Sorry for the delay folks. I had to go to COX Cable to return my HD DVR after the first one didn’t work. Anyways, we are on to the links for the UConn Huskies. And then WordPress ate the post so it took me over an hour or so to recover it.
UConn Football Signs 20 Student-Athletes To National Letter Of Intent
STORRS, Conn. – University of Connecticut head football coach Randy Edsall announced on Wednesday that the Huskies have signed 20 student-athletes to a National Letter of Intent to join the UConn program.
Student-athletes in UConn’s 2010 signing class hail from 11 different states. In addition, two other student-athletes who signed a Letter of Intent with the Huskies in February of 2009 have enrolled in school for the Spring 2010 Semester.
| Name | Pos. | Hgt. | Wgt. | Hometown/High School |
| Joshua Alexander | LB | 6-3 | 215 | Waldorf, Md./Westlake |
| Ty-Meer Brown | DB | 6-1 | 180 | McKeesport, Pa../McKeesport |
| Gus Cruz | OG | 6-4 | 256 | Manchester, N.H./Kimball Union Academy |
| Geremy Davis | WR | 6-2 | 205 | Lawrenceville, Ga./Norcross |
| Rueben Frank | FB | 6-2 | 229 | Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie |
| Mark Hansson | OT | 6-5 | 256 | Clearwater, Fla./Palm Harbour University |
| Byron Jones | DB | 6-0.5 | 175 | New Britain, Conn./St. Paul (Bristol) |
| Tebucky Jones | WR | 6-0 | 180 | Farmington, Conn./New Britain |
| Jonathan Louis | DE | 6-5 | 240 | Brockton, Mass./Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) |
| Taylor Mack | DB | 5-10 | 170 | Powder Springs, Ga./The Lovett School |
| B.J. McBryde | DE | 6-5 | 250 | Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls |
| Lyle McCombs | RB | 5-8 | 175 | Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph By The Sea |
| Scott McCummings | QB | 6-2 | 210 | Natick, Mass./Natick |
| Greg McKee | OT | 6-5 | 295 | Chicago, Ill./Martin Luther King College Prep |
| Andrew Opoku | DB | 6-4 | 226 | North Brunswick, N.J./Fork Union Military Academy (Va.) |
| Bryan Paull | C | 6-4 | 290 | Parkland, Fla./M. Stoneman Douglas |
| Angelo Pruitt | DL | 6-2.5 | 270 | Cincinnati, Ohio/North College Hill |
| Yawin Smallwood | LB | 6-3 | 215 | Worcester, Mass./Doherty |
| Gilbert Stlouis | CB | 5-11 | 175 | Davie, Fla./Plantation |
| Brandon Steg | LB | 6-3 | 220 | Coral Springs, Fla./J.P. Taravella |
| The following student-athletes each signed a Letter of Intent with UConn in 2009 and enrolled for the Spring 2010 semester | ||||
| Leon Kinnard | QB | 5-9 | 180 | Reistertown, Md./Loyola Blakefield |
| Michael Osiecki | LB | 6-2 | 225 | Seymour, Conn./ Seymour |
Biographies of the players after the jump.
Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 2/3
It’s going to be a busy day for the UConn Huskies football program as it’s National Signing Day for high school recruits. Today we will learn who will be the newest members of the Huskies for the next 4-5 years.
I will do my best to provide updates from the local media but head coach Randy Edsall will be holding a 3 p.m. press conference to announce who has signed letters-of-intent.
UConn Football links
Big East mailbag: Pitt rumors and expansion talk [ESPN.com – Big East Blog]
Top remaining recruiting battles in Big East [ESPN.com – Big East Blog]
The Big East’s best: No. 23, Marcus Easley [ESPN.com – Big East Blog]
Former Husky Deon Anderson arrested [ESPN.com]
Steg Hopes To Make Quick Impact At UConn [Hartford Courant]
UConn Women Turn Close Game Into Rout
For the first half, it looked as though the No. 11/8 West Virginia Mountaineers were going to battle the No. 1 UConn Huskies for the entire game trailing by just eight points at the half.
