2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings (Feb. 1)

As expected, the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team dropped out of both polls. I sure would like to know what six coaches voted UConn in ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 as they received six votes.

Have they not watched the Huskies recently?

AP Top 25 ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Kansas (54) 20-1 1,605 1. Kansas (26) 20-1 769
2. Villanova (4) 19-1 1,534 2. Villanova (4) 19-1 735
3. Syracuse (6) 21-1 1,506 3. Kentucky (1) 20-1 705
4. Kentucky (1) 20-1 1,460 4. Syracuse 21-1 703
5. Michigan State 19-3 1,367 5. Michigan State 19-3 652
6. West Virginia 17-3 1,230 6. West Virginia 17-3 596
7. Georgetown 16-4 1,204 7. Purdue 18-3 552
8. Purdue 18-3 1,182 8. Georgetown 16-4 550
9. Texas 18-3 1,069 9. Duke 17-4 503
10. Kansas State 17-4 1,025 10. Texas 18-3 495
10. Duke 17-4 1,025 11. Kansas State 17-4 433
12. Brigham Young 21-2 748 12. Brigham Young 21-2 432
13. Ohio State 16-6 677 13. Gonzaga 17-4 351
14. Tennessee 16-4 655 14. Tennessee 16-4 330
15. New Mexico 20-3 636 15. Butler 18-4 297
16. Wisconsin 16-5 585 16. Wisconsin 16-5 277
17. Gonzaga 17-4 541 17. Temple 18-4 253
18. Vanderbilt 16-4 502 18. Ohio State 16-6 245
19. Temple 18-4 495 19. Georgia Tech 16-5 211
20. Baylor 16-4 461 20. Vanderbilt 16-4 160
21. Georgia Tech 16-5 459 21. Pittsburgh 16-5 133
22. Pittsburgh 16-5 278 22. Northern Iowa 19-2 129
23. Butler 18-4 216 23. New Mexico 20-3 125
24. Northern Iowa 19-2 193 24. Baylor 16-4 109
25. Mississippi 16-5 132 25. Cornell 18-3 53
Others Receiving Votes Others Receiving Votes
Florida State 77, Cornell 39, UAB 32, Wake Forest 31, Xavier 31, Siena 19, Rhode Island 17, UNLV 16, Clemson 16, Missouri 13, Charlotte 12, Marquette 10, Saint Mary’s 9, UTEP 7, Wichita State 5, Oklahoma State 3, Maryland 2, George Mason 1. Mississippi 52, Clemson 49, Florida State 34, Missouri 32, UAB 21, Saint Mary’s 18, Xavier 15, Rhode Island 11, UNLV 11, Siena 8, Connecticut 6, Maryland 5, Louisiana Tech 4, Virginia Tech 4, Tulsa 3, California 2, Oklahoma State 2.
Dropped From Rankings Dropped From Rankings
Connecticut 19, UAB 25. Connecticut 19, Mississippi 20, Clemson 21.

UConn Women No. 1 In AP Poll For Record-Setting 37th Week

The UConn bench reacts to not getting to do another chorus of the "YMCA" song before play continued late in the second half at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh - Michael McAndrews/Hartford Courant

As the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team goes through their season, they are continuing to rewrite the history books.

This time around, it’s for being the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll for the record-setting 37th week. Louisiana Tech previously held the record of 36 straight weeks, a feat they accomplished from 1980-1982.

The Huskies have won 60 straight games and that trails only the 2001-2003 UConn teams, who won 70 games in a row.

The ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll doesn’t come out until Tuesday but rest assured you will find the Huskies on top of that one too.

A full look at the AP Top 25 after the jump.

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Tina Charles Named To Big East Honor Roll

For the past five weeks, UConn Huskies All-Americans Tina Charles and Maya Moore been named the Big East Player of the Week.

UConn's Tina Charles scores her 2,001st career point at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh - Michael McAndrews/Hartford CourantThat streak ended on Monday though as Jessica Lawson of the South Florida Bulls was named the Big East Player of the Week. However, Charles was named to the Big East Honor Roll.

Charles, who scored her 2,000th career point on Saturday, averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds to help the Huskies to their 59th and 60th consecutive victories.

In the win over Rutgers, Charles had 11 points and eight rebounds. In Saturday’s win over Pittsburgh, Charles had 24 points and nine rebounds.

The Huskies return to action on Tuesday night when the West Virginia Mountaineers come to the XL Center in Hartford, CT 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.

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 2/1

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they are at Freedom Hall to take on the Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals.

The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN as part of Big Monday. You can also catch the game on ESPN360 where available. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can listen to the game on the WTIC/UConn Radio Network.

