Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 11/6

Austrie, a Stamford, CT native, was selected with the third pick in the fourth round by the Springfield Armor. The Armor are coached by former Boston Celtic Dee Brown.

Wagner And Baldelli File For Free Agency

Earlier on Thursday, Boston Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay filed for free agency. Later in the day, two of his teammates joined him.

Billy Wagner (L) - AP Photo, Rocco Baldelli (R) - Reuters Photo Reliever Billy Wagner and reserve outfielder Rocco Baldelli both filed for free agency on Thursday afternoon.

It was expected that Wagner would file for free agency and we know the Red Sox will offer him arbitration as he is a Type A free agent. Unless the Red Sox trade Papelbon, which is not going to happen, Wagner will be looking for a closer’s job somewhere. He had said he was going to retire but his agent said that was said in the heat of the moment after the Red Sox were eliminated by the Angels.

Wagner appeared in 15 games for the Red Sox and was 0-2 with a 1.98 ERA. He had 22 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings.

Baldelli, a Rhode Island native spent a good portion of the season on the disabled list with various ailments. In 62 games played, he hit .253 with seven home runs, 23 RBIs and a stolen base.

With the acquisition of Jeremy Hermida earlier on Thursday, it’s highly unlikely that Baldelli will be back with the Red Sox next season.

Rashad Anderson Drafted 9th Overall By Iowa Energy

Former UConn Huskies men’s basketball player Rashad Anderson should have no problems with cold winters after spending four years in Storrs, CT. I hope he was smart enough to keep his cold weather gear as he’ll need it this winter.

Anderson was taken 9th overall in the first round of the NBA D-League Draft on Thursday night by the Iowa Energy. He’ll join one of his former teammates in Denham Brown there.

After leaving UConn, Anderson went to the Greek League where he played for Egaleo BC during the 2006-2007 season. He spent the 2007-2008 in the Italian second division with TDShop.it Livorno and played for Snaidero UD in the Italian first division last year.

Lincecum Likes The Mary Jane

Tim Lincecum #55 of the San Francisco Giants looks on against the San Diego Padres during a Major League Baseball game at AT&T Park on September 9, 2009 in San Francisco, California. - Getty Images One of my favorite pitchers to watch in the National League is San Francisco Giants starter Tim Lincecum. He’s so effortless on the mound and is one of the best young pitchers in the game.

And of course, he’s the reigning Cy Young Award winner in the NL.

Lincecum looks to be an easy going guy off the field as evidenced by his MLB 2K9 commercial.

So it should come as no surprise to anyone that he was pulled over for speeding back on October 30th and after a search of his car, was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia use.

The trooper pulled the Mercedes over. When the driver, Lincecum, rolled down his window, the trooper smelled marijuana. He asked Lincecum to hand it over, and Lincecum reached into his dashboard console and produced a small pouch and a pipe, Schatzel said.

The amount was 3.3 grams, Schatzel said, which is considered only enough for personal use. Lincecum did not appear to be impaired behind the wheel and is not being charged with a felony crime, Schatzel said.

I’m sure the Giants won’t be happy about this and he’ll probably face some sort of fine from them as well.

Pot found in star pitcher’s car during I-5 speed stop [The Columbian]

Bay Watch Begins

Bay Watch

Bay Watch has officially begun as Boston Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay filed for free agency on Thursday. The Red Sox can negotiate exclusively with him over the next 15 days.

During that time, he can talk to other teams but cannot talk financial terms or contract. If he hasn’t re-signed with the Red Sox within the 15 days, he can sign anywhere including the Red Sox.

The Red Sox will probably also offer him arbitration so that if he does sign somewhere else, they will get two draft picks since he is a Type A free agent.

Let the fun begin folks. Something tells me this is going to be a long two weeks.

Red Sox Get Hermida From Fish

Florida Marlins batter Jeremy Hermida hits the go ahead run of the game during baseball action in the sixth inning of the Monday, June 1, 2009 game in Miami as the Marlins defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4. - AP Photo

Either this is really ironic or ESPN The Mag reporter Buster Olney really knows what he’s talking about. Check this out from his visit to the Dale and Holley Show on WEEI.com on Thursday morning.

Buster, I’m about to give you a new job here, get ready for this. I know I haven’t prepped you on this, but you are no longer ESPN baseball analyst, you are now the general manager of the Boston Red Sox. What are you going to do in the offseason, general manager Olney, to get the Red Sox back to the World Series?

I’m calling the Florida Marlins about Jeremy Hermida, who’s going to be one of these guys who might be non-tendered. I’m calling and trying to pluck the best of those guys, and I guarantee you Theo [Epstein]’s been doing that, in talking with general managers around the game. They say this is a really heavy part of the conversation right now. I don’t think they’re in a position at this moment to make a dynamic huge move. Idiots like me might say go get Prince Fielder, go sign John Lackey. I think they’re going to be laying back a little bit. Next year’s going to be somewhat of a transition year as they work through the last years of the contracts for Ortiz and Mike Lowell, and I don’t think they’re in a position really to do really what they’re going to need to do to upgrade their offense. I think next year’s going to be another sort of plug-and-fill year, and they’re going to have to do more incremental-type stuff like adding a promising young player like Jeremy Hermida.