The Huskies quickly put that notion to rest though as 24-3 run in the early part of the second half gave them an 80-47 win over the Mountaineers in front of 9,745 at the XL Center in Hartford, CT on Tuesday night.
It’s the 61st straight win for the Huskies as they improve to 22-0 (9-0 Big East). The Mountaineers suffered just their third loss of the season as they fall to 20-3 (7-2).
Kalana Greene’s spectacular play continued as she led the Huskies with 18 points. Maya Moore had a monster game as she had 15 points and 14 rebounds. Tina Charles rounded out the Huskies in double figures with 14 points to go along with six rebounds and six blocked shots.
Freshman Kelly Faris had her best game since breaking her nose in practice as she finished with nine points and led the Huskies with four assists. She also had a key steal and subsequent three-point play with 15:54 to go in the game that helped key the big 24-3 run.
Sarah Miles paced the Mountaineers with 14 points and four rebounds whil Liz Repella added 13 points and four rebounds.
UConn got out of the gates quickly as they raced out to a quick 9-2 lead. The lead would get as high as 13 points at 28-13 before West Virginia would score the next seven points to cut the lead down to six points. The Huskies would take an eight point lead at 32-24 at the half.
It could have been a lot worse for West Virginia in the first half but the Huskies looked like their male counterparts with ten first half turnovers. They also couldn’t make a layup off of some terrific backdoor cuts.
With a 36-29 lead in the early parts of the second half, the Huskies turned the jets on with a 24-3 run. Tiffany Hayes got it going with two free throws and then Faris made the steal, getting the three-point play. Charles followed that with a 7-0 run of her own while Moore and Greene helped out as well to put the game away.
Considering the Huskies didn’t play all that well in the first half and won by 33 points tells you something you already knew. This team is downright nasty good. Can you imagine if they had their “A” game in the first half. They could have easily won this game by 40-50 points.
But consider a lesson learned as I’m sure head coach Geno Auriemma will tell his charges while watching the film and during practice on Wednesday.
The Huskies are off until Sunday when they head to Freedom Hall to take on the Louisville Cardinals in a Big East matchup. Tip is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
2010 NCAA Women’s Basketball Rankings (Feb. 2)
| AP Top 25 | ESPN/USA Today Poll | ||||||
| 1. | Connecticut (40) | 21-0 | 1000 | 1. | Connecticut (31) | 21-0 | 775 |
| 2. | Stanford | 19-1 | 960 | 2. | Stanford | 19-1 | 742 |
| 3. | Notre Dame | 19-1 | 896 | 3. | Notre Dame | 20-1 | 702 |
| 4. | Nebraska | 19-0 | 869 | 4. | Nebraska | 19-0 | 693 |
| 5. | Tennessee | 19-2 | 858 | 5. | Tennessee | 19-2 | 650 |
| 6. | Duke | 18-3 | 809 | 6. | Duke | 18-3 | 617 |
| 7. | Xavier | 16-3 | 721 | 7. | Xavier | 16-3 | 581 |
| 8. | Ohio State | 21-3 | 665 | 8. | West Virginia | 20-2 | 554 |
| 9. | North Carolina | 16-3 | 655 | 9. | Ohio State | 21-3 | 507 |
| 10. | Oklahoma State | 18-3 | 632 | 10. | Texas A&M | 15-4 | 440 |
| 11. | West Virginia | 20-2 | 593 | 11. | Oklahoma State | 18-3 | 434 |
| 12. | Texas A&M | 15-4 | 529 | 12. | Florida State | 19-4 | 417 |
| 13. | Oklahoma | 15-5 | 493 | 13. | Oklahoma | 15-5 | 388 |
| 14. | Georgia | 18-4 | 478 | 14. | Georgia | 18-4 | 381 |
| 15. | Baylor | 15-5 | 431 | 15. | North Carolina | 16-4 | 346 |
| 15. | Florida State | 18-4 | 431 | 16. | Georgetown | 18-3 | 329 |
| 17. | Texas | 14-6 | 357 | 17. | Baylor | 15-5 | 270 |
| 18. | Georgetown | 18-3 | 288 | 18. | Kentucky | 18-3 | 245 |
| 19. | LSU | 15-5 | 239 | 19. | Iowa State | 16-4 | 194 |
| 20. | Kentucky | 18-3 | 228 | 20. | Wisconsin-Green Bay | 18-2 | 151 |
| 21. | Georgia Tech | 18-5 | 152 | 21. | LSU | 15-5 | 137 |
| 22. | Iowa State | 16-4 | 130 | 22. | Vanderbilt | 16-6 | 104 |
