Ryan Boatright Named To 2015 Bob Cousy Watch List

From UConn:

Springfield, Mass. – University of Connecticut senior guard Ryan Boat right (Aurora, Ill.) has been named as a candidate for the 2015 Bob Cousy Award, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in men’s college basketball. Over 35 candidates have been nominated for the 2015 Bob Cousy Award.

Boatright, the 2014 American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, averaged 12.1 points a game and 3.5 rebounds for the Huskies last season. The Connecticut standout was named to the All-Final Four Team and finished his 2013-14 campaign second on the team in steals (61) and assists (131.)

Last season, former UConn guard Shabazz Napier won the award after leading the Huskies in points (18.0), assists (4.9) and steals (1.8).

This watch list of candidates will be narrowed down to a final 20 in early February, then final five by early March. A premier Selection Committee has been appointed by the Hall of Fame to review the candidates in contention for the nation’s top collegiate point guard award. This committee is made up of top college basketball personnel including members of the media, head coaches, media relations contacts and Hall of Famers.

The Cousy Award winner will be presented the award on Championship Monday in Indianapolis at the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 Announcement and Press Conference.

2015 Bob Cousy Award Candidates

Olivier Hanlan Boston College
Quinn Cook Duke University
Tyus Jones Duke University
D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera Georgetown University
Kevin Pangos Gonzaga University
Siyani Chambers Harvard University
Yogi Ferrell Indiana University
Monte Morris Iowa State University
Kenneth Smith Louisiana Tech University
Cameron Payne Murray State University
Chasson Randle Stanford University
Will Cummings Temple University
Alex Caruso Texas A&M University
T.J. McConnell University of Arizona
Ryan Boatright University of Connecticut
Kasey Hill University of Florida
Andrew Harrison University of Kentucky
Tyler Ulis University Kentucky
Terry Rozier University of Louisville
Romelo Trimble University of Maryland
Angel Rodriguez University of Miami
Derrick Walton Jr. University of Michigan
Jarvis Summers University of Mississippi
Marcus Paige University of North Carolina
Pierria Henry University of North Carolina (Charlotte)
Jordan Woodard University of Oklahoma
EC Matthews University of Rhode Island
Isaiah Taylor University of Texas
Julius Brown University of Toledo
Delon Wright University of Utah
London Perrantes University of Virginia
Keifer Sykes University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Ryan Arcidiacono Villanova University
Briante Weber Virginia Commonwealth University
Juwan Staten West Virginia University
Fred VanVleet Wichita State University

Stewart, Mosqueda-Lewis Named AP Preseason All-Americans

UConn’s #30 Breanna Stewart goes in for the block against West Chester G #21 Brittany Sicinski in exhibition contest at Gampel Pavilion on Sunday, November 2, 2014.

From UConn:

STORRS, Conn. – For the second consecutive season, senior forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) and junior forward Breanna Stewart (Syracuse, N.Y.) were selected to the Associated Press Preseason All-America Team, as announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier this week, the pair of teammates were named to the American Athletic Conference Preseason First Team, as the Huskies were picked as the favorite to win the league. UConn was tabbed as the nation’s preseason No. 1 team by the AP before cruising to an 89-point victory over West Chester in its 2014-15 exhibition opener on Nov. 2.

Stewart enters her junior campaign after leading the team with 19.4 points and 2.8 blocks per game in UConn’s 2013-14 national championship season. She recorded double-digit points in 38 of UConn’s 40 games on her way to being selected as the2013-14 National Player of the Year by the Associated Press, the Atlanta Tip-Off Club (Naismith Trophy), the United States Basketball Writers Association and the Honda Sports Award.

Mosqueda-Lewis made 26 starts and notched 19 double-figure scoring games in an injury-shortened junior campaign. She posted the program’s third-ever triple-double in the Huskies’ NCAA Second Round victory over Saint Joseph’s on March 25. The three-point sharpshooter saved her best for the postseason, earning a spot on the American Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team after posting 14.7 points and shooting 47.4 from beyond the arc. In addition, Mosqueda-Lewis was tabbed as the Lincoln Regional Most Outstanding Player after averaging 17.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 51.0 percent in the Huskies first four NCAA Tournament victories

It marks the first time the same pair of teammates from one team have been selected to the five-member team in multiple seasons. The rest of the team is rounded out by Notre Dame’s Jewell Loyd, Duke’s Elizabeth Williams and South Carolina’s Tiffany Mitchell.

