No Holiday Hangover For The Huskies In Win Over Iona

After the break for final exams, the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team came out sluggishly in games against Central Florida and Maine. On Sunday afternoon at the XL Center in Hartford, CT, Stanley Robinson made sure there was no holiday break hangover.

UConn's Stanley Robinson (No. 21) shoots during UConn's game against Iona - Tia Ann Chapman/Hartford Courant Robinson led five players in double figures with 29 points as the Huskies went on to beat the Iona Gaels in front of 13,867 fans.

The Huskies improve to 9-2 on the season while the Gaels fall to 8-5.

Despite a poor afternoon from the floor (4-of-11), Jerome Dyson finished with 17 points and 7 assists. Kemba Walker added 14 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists while Jamal Coombs-McDaniel had 13 points and 3 steals.  Gavin Edwards rounded out the Huskies in double-digits with 10 points and finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 9 off the bench. He also blocked three of UConn’s nine blocked shots on the day.

Ater Majok had another rough game as he scored just two points but did have six rebounds and three blocks. He did look more comfortable on the court though.

The Gaels were led by Scott Machado’s 14 points and 5 assists. Both Rashard McGill and Rashon Dwight had 12 points while Jonathan Huffman chipped in with 10 points.

Two free throws by Dyson gave UConn an eight point lead at 14-6 before six straight points by Iona cut the lead to two. The Huskies responded with a 9-3 run to push the lead back up to 8. Iona responded back with five straight points to cut it the lead to three at 23-20.

UConn then used a 14-4 run to take a 13 point lead at 37-24. They ended up scoring the final four points of the half to take a 45-31 lead into the locker room.

The closest Iona would get is 12 points in the second half.

If Coombs-McDaniel can put together some more games like he did on Sunday and Majok can continue to improve , the Huskies could make some noise as the season goes on.

UConn will finish out 2009 in the Big East opener on Wednesday night when they head to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats at 7 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

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Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 12/27

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they are at XL Center in Hartford, CT hosting the Iona Gaels at 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can listen to the game on the WTIC/UConn Radio Network.

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Huskies return to work [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

Jerome Dyson Interview [UConn Huskies Basketball]

UConn wary of Iona [Connecticut Post]

Fan mail: Calhoun’s behavior inexcusable [Connecticut Post]

UConn game day: Iona at No. 11 UConn [Connecticut Post]

Calhoun Still Looking For A Quick Start From Huskies [Hartford Courant]

Preview: No. 11 UConn Men Vs. Iona [Hartford Courant]

Iona has UConn’s attention [New Haven Register]

It’s different when the boo is on the other foot [New Haven Register]

UConn faces Iona in final tuneup for Big East [The Day]

Going gets tougher for UConn men [The Republican-American]

UConn Football links

UConn’s Easley the ultimate late bloomer [Connecticut Post]

UConn’s Bowl Opponent: Spurrier Driven To Be First [Hartford Courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

atta boy, clarence. [Alysa Auriemma]

UConn Moments: Top 10 Women’s Individual Performances [Hartford Courant]

Former UConn Player Holds Memory Of Child Close [Hartford Courant]

UConn women streaking toward history [The Republican-American]

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 12/26

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

UConn Football links

Marcus Easley: From nowhere to a possible NFL future [The Republican-American]

What We Learned: Easley makes most of his chance at UConn [The Sporting News]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Huskies Aren’t Alone [Hartford Courant]

UConn women give their foes no hope [The Republican-American]

Renee Montgomery – 2009 Gazette Sportsperson of the Year [West Virginia Gazette]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

A Glance At Big East Men’s Hoops [Hartford Courant]

From afar [Journal Inquirer]

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 12/25

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

UConn Football links

Big East Christmas mailbag [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Gamecocks prepping for hefty Huskies running game [The State]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

KJ Welcomed Back [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

KJ, Svet Back In The House [Rich Elliott – Connecticut Post]

UConn women’s rewind [Connecticut Post]

No Worries After 1st Test [Hartford Courant]

No. 1 UConn thrives at board games [New Haven Register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Majok completes journey from Sudan to UConn starting lineup [SI.com]

On the Verge: Hasheem Thabeet Interview [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Giving Back: Josh Boone at Childrens Hospital [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Bay Watch: Does Bay Want To Return To Boston?

Bay Watch

Late Wednesday night, we learned from Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that the Boston Red Sox may still be interested in bringing back their free agent outfielder Jason Bay.

There have been a few different reports since then stating that it’s highly unlikely the Red Sox will pursue Bay due to budget restraints, ie the Red Sox don’t want to pay the luxury tax which is set at $170 million next season.

But according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Bay could want to return to Boston in 2010.

It’s hard to get a feel just yet for how serious the Boston Red Sox are about renewing their pursuit of Jason Bay, but it’s looking more and more as if Bay very much wants to play for them — as opposed to the Mets, that is.

It may be the result of Bay’s agent, Joe Urbon, continuing to call the Red Sox in recent days, according to a report in the Boston Globe.

The Red Sox have already offered Bay a 4 year, $60 million dollar deal. The only other known offer is from the New York Mets for 4 years, $65 million.

As Sherman points out, the Red Sox don’t want to pay a luxury tax and would have to “backload” Bay’s contract meaning he’d get more in the final years. But why backtrack and want to return to the Red Sox.

We all know how highly he spoke of Boston but rejected their last offer. And now all of the sudden he wants to return to Beantown.

I’m beginning to wonder if Bay thought there was going to be more offers for his services than what’s he gotten so far.

Stay tuned folks as this will probably get real interesting once the holidays pass us by.

John Manuel Ranks Casey Kelly As His 14th Overall Prospect

Boston Red SoxTwo days ago, Baseball America released it’s Top 10 Prospects for the Boston Red Sox. And while Ryan Westoreland is the number 1 prospect, Baseball America writer John Manuel doesn’t have him in his personal top 20. That nod goes to the number 2 Red Sox prospect in pitcher Casey Kelly. Here’s a brief sampling of what Manuel says about Kelly.

WHY HE’S HERE: Kelly actually hit and pitched in 2009, as he had ability as a shortstop and wanted to hit. His hitting ability lagged behind his pitching prowess, and after a trip to the Arizona Fall League, Kelly realized his future is on the mound.

It will be interesting to see where Westmoreland and Kelly rank in the Top 100 when Baseball America releases that in the near future.