| 23. | Wisconsin-Green Bay | 18-2 | 126 | 23. | Texas | 14-6 | 101 |
| 24. | Gonzaga | 18-4 | 83 | 24. | Virginia | 15-6 | 67 |
| 25. | St. John’s | 18-3 | 78 | 25. | St. John’s | 18-3 | 58 |
| OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES | OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES | ||||||
| TCU 72, Michigan State 70, Virginia 67, Vanderbilt 40, Hartford 29, Penn State 6, Princeton 4, DePaul 3, Marist 3, Vermont 3, Mississippi State 2, | Gonzaga 49, TCU 46, Hartford 31, East Carolina 14, Gardner-Webb 11, Georgia Tech 6, Vermont 5, DePaul 4, Southern Methodist 4, Dayton 3, Fresno State 3, Marquette 3, Penn State 3, USC 3, San Diego State 2, Toledo 2, Miami (FL) 1, Syracuse 1, Tulane 1 | ||||||
| Dropped From Rankings | Dropped From Rankings | ||||||
| TCU 20, Virginia 21, Penn State 23. | TCU 21. | ||||||
16 Huskies Named To Big East All-Academic Team
STORRS, Conn. – A total of 16 University of Connecticut football student-athletes were named to the 2009 BIG EAST All-Academic Football Team as announced on Tuesday. To be nominated and named to this team, a player must have a cumulative grade-point index of at least 3.0, have completed a minimum of two semesters of academic work.
“We are very proud of all 16 of our selections to the BIG EAST All-Academic Football Team,” said UConn head coach Randy Edsall. “Academic achievement, and ultimately graduation, is a key component to being a member of the Connecticut football program. I would like to pay special thanks to the Counseling Program for Intercollegiate Athletes (CPIA) for all the assistance that they provide the young men on our team.”
The following is a complete list of the UConn football student-athletes named to the 2009 BIG EAST All-Academic Football Team.
| PLAYER | YR | POS. | HOMETOWN | MAJOR |
| Harris Agbor | So. | S | Mesquite, Texas | Political Science |
| John Apostolakos | Sr. | TE | Pittsford, N.Y. | Sports & Leisure/Finance |
| Jimmy Bennett | RFr. | OT | Alexandria, Va. | Undeclared |
| Derek Chard | Jr. | TE | Burlington, Conn. | Finance |
| Marcus Easley | Sr. | WR | Stratford, Conn. | Sport Management |
| Robbie Frey | Jr. | RB | Lehighton, Pa. | History |
| Alex Kaiser | Jr. | TE | Newington, Conn. | Economics |
| Brad Kanuch | Sr. | WR | Johnstown, Pa. | Sports & Leisure |
| Alex LaMagdelaine | Sr. | OG | Rumson, N.J. | English/Economics |
| Corey Manning | RFr. | TE | Tyrone, Ga. | Undeclared |
| Alex Molina | Jr. | WR | Waterford, Conn. | Psychology |
| Emmanuel Omokaro | So. | S | Danbury, Conn. | Sports & Leisure |
| Moe Petrus | So. | C | St. Laurent, Que. | Psychology |
| Alex Polito | Jr. | DT | Reading, Pa. | Communication Sciences |
| Dave Teggart | So. | K | Northborough, Mass. | Sports & Leisure |
| John Yurek | So. | S | Greencastle, Pa. | Biological Sciences |
2010 Oscar Nominations
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released the nominees for the 2010 Academy Awards affectionately known as The Oscars. “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” both lead the way with nine nominations. Also take note that there are ten films nominated for best picture instead of five. You will notice some notable omissions from the awards such as Julianne Moore in “A Single Man” and “Invictus” in the best picture category. The 82nd Oscars will be presented March 7 in a ceremony airing on ABC from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will be your hosts. A full look at the nominations after the jump. Continue reading
Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 2/2
It’s game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as the West Virginia Mountaineers come to the XL Center for a Big East matchup.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised locally on CPTV. The game is also available on the internet for a fee through Hoop Streams. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can listen to the game on the WTIC/UConn Radio Network.