The Huskies finish up preseason play on Sunday, Nov. 9 when they host Post University at the XL Center in Hartford. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m.

photo credit: ian bethune

Red Sox Announce Roster Moves

As we get ready for open season on MLB free agents on Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox have announced two roster moves.

Here’s the release:

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today announced the following roster moves:

Infielder Carlos Rivero was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners.

Infielder Jonathan Herrera was outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcements.

Rivero, 26, played in four games (one start) for the Red Sox, making his major league debut and going 4-for-7 (.571) with two doubles, a home run, and three RBI. Before being selected to the major league roster on August 25, he split the season (105 games) between Double-A Portland and Pawtucket, hitting .264 (103-for-390) with 20 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, and 53 RBI.

Herrera, 30, made 42 appearances for Boston in his first year with the organization, hitting .233 (21-for-90) with a double, two triples, and nine RBI. He was optioned to Pawtucket on July 7, playing in 13 games for the PawSox before missing the remainder of the season with a right elbow injury. The switch-hitter will become a minor league free agent this evening at 5:00 p.m. ET.

With today’s moves, Boston’s 40-man roster is now at 36.

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Huskies Roundup – 11/4/14

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 the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a DAILY basis.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

It’s game day for the UConn Men’s Basketball team as they’ll take on the Southern Connecticut Owls at Gampel Pavilion in a exhibition contest. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Cincy’s Cronin high on Cassell; enjoys UConn rivalry [william paxton – ct post]

No. 17 UConn Opens Preseason Play Tuesday Against Southern Connecticut [uconn huskies]

UConn men look to develop frontcourt [ct post]

Southern-UConn: Tylon Smith Gets Another Crack at Huskies [hartford courant]

Five Things To Look For In UConn Men’s Game Vs. Southern [hartford courant]

SCSU could give UConn a fight in exhibition opener at Gampel [new haven register]

SNY spotlights possible UConn recruit [sny uconn]

Omar Calhoun unlikely to play Tuesday [sny uconn]

UConn men working to find a place in Ollie’s rotation [the day]

UConn Football links

National honor for UConn’s Andrew Adams [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn’s Newsome making an impact as a freshman [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn in NFL: Week 9 report [jim fuller – new haven register]

AAC Notes: Victory Over ECU Huge Boost For Temple [hartford courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Notebook: Nurse adjusting to college game [carl adamec – sny uconn]

Williams Getting An Inside Look With Huskies [rich elliott – ct post]

Versatility to be hallmark of this UConn team [rich elliott – ct post]

UConn Experiments With Guard Gabby Williams In Frontcourt [hartford courant]

Other UConn related links

M. Soccer. Three Huskies Earn Weekly Conference Awards [uconn huskies]

W. Ice Hockey. Huskies Host Brown On Tuesday Night [uconn huskies]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn Men’s Ice Hockey Home Opener [uconn huskies youtube]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn Hockey Team Needs To Improve Offensive Output [hartford courant]

American Athletic Conference Weekly Football Honors – Nov. 3

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the league’s weekly football honors for the 10th week of the college football season.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Brandon Hayes • Sr. • RB • Memphis • Chicago, Ill.

Hayes turned in his second consecutive 100-yard game to lead Memphis to a 40-20 win against Tulsa. He rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries, including a key 51-yard TD with 14 seconds left in the first half that gave the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish. He added second-half touchdowns of 30 and 14 yards on his way to his sixth career 100-yard game. Hayes ranks second in The American in rushing at 75.9 yards per game.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Praise Martin-Oguike • Jr. • DE • Temple • Woodbridge, N.J.

Martin-Oguike was the key to Temple’s defensive effort, which forced five turnovers in the Owls’ 20-10 win against No. 21/19 East Carolina — Temple’s first win against a top-25 opponent since 1998. Martin-Oguike finished the game with four tackles, 1.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and a blocked field goal. Martin-Oguike was also tabbed as the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jake Elliott • So. • K • Memphis • Western Spring, Ill.