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NFL 2000s All-Decade Team

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady receives congratulations from coach Bill Belichick near the end of the Patriots' 35-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass. Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009. With the victory, the Patriots won the AFC East - AP Photo

Before the start of the Pro Bowl on Sunday night, the NFL announced it’s 2000s All-Decade team.

For those of us who are New England Patriots fans, there are six former or current Patriots that were selected to the team. They are listed in red.

Here’s a look at the whole team.

Quarterback: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning
Fullback: Lorenzo Neal
Running Back: Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Edgerrin James, LaDainian Tomlinson
Wide Receivers: Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens
Tight End: Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez
Offensive Tackles: Walter Jones, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace, William Roaf
Guards: Larry Allen, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson, Will Shields
Centers: Olin Kreutz, Kevin Mawae

Defensive Ends: Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers, Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor
Defensive Tackles: La’Roi Glover, Warren Sapp, Richard Seymour, Kevin Williams
Linebackers: Derrick Brooks, Ray Lewis, Joey Porter, Zach Thomas, Brian Urlacher, DeMarcus Ware
Cornerbacks: Ronde Barber, Champ Bailey, Ty Law, Charles Woodson
Safeties: Brian Dawkins, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Darren Sharper

Punters: Shane Lechler, Brian Moorman
Punt Returners: Dante Hall, Devin Hester
Kickers: David Akers, Adam Vinatieri
Kick Returners: Joshua Cribbs, Dante Hall

Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy

Video: Herschel Walker Impressive In Strikeforce Debut

Former Georgia Bulldogs and Dallas Cowboys great Herschel Walker made his MMA/Strikeforce debut on Saturday night in Sunrise, FL against Greg Nagy and came away with a victory after the referee stopped the fight.

Walker dominated the fight and spent most of his time on the ground, pounding Nagy. It got so bad in the third round that the referee stopped the fight because Nagy was laying flat on his stomach and not defending himself.

While I don’t expect to see Walker taking on Fedor or Brett Rogers, I’m sure his debut was good enough to get another match somewhere down the line.

Walker donated his earnings from the fight to Project Turnaround, a Dallas-based charity that aims to “rebuild communities from the inside out with a comprehensive, faith-based program designed to improve and enrich the lives of urban youth and families.”

Here’s the video of all three rounds of Walker’s debut.

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Final two rounds after the jump

 

 

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Charles Hits 2,000 Point Milestone In UConn’s Romp Over Pitt

UConn's Tina Charles gets a hug from associate head coach Chris Dailey after UConn beat Pitt 98-56 and Charles surpassed 2,000 career points at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh. Charles finished with 24 points in the game to push her career total to 2,007 - Michael McAndrews/Hartford Courant

UConn Huskies senior center Tina Charles now finds herself in some select company of 2,000 point scorers at UConn.

Charles scored 24 points and had nine  rebounds to help the No. 1 Huskies to a 98-56 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers in front of 7,121 at the Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon.

UConn's Tina Charles scores her 2,001st career point at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh - Michael McAndrews/Hartford CourantCharles needed 17 points to reach 2,000 points in her career at UConn and she got it on a layup with 5:01 remaining in the first half. She joins Nykesha Sales, Kerry Bascom, Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi and Kara Wolters in the select company. Taurasi was the last to hit the 2,000 point milestone back in 2004.

It’s the 60th straight win for the Huskies who improve to 21-0 (8-0 in the Big East) on the season. Pittsburgh, who was ranked for nine straight weeks to start the season, falls to 12-8 (1-6).

Junior All-American Maya Moore added 22 points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists. Kalana Greene continued her great play as she chipped in with 16 points while Meghan Gardler came off the bench to add eight points and seven rebounds.

Shayla Scott paced the Panthers with 18 points and seven rebounds.  Jania Sims added 11 points while Taneisha Harrison had seven points.

The Huskies opened up the game on a 19-6 run with the bulk of the scoring coming from the big three of Charles, Greene and Moore. The Panthers battled back though as they went on a 7-2 run to cut UConn’s lead to eight at 21-13.

But any hope of the Panthers coming all the way back fell by the wayside as the Huskies put the game away with a 14-2 run to open up a 20 point lead. The Huskies would enjoy a 57-32 lead at the half and with the reserves playing most of the second half, the Huskies would continue to increase their lead.

When UConn’s big three is on, there’s just no stopping them. As I’ve said all along, it’s going to take a perfect game to beat the Huskies.

They could get a challenge on Tuesday night at the XL Center when the No. 16/11 West Virginia Mountaineers come to town. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast locally here in Connecticut on CPTV.

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