Louisville Adds To UConn’s Misery
Even if they expanded to the NCAA Tournament to 96 teams this season, as it is rumored to do next year, I don’t think the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team would make it in.
The Louisville Cardinals started out hitting their first five 3-point field goals and never trailed as they went on to beat the Huskies 82-69 in front of 19,655 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY on Monday night.
It’s the third straight loss for the Huskies and sixth in their last eight games as they fall to 13-9 (3-6 Big East). The Cardinals improve to 14-8 (5-4).
Jerome Dyson led all scorers in the game with 18 points. Kemba Walker added 15 points, five rebounds, three assists but had four turnovers. Stanley Robinson had another double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Gavin Edwards had 13 points.
Edgar Sosa paced the Cardinals with 15 points and eight assists while Jerry Smith had 14 points and five rebounds. Samardo Samuels chipped in with 13 points while Reginald Delk had 10 points. Jared Swopshire led the Cardinals with nine rebounds to go along with his nine points.
The Huskies fell behind 5-0 in the first thirty seconds of the game behind a layup by Sosa and a three-pointer by Smith. UConn came back to tie the game at seven but the Cardinals followed with an 8-0 run that put them out front for good.
The Cardinals would continue to build their lead as a Peyton Siva three-pointer gave them a 13 point lead at 25-12. UConn would never get any closer than seven points at 27-20 as the Cardinals would build their lead up to 14 points at 48-34 at the half.
UConn would work the lead down to ten at 55-45 on two Robinson free throws. The Cardinals followed that up with a 12-2 run to push the lead to 19 points at 66-47 to force UConn associate head coach Dave Blaney to take a timeout.
The resilient Huskies didn’t quit as they went on a 17-5 run to cut the Cardinals lead to seven at 73-66 with 9:20 to go. But that’s as close as the Huskies would get as they scored just three points the rest of the game.
If it weren’t for making 19-of-23 free throws in the first half, the Huskies could have been trailing by at least 20 points. They shot just 25.9% (7-of-27) in the first half. They also failed to take care of the ball yet again as they had ten first half turnovers.
I’ll say it again, the Huskies miss Jim Calhoun but I’m not sure what he could have done or what he can do. Maybe move Gavin Edwards back into the starting lineup? Who knows?
Something needs to change for the Huskies but if they don’t learn to take care of the ball, they’ll just continue to beat themselves.
The Huskies will look to end their three-game losing streak on Saturday night when the DePaul Blue Demons come Gampel Pavilion for a Big East matchup. The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. and will be televised locally on My-TV9 and SNY.
Report: Red Sox Sign Joe Nelson
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Boston Red Sox have signed reliever Joe Nelson to a minor league contract.
Nelson was 3-0 with a 4.02 ERA in 42 games for the rival Tampa Bay Rays last season.
He was designated for assignment by the Rays on August 1, 2009 and spent the final month of the season with the Rays Triple-A affiliate the Durham Bulls. In 13 games for the Bulls, he was 2-2 with a 6.23 ERA.
Nelson is no stranger to the Red Sox organization as he was in the system briefly in 2002 and again in 2004. He made three appearances for the Red Sox in May of 2004 and had no record with 16.88 ERA.
He spent most of the 2004 season with the Portland Sea Dogs and Pawtucket Red Sox where he was a combined 3-2 with a 2.96 ERA in 41 games. His 2002 stint lasted all of four games for the Trenton Thunder, who were the Red Sox Double-A affiliate then.