The Team USA Women had their first tough game at the World University Games as they held off a tough Poland team 75-67 in Belgrade, Serbia.

UConn Huskies senior center Tina Charles led the way with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Her UConn teammate Tiffany Hayes chipped in with 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Maya Moore didn’t play in the game and will miss the rest of the tournament with a sprained knee.

“It was nothing unsual, just something crazy,” Moore said. “I can’t even tell you what happened, but there were a couple of times during a few possesions that I began to feel something. There was no force involved; I didn’t come to a sudden stop during a fastbreak, but I immediately knew that I had better come out of the game and that it probably wasn’t smart that I try to get back in.

“We had some x-rays taken and now we’re in the process of figuring out what the best plan to rehab it will be, but for now the plan is to rest it for the remainder of the tournament. I’ll do what I have to do to get it better.’

Here is what Charles had to say after the win courtesy of USA Basketball:

What kind of team is Poland?
They’re really aggressive, their zone really worked. They executed well, they scouted well. They saw that if they played us man-to-man, they couldn’t guard us. So they kept their zone in and it really worked.

Have you played against a zone like that the entire game before?
No, but it’s to be expected. With us being collegiate athletes and knowing little things like this, it’s expected.

The USA shot 20-of-52 from 2-point today. Can you comment on that?
They had three people on us, four people on us, swarming us. They saw that the post players we have on this team really dominate, so they did what they had to do.

Were you pleased with your team’s effort today?
Yes. We just stuck together. There were times when it could have been a closer game, but we just stuck together and didn’t let it get to us mentally. We stuck together and pulled it out.

Team USA is back in action on Tuesday when they will take on the Czech Republic.

USA Women Fight Off Poland, Remain Undefeated With 75-67 Win [USA Basketball]

Maya Moore will miss the remainder of World University Games [Hartford Courant]

After watching their bullpen blow the game for a second straight night, the Boston Red Sox returned the favor scoring five runs in the 7th inning to beat the Seattle Mariners 8-4 in front of 37,691 on a gorgeous day for baseball at Fenway Park.

The win for the Red Sox prevented the Mariners from their first ever sweep at Fenway Park. The Red Sox improve to 49-32 and maintain their one game lead in the AL East over the Yankees. The Mariners fall to 42-39.

Trailing 4-3 going into the 7th, the Red Sox rallied for five runs off of the Mariners bullpen.

Miguel Batista took over for starter Brandon Morrow and retired Nick Green on a fly ball to start the inning.  He walked J.D. Drew and allowed a single to Dustin Pedroia before getting Kevin Youkilis to fly out for the second out.

David Ortiz came up with a clutch single to score Drew and tie the game at 4.  Mark Lowe came in and walked Jason Bay to load the bases. Jacoby Ellsbury then worked a walk to force in the eventual winning run. Mark Kotsay added some insurance runs as his two-run single pushed the lead to 7-4.

Sean White came into the game and threw a ball in the dirt that got past Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima for a passed ball allowing Ellsbury to score from third to make it 8-4.

Jon Lester started this one for the Red Sox and threw the ball well until the 4th when he got into some trouble. He was also the victim of  a Pedroia that kept the inning alive. Overall, Lester went 6 2/3 innings, allowing 4 runs (1 earned) on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 9.

The Sox bullpen was strong behind Lester as Justin Masterson went 1 1/3 innings, striking out 3 of the 4 batters he faced.  Hideki Okajima followed with an 11-pitch effort in the 9th.

Brandon Morrow gave the Mariners a strong effort this afternoon as well. He allowed two early runs and then settled down. He gave up a 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7.

Pedroia had a big afternoon with 3 hits, including a solo home run in the 1st.  David Ortiz continues to see his average rise as he added another 2 hits, including a solo home run, and had 2 RBIs as well. Jacoby Ellsbury’s one hit of the afternoon was a solo blast while Kotsay’s only hit of the day was the 2-run single.  Bay and Jason Varitek had the other hits.

Good to see the bullpen throw the ball well today and not let their struggles affect them on the mound.

The Red Sox will now host another team from the AL West as the Oakland A’s come to town for three games.  John Smoltz will make his Fenway Park debut in a Red Sox uniform and will be faced by rookie Brett Anderson.

