Boston Red Sox free agent outfielder Jason Bay was hoping to get a big pay day on the free agent market and have many teams competing for his services. Now it’s looking like the only place Bay could be playing is in Queens in 2010.

With the Seattle Mariners acquiring outfielder Milton Bradley from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitcher Carlos Silva, the Mariners seem likely to be out of the running for Bay. Although Red Sox GM Theo Epstein hasn’t officially closed the door, it’s highly unlikely he’ll be back in Beantown.

So where does that leave Bay?

Having rejected Boston’s final offer, it appears the only team with a contract offer out there is from the New York Mets at 4 years, $65 million. The Mets had been considering adding a fifth year and increase the offer to $75 million.

There’s no reason for the Mets to do that though now as Bay really has no leverage. There’d been reports that the San Francisco Giants were willing to offer Bay a five year contract but Bay wants no part of the Bay area.

If I’m Mets GM Omar Minaya, I stay pat with my 4 year offer. Considering the way things have gone, I’d expect that’s the best Bay will get.

UConn Football links

WTIC NewsTalk 1080 Has Big Plans For Bowl Game [UConnHuskies.com]

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

UConn Women’s Basketball links

EuroLeague All-Star voting begins [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Hartley honored [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Notes And Quotes, This And That About UConn And The Sun [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Majok ready for debut [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

Majok To Play, Possibly Start, vs. Central Florida [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

All Ater, all the time [Neill Ostrout – Connecticut Post]

Majok finally ready for UConn debut [UConnReport.com]

UConn’s Majok eager for next step in journey [Connecticut Post]

Calhoun Contract Extension Nearly Done [Hartford Courant]

It’s Been A Long Journey For Majok [Hartford Courant]

Majok’s time has finally arrived [The Day]

Other UConn related links

Check out FWG on GQ.com [Thoughts From a Fat White Guy]

Baseball: Springer Named to 2010 NCBWA Division I Preseason All-America Second Team [UConnHuskies.com]

Men’s Soccer: Alvarez Named to the 2009 Soccer America All-Freshman First Team [UConnHuskies.com]

Here’s a press release from the UConn Athletic Communications Department about adding a game to the 2010 UConn Huskies football schedule.

STORRS, Conn. – The University of Connecticut has announced that Texas Southern University (Houston, Texas) of the Southwestern Athletic Conference has been added to its 2010 non-conference football schedule, replacing Northeastern University. The game, UConn’s home opener, will be played on Sept. 11 at Rentschler Field. Connecticut was originally scheduled to play Northeastern on that day, but four weeks ago the institution announced it would no longer sponsor a football team.

Connecticut’s other non-conference dates for 2010 are: Saturday, Sept. 4, at Michigan; Saturday, Sept. 18, at Temple (Lincoln Financial Field); Saturday, Sept. 25, vs. Buffalo at Rentschler Field; Saturday, October 2, vs. Vanderbilt at Rentschler Field.

“I believe that it takes certain players to play here and when you have those players you don’t want to lose them. I hope that…I don’t want to lose the Mikey Lowell’s, the JBay’s, those type of people that are ball players. And that’s out our control but still having played with them, I’ll go to war and put them in the trenches anytime.”

Boston Red Sox captain Jason Varitek on the potential losses of Jason Bay and Mike Lowell

Fundraising Event Benefited David Ortiz Children’s Fund

BOSTON, MA  December 18, 2009 –  Did you miss the David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic this year?  You can catch all the highlights in a special Red Sox Report airing on Sunday, December 20, 2009 at 10:30 p.m. EST.

Produced by Emmy-winning Red Sox Productions, the show chronicles the weekend’s activities, including the welcome reception, pairings party, golf tournament and awards gala. There will be exclusive interviews from David’s Red Sox teammates, baseball superstars and friends such as Pedro Martinez, sports legends Bobby Orr, Alonzo Mourning, Andres Galaragga, Jim Rice, John Havlicek and many more.

The show is guest hosted by David Ortiz, Red Sox teammate Mike Lowell, Red Sox teammate Clay Buchholz and his wife Lindsay, MLB Network commentator and former Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey, USA Network’s Burn Notice actor Jeffrey Donovan and former Saturday Night Live actress and comedienne Rachel Dratch, all of whom attended the event.