Elliott scored a career-high 16 points, with four field goals and four PATs, to help Memphis to a 40-20 win against Tulsa. Included among his four field goals were kicks from 53 and 51 yards as he became the first American Athletic Conference player to hit two field goals of at least 50 yards in a game. Elliott also connected from 47 and 37 yards and saw five of his nine kickoffs go for touchbacks. Elliott is the leading scorer in The American with 71 points this season.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

Munchie Legaux • Sr. • QB • Cincinnati • New Orleans, La.

Returned to his hometown to complete 16 of 24 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in a 38-14 win at Tulane.

Andrew Adams • Jr. • S • UConn • Fayetteville, Ga.

Had seven tackles and tied the American Athletic Conference record with three interceptions in a 37-29 win against UCF.

Deshon Foxx • Sr. • WR • UConn • Lynchburg, Va.

Rushed for 102 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown, out of the Wildcat formation and had three receptions for 14 yards in a 37-29 win against UCF.

Kenneth Farrow • Jr. • RB • Houston • Hurst, Texas

Rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries and had a touchdown reception in a 27-3 win at USF.

Tyler Matakevich • Jr. • LB • Temple • Cedar Hill, Texas

Had a school-record 16 solo tackles with one tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup in a 20-10 win against No. 21/19 East Carolina.

2014-15 NCAA Women’s Basketball Rankings – Coaches Preseason Poll

The NCAA Women’s Basketball USA Today Coaches Poll came out on Monday and just like the AP Poll, the UConn Huskies are the preseason favorites.

They are joined in the top five by the South Carolina Gamecocks, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Tennessee Volunteers and Texas A&M Aggies.

There are no other teams from the American Athletic Conference ranked in the top 25. The South Florida Bulls are the only team from the American among the others receiving votes.

During the season, we’ll be published both polls together in one post on Tuesdays. The AP Poll comes out on Monday while the USA Today Coaches Poll comes out on Tuesday. Yeah, I don’t get it either.

USA Today Coaches Poll
RK	TEAM	REC	PTS
1	Connecticut (32)	40-0	800
2	South Carolina	29-5	739
3	Notre Dame	37-1	736
4	Tennessee	29-6	683
5	Texas A&M	27-9	630
6	Stanford	33-4	608
7	Duke	28-7	566
8	Maryland	28-7	543
9	Baylor	32-5	531
10	Kentucky	26-9	484
11	Louisville	33-5	474
12	Texas	22-12	458
13	North Carolina	27-10	407
14	California	22-10	366
15	Michigan St	23-10	343
16	Nebraska	26-7	305
17	West Virginia	30-5	274
18	Depaul	29-7	246
19	Iowa	27-9	217
20	Oklahoma St	25-9	164
21	Oregon St	24-11	123
22	Dayton	23-8	117
23	UCLA	13-18	116
24	LSU	21-13	65
25	Syracuse	23-10	55
Dropped from rankings:
Penn State 14, BYU 18, Purdue 19, NC State 21, Gonzaga 22
Others receiving votes:
Penn State 50, Rutgers 45, Purdue 37, Georgia 29, Vanderbilt 24, Gonzaga 17, BYU 16, Florida St 16, St. John’s 16, NC State 14, Iowa State 12, South Florida 11, Ohio State 10, Arkansas 9, Oklahoma 8, Oregon 8, Middle Tennessee 7, USC 7, Western Kentucky 5, James Madison 3, Arizona St 2, Albany 1, Arkansas St 1, Marist 1, CS Northridge 1

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Huskies Roundup – 11/3/14

Thank you for stopping by and 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

Video: Diaco Would Like To See the “Civil Conflict” [sox & dawgs]

Video: UConn CB Jhavon Williams On The Importance of Wearing No. 6 [sox & dawgs]

Jasper Howard Memorial Dedicated [uconn huskies]

Report Card: That’s More Like It For UConn [hartford courant]

Huskies’ Offensive Line Shows Considerable Improvement [hartford courant]

UConn receiver Noel Thomas catching on as big-play threat [new haven register]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Forward thinking makes Williams valuable [carl adamec – sny uconn]

Geno Says He Got Only Half The Story In 1985 [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Nurse Solid In Debut With Huskies [rich elliott – ct post]

Chong Produces In Starting Role [rich elliott – ct post]

Freshmen debut for UConn [jim fuller – new haven register]