So now guess what Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein did on Thursday afternoon.

That’s right, he traded for OF Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins. In return, the Red Sox sent LHP Hunter Jones and LHP Jose Alvarez to Miami.

Hermida, just 25 years old, hit .259 with 13 home runs, 47 RBIs and five stolen bases in 2009. He’s a career .265 hitter and has had 57 home runs and 210 RBIs in four plus seasons with the Marlins.

It will be a little different now for Hermida coming to Boston, probably as the fourth outfielder. The Marlins averaged 18,770 fans while the Red Sox got 37,811 a game plus the Red Sox played in front of an average of 33,869 fans on the road.

Happy Free Agency Day

Now that the unnamed team to the south of here has won the World Series, free agency will kick off in Major League Baseball and the real offseason can finally begin.

Obviously the big thing on the plate of the Boston Red Sox is getting Jason Bay under contract. He will most likely file for free agency today. As with all free agents and their respective clubs, the Red Sox can negotiate exclusively with Bay for fifteen days. He is allowed to talk with other teams but cannot have discussions which involve financial terms. Just a general discussion if you will.

The Red Sox will also have to make a decision on Jason Varitek. We’ve already learned that the Red Sox will exercise the option on the contract of Victor Martinez and he’ll be the guy going forward. The Red Sox hold a $5 million team option on Tek while he holds a $3 million player option with incentives.

Another big decision will be whether or not to exercise the option on the contract of shortstop Alex Gonzalez. It’s a mutual option for $6 million with a $500K buyout. The Red Sox will probably look at the health of Jed Lowrie before making that decision.

I will do my best to follow all of the Red Sox offseason action to keep everyone informed. I’ll add my opinion in as well from time to time.

So for now, Happy Free Agency Day or as I’m going to call it this year, welcome to the start of Bay Watch.

Bay Watch

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 11/5

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

UConn Women’s Basketball links

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they will take on St. Rose College in an exhibition game at Gampel Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. There is no television for the game but as we learned yesterday, the game will be available on Husky Vision for $9.95. You can also listen to the game on the WTIC/UConn Radio Network.

Looking ahead to Saint Rose [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Doty Ready; So Is Dixon [Rich Elliott – Connecticut Post]

My Sportsman: Diana Taurasi [Sports Illustrated’s Jack McCallum] [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Here’s Nancy Lieberman’s take on the All-American team [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

2010 WNBA Draft Lottery To Be Held Thursday [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Dixon UConn women’s starter at point guard [Connecticut Post]

UConn Women: Fresh Start For Buck [Hartford Courant]

UConn Women: What To Watch Tonight [Hartford Courant]

Exhibition is big game for Buck Three-time Register MVP is healthy and ready to play [New Haven Register]

Huskies have 3 options at the point [The Republican-American]

UConn women to play first exhibition tonight [The Day]

National champs kick off season [The Daily Campus]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Countdown: 9 [TheUConnBlog.com]

No Bailout for AIC [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Huskies leave Hartford a winner [Neill Ostrout – Connecticut Post]

Pictures at an Exhibition [David Borges – New Haven Register]

3 UConn players held out of exhibition win [Connecticut Post]

Dyson, 2 Others Sit Out Exhibition Win [Hartford Courant]

Eligibility concerns mar UConn rout of AIC [New Haven Register]

Short on players, Huskies still win [Norwich Bulletin]

Dyson, two others held out of UConn exhibition [The Republican-American]

UConn minus three players for first exhibition [The Day]

UConn Football links

Chat today [Chip Malafronte – New Haven Register]

Pike Or Collaros: Does It Matter? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

What Is UConn’s Payday For Saturday’s Game? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Do You Think Marcus Easley Is On NFL Radar? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Any Thoughts On This One, Folks? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Looking at attendance in the Big East [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Big East picks, Week 10 [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Streaky Frazer Needs To Step Up [Hartford Courant]

UConn QB Frazer back in the spotlight [The Republican-American]

UC looks to avenge ’08 loss to Huskies [The News Record]

Huskies prepare for prime time matchup [The Daily Campus]

UConn-Cincinnati Game To Be Seen In 46% Of USA

It may not look like it on the map below but the game between the UConn Huskies and Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday night at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati will be shown to 46% percent of the homes in the United States.

ABC Saturday night football coverage map for 11/7

In looking at the map, the areas where the game will be shown are places where Huskies head coach Randy Edsall and his staff do some recruiting. Edsall said it best yesterday that this will basically be a three hour infomercial for UConn.

“For us, being a young program to have that happen, maybe it’s because we beat them a year ago,” he said. “People see that exposure is tremendous. Again, this is another one of those situations where people thought with this program we’d never be on TV, but here we are going against Oklahoma-Nebraska and Arizona State-USC, and the lead team is broadcasting our game. I think it’s good for the conference.”

The exposure the Huskies will get over the next two games, at the Bearcats, then at Notre Dame on Nov. 21, is priceless. “You can’t buy this type of advertising from a school standpoint or a state standpoint,” Edsall said. “It gets you in front of more recruits nationwide.”

As we learned on Monday, ABC is sending it’s top college crew of Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salters to broadcast the game.

Map courtesy of HD Sports Guide

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