The 2009 MLB All-Star Selections were announced this afternoon and the Boston Red Sox led all of Major League Baseball with six selections.

Jason Bay and Dustin Pedroia were voted into start by the fans while Jonathan Papelbon and Josh Beckett were voted in by the players. Rounding out the selections by Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon were Kevin Youkilis and Tim Wakefield.

For Wakefield, this will be his first All-Star game in his 17-year career. Bay’s selection is his third and first in the AL. The selection for Papelbon is his fourth in four seasons and for Beckett, this is his second since coming over to the Red Sox.

This is the second straight season that Pedroia has been voted in by the fans and it’s also the second straight selection for Youkilis.

After Nick Green tied the game last night in the 8th inning, Ramon Ramirez was touched up for 2 runs in the 11th to help the Seattle Mariners to a 7-6 win over the Boston Red Sox. Today, the Red Sox look to get back into the win column.

The game this afternoon will start at 1:05 PM EDT and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Mariners television market, you can catch the game on FOX Sports Northwest. And if the television isn’t your cup of tea, you can catch the game on one of the many affiliates of the Red Sox Radio Network.

Brad Penny looks to continue his run of quality starts this afternoon for Terry Francona. Penny is 6-3 with a 4.79 ERA in 15 starts this season and has seen ERA go down in each start. Penny has faced the Mariners just once in his career and suffered the loss as he gave up 5 runs in 6 innings.

Garrett Olson makes his second start of the season against the Red Sox. He faced them in Seattle where he took the loss after allowing 5 runs in 6 innings. On the season, he is 3-2 in 14 appearances (7 starts). He hasn’t had much success against the Red Sox as he is 0-5 with a 7.71 ERA in 7 starts. Olson is 0-3 with an 8.82 ERA in 3 starts at Fenway Park.

On behalf of Amanda and myself, we’d like to wish you Happy 4th of July. Please be safe out there and remember if you’ve been drinking, don’t drive.

Wakefield’s greatest hits [Extra Bases]

Pregame: Red Sox Vs. Mariners [Extra Bases]

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:

Here is how the hitters have fared against this afternoon’s starting pitchers:

The Boston Red Sox returned home to Fenway Park for a 10-game stanza last night only to have the Seattle Mariners spoil the first game with a 7-6 win.

Tim Wakefield started last night and set a Red Sox record with his 383rd start, moving him out of a tie with Roger Clemens. Wake was hoping to pick up his 11th win of the season and possibly also an All-Star berth.

But after struggling a little bit last night but battling to give the Red Sox eight innings, he’ll have to wait until the team is announced on Sunday to find out his fate. In my book, he’s an All-Star because for a period of time, he carried the Red Sox and kept them afloat in the AL East.

Ramon Ramirez is continuing to go through a rough patch as he was touched up for 2 runs in the 11th inning. Ramirez had been throwing the ball well before this latest stretch. We all know that pitchers go through times like this and Ramirez will most likely turn it around. Let’s just hope it comes sooner rather than later.

Spoiled rotten [Boston Globe]

A night to forget for Wakefield [Providence Journal]

Tim Wakefield, Red Sox a foot short [Boston Herald]

Matsuzaka headed to Florida for long rehab [Boston Globe]

Ramirez wastes late rally [Providence Journal]

Still worthy of a starring role [Boston Herald]

Ramirez not sweating the struggle [Boston Globe]

Red Sox journal: Feeling better, Lowell says he could play now [Providence Journal]

A saving grace for David Aardsma [Boston Herald]

Law of averages [Ask Amalie]

Dice-K bound for Florida to strengthen his arm [Providence Journal]

Fan friendly? Not quite [Boston Herald]

Papelbon Vows to Keep Memento Away From Dog [Full Count]

Kottaras launches first career homer [Providence Journal]

Josh Beckett’s a believer [Boston Herald]

Red Sox run afoul with bad luck [Full Count]

Bay knows struggles won’t last long [RedSox.com]

Five Things We Learned: Wakefield Gained One Honor But Might Have Missed Out Another [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.

And to see what the enemy papers have to say, you can check out the Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Tacoma New Tribune websites have to say.