 11th when he collided with third baseman Adrian Beltre. The Red Sox didn’t think the injury was that serious and they didn’t place on the DL until April 20th with move being retroactive to the 12th.

Ellsbury came off the DL on May 22nd and played in three games before experiencing soreness again. He was then placed back on the DL on May 28th would the move retroactive to the 25th.

Since then he’s been resting and getting treatment and now we know he’ll be doing that for at least the next two weeks.

If there’s any update as to what the bigger issue is, I’ll be sure to update it here as soon as possible.

Update: It turns out that Ellsbury suffered another rib injury when diving for a ball on May 23rd against the Phillies.

“An MRI of Jacoby’s thoracic spine and posterior rib area, recommended by us jointly, revealed a non-displaced rib fracture and edema in the left posterior-axillary line. This fracture, which is in a different area than the initial fractures and which was not present on previous scans, is likely the result of a new injury which occurred when Jacoby dove and impacted the ground during his brief return to play. Jacoby will require several weeks of rest and physical therapy.”

Ellsbury is heading to API in Arizona for the next two weeks to rest and rehab his injury.

Washington Nationals stud Stephen Strasburg’s first start in MLB on Tuesday night was so hyped up that it sold out in a mere two hours once it was announced he’d be on the mound. It was also picked up by the MLB Network.

He didn’t disappoint as he struck out 14 Pittsburgh Pirates over seven innings to pick up his first win. And when it was announced that he’ll start on Sunday against the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland, the Indians ticket office phone lines lit up with people wanting tickets. With still four days to go, Strasburg could be pitching in front of a packed house at Progressive Field.

And wouldn’t you guess it, the folks at Turner Sports have taken notice as they’ve decided to bump the Philadelphia Phillies vs Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park on Sunday from TBS. Instead, they’ll be airing Strasburg’s second MLB start against the Indians.

Normally a game between the Phillies and Red Sox would be a ratings grabber for TBS because of the national profile of the two teams. Sure it’s going to piss off a few Red Sox fans who don’t live in either the Red Sox or Phillies television markets.

But you can fault TBS for jumping on the Strasburg train because they’ll probably get much better ratings with him on the mound. After all, MASN got a 7.1 share of his first start in the D.C. television market alone.

TBS Switches Games on Sunday To Show Stephen Strasburg [Fang’s Bites]

Strasburg debut smashes MASN ratings record [D.C. Sports Bog]

The Boston Red Sox finished up the 2010 MLB Draft yesterday by selecting a total of 52 players through 50 rounds. The two extra players came from compensation picks for losing Jason Bay and Billy Wagner during free agency.

Here’s how it breaks down:

• 33 high school players
• 3 junior college players
• 9 college juniors
• 7 college seniors

From there it breaks down like this positionally:

• 1 first baseman
• 1 second baseman
• 7 catchers
• 10 outfielders
• 6 shortstops
• 27 pitchers

A full list of the 52 players drafted by the Red Sox after the jump.

Before we get going here, I just wanted to give a shout out to my brother Keith, who is celebrating his birthday today.

When the Boston Red Sox traded for Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians, they had to give up some quality players to get him. One of those was Nick Hagadone and the other was Justin Masterson, last night’s starter for the Indians.

I still remember the day and the video of Masterson talking after the trade. You could tell he was heartbroken as was most of Red Sox Nation. He was well-liked by everyone because of his personality. Even Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy up in the NESN booth missed him but I really think it was the fact that they missed Masterson’s wife cookies.

It was inevitable that Masterson would face his former club at some point after the trade. The Red Sox did face the Indians at the end of the 2009 season but they didn’t see Masterson.

Last night Masterson faced off with his friend Clay Buchholz. They played together at various points of their minor league careers. And it was Masterson who got the better of Buchholz and the Red Sox.

Masterson left his former teammates helpless at the plate last night as he only allowed two hits and two walks with six strikeouts. This is the same Masterson who had struggled in an Indians uniform with just one win over his last 18 starts and was 2-12 in Cleveland.

But he showed us why he was included in the deal for VMart with his nasty sinker and slider. His sinker netted him 17 ground ball outs to just four flyouts. The outing by Masterson should give him some confidence on the mound as he moves forward with the Indians.

It’s not to say that Buchholz pitched all that bad last night, let’s just say he was effectively wild. He got squeezed a few times and uncorked a few wild pitches that would end up hurting him. But how can you say he pitched bad when he only allowed three hits and three runs in seven innings which goes in the books as a quality start.

He did settle down and retired the last nine batters he faced leaving the team with a chance, a small chance albeit with Masterson dealing. But any hopes of a Red Sox comeback were extinguished by the Indians beating up on Boof Bonser and Joe Nelson in the 8th inning when they scored eight runs to blow open a close ball game.

Before we go, don’t forget to show Kevin Youkilis some love in the 2010 MLB All-Star Game voting.

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

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Master of his craft [Boston Globe]

Lowell a real nowhere man [Boston Globe]

He left ex-teammates with a sinking feeling [Boston Globe]

Hall hitting the ball, playing all over the place [Boston Globe]

Recap: Indians 11, Red Sox 0 [Boston Herald]

Justin Masterson impresses [Boston Herald]

Approach with caution [Boston Herald]

Stephen Strasburg wows Red Sox [Boston Herald]

Teammates reunite outside Fenway [Boston Herald]

More rest for Ellsbury [Clubhouse Insider]

Masterson owns his old Sox teammates, 11-0 [CSN New England]

Sox never had a Strasburg moment [ESPN Boston]

Of Beckett, Ellsbury and lost lunches [ESPN Boston]

‘Teammates’ unveiled [ESPN Boston]

A rare road loss for Buchholz [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Indians 11, Red Sox 0 [Full Count]

Ellsbury needs ‘a little bit more rest’ [Full Count]

Ryan Kalish Talks About His Draft Day and Peter Abraham Discusses the Red Sox’ Draft [NESN.com]

Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr On Hand For Unveiling of ‘Teammates’ Statue at Fenway Park [NESN.com]

Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy Praise Clay Buchholz’s Recent Work on Mound [NESN.com]

Justin Masterson Pleased to Nab Second Win of Season [NESN.com]

Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz Reverse Roles on Wednesday Night in Cleveland [NESN.com]

Red Sox Steadily Climbing in MLB Power Rankings [NESN.com]

Which Current Red Sox Player Could Be Honored With a Statue When His Career is Over? [NESN.com]

Sox grounded by old pal Masterson [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Team impressed by Strasburg’s debut [Providence Journal]

Statue of legendary ‘Teammates’ unveiled [RedSox.com]

Boston replenishes farm system with arms [RedSox.com]

Papelbon out until at least Friday [RedSox.com]

Hermida returns; Cameron sits [RedSox.com]

Beckett hopes to start throwing Saturday [RedSox.com]

Masterson comes back to haunt Red Sox [RedSox.com]

More rest for Ellsbury? [RedSox.com]

V-Mart pays it forward with former host family [RedSox.com]

Contract makes sure Beckett can focus on healing [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Masterson gave the Red Sox something to remember him by [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

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 read the enemy papers, check out the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal websites.