No. 1 UConn Cruises To 115-26 Exhibition Victory Over West Chester on Sunday [uconn huskies]

Freshman Nurse impressive in UConn’s exhibition romp [ct post]

UConn Women Perform As Expected In 115-26 Preseason Win [hartford courant]

UConn freshmen see first action in win over West Chester [new haven register]

Other UConn related links

W. Soccer. Hill Powers UConn To 1-0 Win Over Tulsa In American Quarterfinal Match [uconn huskies]

W. Ice Hockey. Huskies Tripped Up, 6-0, At Vermont [uconn huskies]

W. Volleyball. Volleyball Falls in Four To Memphis in Weekend Finale [uconn huskies]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn Beaten by Yale, 2-1, in Liberty Hockey Invitational [uconn huskies]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn Falls To Yale In Tourney Final [hartford courant]

Video: UConn CB Jhavon Williams On The Importance of Wearing No. 6

If you are a UConn Huskies football fan, y’all know the significance of the No. 6 uniform.

It was the uniform number of the late Jasper Howard who tragically lost his life in 2009 hours after a game against the Louisville Cardinals.

Over the years, his No. 6 has been worn by his closest friends on the team and for the past two seasons by Jhavon Williams, a Florida native like Howard. His spirit has lived on with the saying, “PLAY EACH PLAY LIKE IT’S THE LAST PLAY YOU WILL EVER PLAY.”

On Saturday at halftime of the game of the eventual win against the UCF Knights, a memorial with the No. 6 for Howard was unveiled.

Watch and listen below as Williams talks about the importance of wearing the No. 6

photo credit: ian bethune

Video: Diaco Would Like To See the “Civil Conflict”

civilconflict

Rivalries are born, they aren’t created. Unless you are UConn Huskies football coach Bob Diaco who would like to see a rivalry be born between his program and the UCF Knights.

During his postgame press conference after the win against UCF, Diaco talked about how he would like to the start “Civil Conflict” with the Knights. And by “Civil Conflict”, he meant a rivalry game with them.

And when he said it, he meant no disrespect towards the UCF football program.

Oh by the way, he’s even willing to pay for the trophy himself.

Watch below as Diaco talks about the “Civil Conflict”

During his postgame wrap Sunday, he expanded on the remarks.

“What’s interesting is now that I’ve been in it for a little while here, in this conference, it’s an exciting conference and UCF becomes a conversation because they’re awesome, because I have such admiration and respect for them,” Diaco said. “Watching Coach O’Leary’s team and trying to prepare against them, you’re thinking what a contest this is going to be if we’re prepared.”

“I know he’s been doing it for 11 years without change, so it’s not going to change in the future and I know where we want to go and where we are going to go, so I thought, what an awesome contest it would be to kind of create a rival.”

“Obviously it takes two to tango, we’d need cooperation on their part, but to me that’s fun,” he said. “It spices things up and not in a negative way, but a positive way. I think it adds to the overall enjoyment for the fans and the universities and creates some spice and some pizzazz.”

While I like the idea, it is hard to create a rivalry. It might be better to look down the road and try to get something similar to this going with the UMass Minutemen, with whom they play in 2016 and 2017.

The two teams have a rivalry that dates back to 1897 and was played every year from 1952-1999. The two teams met as FBS opponents in 2012 when UConn beat UMass 37-0. Overall, UMass leads the rivalry 36-34-2

photo credit: sox & dawgs illustration

Wolf Pack Hang On For 4-3 Win Over Sharks

By Zachary Grenier

Hartford, CT, November 2, 2014 – The Hartford Wolf Pack escaped with a 4-3 victory Sunday afternoon over the Worcester Sharks at the XL Center.

Hartford drew first blood when the Bourque brothers capitalized on a power play opportunity with 8:42 gone in the first period. Ryan Bourque carried down to the right faceoff circle and looked across the crease to find Chris Bourque, who beat Worcester goaltender J.P. Anderson to the glove side.

J.T. Miller got in on the action just 2:38 later, when he finished another pass across the front of the crease, this one from defenseman Mat Bodie.

The scoring was not done for the Wolf Pack in the first period. Just as a Hartford power play was expiring, Danny Kristo let fly from the same faceoff dot that Chris Bourque capitalized fro, and fired a wrist shot that again beat Anderson glove side.

