UConn Huskies captain and punter Desi Cullen is one of ten semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, which is given to the top punter in college football.

According to the website for the award, particular emphasis was placed on the following statistics: net average, percentage of total punts inside the 20-yard line, and percentage of punts not returned.

Here is a list of the ten semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award:

• Drew Butler – Georgia
• Desi Cullen – UConn
• Peter Caldwell – Utah State
• Ryan Donahue – Iowa
• Chas Henry – Florida
• Jeff Locke – UCLA
• Rob Long – Syracuse
• Zoltan Mesko – Michigan
• Johnny Hekker – Oregon State
• Matt Reagan – Memphis

Cullen has punted 43 times in 2009 with an average of 43.8 yards. He’s had eighteen punts be downed inside the opponent’s 20 yard line and has had seven been fair caught.

The finalists for the award will be announced on November 23 and the award will be presented during the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards show on Thursday, December 10.

I’m confused. I thought the Boston Red Sox rotation for 2010 was already set.

We already know that Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield will be in the starting rotation in 2010. So what’s the pressing need for John Lackey?

According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox have interest in Lackey and have met with his agent. According to Silverman, the Red Sox are just gauging their interest right now.

Could Theo Epstein have something up his sleeve in regards to a trade for a bat? With Jed Hoyer now in San Diego as the Padres general manager, it’s quite possible there could be some dialogue there. The question remains will Hoyer move Gonzalez?

But if the Red Sox become players in the sweepstakes for Gonzalez or anyone for that matter, they would need a backup plan for starting pitching. Most likely Hoyer and any other general manager the Red Sox become involved with in trade talks will want Buchholz. The Red Sox have always said that Buchholz would be off-limits in any trade but this could prove different with a bat like the one Gonzalez possesses.

Lackey is the top free agent pitcher on the market this offseason. It’s rumored that he turned down $72 million contract extension from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and that he wants more money than what A.J. Burnett got from the New York Yankees (5 years, $82.5 million). We can also expect the Yankees to be heavily involved as well.

He would definitely fill a need should the Red Sox trade Buchholz and also if the Red Sox are unable to work out a contract extension with Beckett, who is set to be a free agent after the 2010 season.

It looks like the Hot Stove is heating up quickly and on November 20th, it will get even hotter when all free agents are allowed to with any team.

The Major League Baseball Players Association sent out an email to the media on Friday and the Boston Red Sox have eight members who are eligible for salary arbitration for 2010.

They are Brian Anderson, Fernando Cabrera, Manny Delcarmen, Jeremy Hermida, Casey Kotchman, Hideki Okajima, Ramon Ramirez and Jonathan Papelbon.

During Theo Epstein’s reign as general manager of the Red Sox, not one player has gone to arbitration and I’d expect that trend to continue this year. I do suspect that he’ll have his hands full with Papelbon again who’ll likely be seeking another record salary in an arbitration year for a closer.

The Red Sox have tried to secure Papelbon with a long-term deal like they did with Jon Lester, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia but he has rebuffed their efforts. Papelbon made $6.25 million last season after making $775K in 2008.

Here is a list of what the players made in 2009:

• Anderson: $440,000
• Cabrera: $700,000 (when on big league roster)
• Delcarmen: $476,000
• Hermida: $2.25 million
• Kotchman: $2.825 million
• Okajima: $1.75 million
• Ramirez: $441,000

Welcome to the overslept edition of the UConn Huskies news for Friday, November 13, 2009.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they kick off the 2009-10 season by hosting the Tribe of William & Mary at Gampel Pavilion. Tip is scheduled for roughly 7:30 p.m. and the game is being televised locally on WTNH-8 and also on SNY. 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

In My Tribe [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Mailbag Question, 11/12 [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

UConn Receives LOI From Michael Bradley [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

William & Mary Notes [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Countdown: 1 [TheUConnBlog.com]

Walker takes over reins as UConn’s court leader [Connecticut Post]

2009-10 UConn men’s basketball team [Hartford Courant]

UConn’s 2008-09 Season: A Wild Ride To The Final Four [Hartford Courant]

William & Mary At UConn [Hartford Courant]

Building, No Boards [Hartford Courant]

Huskies Open Season Against William & Mary [Hartford Courant]

It’s Breakout Time For Walker [Hartford Courant]

UConn Needs To Keep Dynamic Dyson On Court [Hartford Courant]

Big East: Just The Facts (In predicted order of finish) [Hartford Courant]

It’s showtime for the Huskies [New Haven Register]

UConn basketball: Freshman back just in time for regular season opener [Norwich Bulletin]

UConn men take first step tonight [The Day]

For openers, UConn wants to avoid ‘whoops’ [The Republican-American]

William and Mary come to town for regular season opener [The Daily Campus]

Continue reading →

Boston Red Sox left fielder and current free agent Jason Bay has been named as a winner of the 2009 Silver Slugger Award. The award is given annually to the top performing player at each position.

In 151 games with the Red Sox in 2009, Bay hit .269 with 36 home runs, 139 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. In 200 games total with the Red Sox, Bay has hit .274 with 45 home runs, 156 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.

Here are the 2009 winners of the Silver Slugger Award:

UConn Football links

Has Edsall Taken Program As Far As He Can? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Any Updates On Recruits? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Any Update On Jimmy Bennett? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Why Can’t People Enjoy UConn-Cincy For What it Was? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Is UConn After Any In-State Players And Who’s Visiting? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Makes even less sense [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Michala Johnson signs [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Huskies ready to face Huskies [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Michael Auriemma Ready To Make His Move [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Renee Montgomery Leading Effort To Help Hartford Children [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

The Girl Who Wants To Go To UConn Camp Can Play [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Walton ready to face UConn [New Haven Register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Four! [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Jerome Dyson Still In Pain; Ready To Go [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Tuning Up For Opener [Hartford Courant]

Jamal Coombs To Play … At Power Forward [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Jamal Coombs-McDaniel [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

It’s basketball season (who knew?) [Neill Ostrout – Connecticut Post]

Countdown: 2 [TheUConnBlog.com]

5 questions facing the UConn men [Connecticut Post]

Breaking down the Huskies [Connecticut Post]

UConn men’s basketball notebook: Dyson aggravates injured toe [Connecticut Post]

Huskies at a glance [Connecticut Post]

Coombs-McDaniel Asked To Help At Power Forward [Hartford Courant]

Coombs-McDaniel is making noise at UConn [New Haven Register]

Walker settles into driver’s seat for Huskies [The Day]

Huskies’ prospects this season are a mystery [The Day]

Walker: A man (with sneakers) for all reasons [The Day]

Coombs-McDaniel ready to step in [The Day]

Jerome Dyson Ready to Step Up for UConn Hoops [NESN.com]

Jim Calhoun [Athlon Sports]

Why did the Detroit Pistons waste so much money on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva? [PistonPowered]

On Monday, there was report that Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek was going to exercise his player option after the Red Sox had declined their team option.

Although the article stated he was going to exercise his player option, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and his agent, Scott Boras, stated that they didn’t know his intentions.

But on Wednesday, Varitek made it official that he’ll be returning to the Red Sox.

“We’re happy to have Jason back and we look forward to a good year from him in 2010,” Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. “He means an awful lot to the organization on and off the field. He helps solidify our catching position also and is a big asset to the pitching staff.

He’ll have a different role in 2010 as Victor Martinez will be the Red Sox everyday catcher.