In addition to coverage of the celebrity golf classic, the show will also feature one-of-a-kind footage of David Ortiz visiting Cedimat Hospital in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and interviews with family members of children who are receiving critical care courtesy of the David Ortiz Children’s Fund.

The Red Sox Report is presented by CVS/Pharmacy. The show will be rebroadcast at the following dates and times:  December 21 at 5:00 p.m.; December 22 at 1:30, 5:30 and 11:30 p.m.; December 23 at 4:30 p.m.; and December 27 at 10:30 p.m.

About the David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic

The second annual David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic was held December 3-6, 2009 at Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic, one of the most spectacular resort communities in the world. Guests stayed at the five-star luxury Sanctuary Cap Cana Golf & Spa, overlooking the turquoise waters and pristine beaches of the Caribbean Sea.  The golf tournament itself took place at Punta Espada, a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course.

At the 2009 Celebrity Golf Classic, David Ortiz was joined by a host of celebrities and MLB players, including Red Sox teammates Clay Buchholz, Jason Varitek, Mike Lowell, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Daniel Bard, and Tim Wakefield. Other MLB players included Alex Rodriguez, Pedro Martinez, Robinson Cano, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Placido Polanco.  Others attending the event included MLB Network commentator Sean Casey; Red Sox manager Terry Francona,  Houston Astros manager Brad Mills, actors Jeffrey Donovan, Rachel Dratch and Sam Page, pop singer Joanna “JoJo” Levesque; and sports legends Bobby Orr, Jim Rice, Luis Tiant,  John Havlicek and Alonzo Mourning.

MVP sponsors for the 2009 David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic were JetBlue, Reebok, vitaminwater, and Sharp Electronics.  For more information about sponsorship opportunities for the 3^rd Annual David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic, please contact Michele Lasky at michelelasky@company20.com.

About the David Ortiz Children’s Fund

The David Ortiz Children’s Fund  (DOCF) is committed to helping children in New England and the Dominican Republic  that do not have access to the critical pediatric services they need. The DOCF is proud to partner with Massachusetts General Hospital to fulfill its mission in New England and with Heart Care Dominicana and International Hospital for Children to fulfill its mission in the Dominican Republic. These organizations are committed to healing as many children as possible by providing critical pediatric healthcare. Working together, these organizations are increasing the number of children that will receive lifesaving services.  For more information on the David Ortiz Children’s Fund, please visit http://www.davidortizchildrensfund.org/.

UConn Football links

Four Seniors To Play In All-Star Games [UConnHuskies.com]

How Is UConn The Home Team For Bowl? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Revisiting preseason picks [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Expansion mania [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

South Carolina-Connecticut Preview [The Tuscaloosa News]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

North Carolina (Jan. 9) and Notre Dame (Jan. 16) Games Approaching Sellout [UConnHuskies.com]

Maya Moore is back and better than ever [Inside Women’s Basketball]

Game For Hype [Hartford Courant]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Kyle Lyddy Book Signing [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

The metamorphosis of Gavin Edwards [The Republican-American]

What Now? [TheUConnBlog.com]

At long last, Majok will debut for Connecticut [Andy Katz Blog – ESPN.com]

Bulls could use Gordon right now [ESPN.com]

Other UConn related links

Women’s Soccer: Taylor Named To Soccer America MVPs Second Team [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Volleyball: Strauss-O’Brien Announces Incoming Volleyball Class [UConnHuskies.com]

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today announced the following changes to their 2010 Opening Series:

Game 2 of the Opening Series against the New York Yankees, originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 7, 2010 will now be played on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 7:10 p.m.

Game 3 of the Opening Series against the New York Yankees, originally scheduled for Thursday, April 8, 2010 will now be played on Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 7:10 p.m.

Monday, April 5 and Thursday, April 8 will now be scheduled off-days in the team schedule.

These changes to the schedule were made in light of 2010 Opening Night being moved up to Sunday, April 4, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. That game will be televised in the local broadcast market (all of New England minus Fairfield County, CT) on NESN HD, and nationally on ESPN2