“Our starts are something that we’ve really tried to key on,” said Miller. “We have to make sure that we don’t get too comfortable. We got outshot handily, even though I thought we were playing well.”

While Hartford was outshot 39-18 at the end of the game, the teams were at a stalemate in the second period.

“I thought we made some real good plays early (offensively) and then we tried to force things as the game went on,” said Hartford coach Ken Gernander.

A lot of the credit for the stalemate was due to the play of Hartford goaltender Cedrick Desjardins, and his ability to come up with the big save.

“He was a big part of contributing part of our win tonight,” said Gernander. “We didn’t do enough to generate offense or to alleviate time spent in our defensive zone for the last two periods of the game. So now you’re relying on your defense, your penalty killing and your goaltending.”

Desjardins made a few huge saves for his teammates, especially on the penalty kill where he faced several point-blank chances from the slot and slammed the door shut.

In the third period, the Pack came out firing, with Jesper Fast putting up his first goal of the season just 28 seconds in to play to make it 4-0.

Worcester foiled Desjardins’ shutout bid with 8:08 remaining in the third period, when Ryan Carpenter found the puck in front of the net and put it home for his second goal of the season.

The third period push continued for the Sharks when Freddie Hamilton cut the Hartford lead to just two with 3:13 left in the game.

“He (Desjardins) held them off for quite a while there. If they’re able to get one earlier in the game there and then the second and certainly a third, it could certainly be a whole different scenario or a whole different outcome,” said Gernander.

Tyler Kennedy really took the Pack down to the wire when his second goal of the season made it a one goal game with just 1:12 left in regulation.

“If we face adversity, we see the guys who want to fight through the true adversity and that’s what we did,” said Desjardins. “We have a lot of gamers in that locker room and a lot of guys with experience, so we never panic.”

Next up for the Wolf Pack is a “school day special” morning game this Wednesday, November 5 against the Albany Devils. The Pack and Devils face off at 11:00 AM at the XL Center on Wednesday, and that’s another chance to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack”. The Family Value Pack features two tickets, two sodas and two hot dogs, all for only $35.

Tickets for all 2014-15 Wolf Pack home games are now on sale at the XL Center ticket office, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499. Wolf Pack tickets start as low as $12 for youth 12 years old or younger.

To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info.

Worcester Sharks 3 at Hartford Wolf Pack 4
Sunday, November 2, 2014 – XL Center

Worcester 0 0 3 – 3
Hartford 3 0 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Hartford, Bourque 3 (Bourque, Miller), 8:46 (PP). 2, Hartford, Miller 3 (Bodie), 11:24. 3, Hartford, Kristo 3 (Vaive, Lindberg), 14:05. Penalties-Langlois Wor (hooking), 7:34; DeMelo Wor (holding), 12:05; Tarnasky Hfd (interference), 15:54; Spinell Hfd (cross-checking), 18:03.

2nd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Lindberg Hfd (tripping), 0:38; Potulny Hfd (slashing), 1:46; Haley Wor (roughing, fighting), 9:23; Tarnasky Hfd (fighting), 9:23; Tennyson Wor (cross-checking), 15:28.

3rd Period-4, Hartford, Fast 1 (Bodie, Lindberg), 0:29. 5, Worcester, Carpenter 2 (Kennedy, DeMelo), 11:52. 6, Worcester, Hamilton 5 (Tarasov, Abeltshauser), 16:47 (PP). 7, Worcester, Kennedy 2 (Lerg, DeMelo), 18:48. Penalties-Kristo Hfd (hooking), 2:46; Shattock Wor (fighting), 5:53; Spinell Hfd (checking to the head, fighting), 5:53; Fedun Wor (hooking), 13:12; Jackson Hfd (slashing), 16:03.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 12-13-14-39. Hartford 7-7-4-18.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1 / 7; Hartford 1 / 5.
Goalies-Worcester, Anderson 0-1-0 (18 shots-14 saves). Hartford, Desjardins 3-0-0 (39 shots-36 saves).
A-2,443
Referees-Cameron Voss (78), Keith Kaval (40).
Linesmen-Brent Colby (7), Paul Simeon (66).

Sox and Dawgs

A New England Sports Blog