UConn Football links
Reuben Frank’s Coach On The Check In And Happy 4th! [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
Poughkeepsie’s Frank commits to UConn [Poughkeepsie Journal]
UConn Women’s Basketball links
Diana Taurasi reacts to DUI arrest [Bright Side of the Sun]
Destination Red Sox Nation is our look at how the minor league teams of the Boston Red Sox fare each night. Game story and box score links as well as links to team rosters, team stats and league standings are after the jump.
Comedian Lenny Clarke made yet another appearance on the NESN airwaves during last night’s Boston Red Sox game and was once again hilarious. Unfortunately, he might not be invited back as the Seattle Mariners were able to score 3 runs to come back from a 2-1 deficit.
[flash http://ianbethune.com/clarkefunny.flv w=510 h=338]
Lenny Clarke Sans Denis Leary This Time [SOX & Dawgs]
Lenny Clarke Visits Sans Denis Leary, Again [SOX & Dawgs]
Have a great and safe holiday everyone!!!! If you’re going to drink, make sure you have a designated driver.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Wt4ilg4d6S8
The Boston Red Sox tied the game up in the 8th inning but Rob Johnson’s third double of the game was good enough for two runs to help the Seattle Mariners to a 7-6 win in 11 innings in front of 38,078 at Fenway Park.
Trailing by two runs in the bottom of the 8th, the Red Sox mounted their comeback.
Sean White took over for Mariners starter Felix Hernandez and he retired David Ortiz to start the inning. He then walked Jason Bay and Mark Kotsay singled to chase him from the game. Shawn Kelley came in and got Jacoby Ellsbury to fly out for the second out of the inning.
Nick Green followed the Ellsbury out with a wall ball double that was inches away from being a 3-run homer. Instead it was good enough for two runs to tie the game up at 5. George Kottaras had a chance to help Tim Wakefield get the win but he ended up fouling out to end the inning.
The game went to extra innings and in the 11th inning the Mariners got two runs off of Johnson’s double to go ahead 7-5. Kottaras homered in the bottom half of the inning but that’s all the local nine would get.
The loss for the Red Sox drops their record to 48-31 and their lead shrinks to 2 games in the AL East as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays earlier in the day. The Mariners improve to 41-38.
Wakefield was denied his 11th win of the season as he gave the Red Sox eight innings. He allowed 5 runs on 10 hits with 3 strikeouts in his Red Sox record 383rd career start, passing Roger Clemens.
Other than Ramon Ramirez tonight, the Red Sox bullpen threw the ball well again. Manny Delcarmen was perfect in his inning of work. Jonathan Papelbon allowed a hit and struck out 1 in his inning. Ramirez, on the other hand, took the loss by allowing 2 runs on 2 hits with a strikeout.
King Felix settled down after giving up some early runs. He went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks while recording 7 strikeouts.
Green had another big game with a 2-hit effort and 2 RBIs while Mark Kotsay also had 2 hits. J.D. Drew and Kottaras also had two hits a piece and each had a solo home run. For Kottaras, the home run was the first of his big league career. Jason Bay broke out of his slump with an RBI double. Jacoby Ellsbury and Big Papi had the other hits.
Tough loss for the Red Sox tonight. They’ll be back at it again tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 PM. Brad Penny gets the start for the Red Sox and he’ll be opposed by Garrett Olson.
Notes and musings:
Sean Casey is filling in over the weekend on NESN for Dennis Eckersley who is in Atlanta for the All-Star Selection Show on TBS on Sunday.
Jeffrey Donovan from the USA Network hit “Burn Notice” threw out the first pitch tonight.
UConn Huskies junior center Tina Charles had 17 points and added 5 rebounds to help the Team USA Women to an 84-50 win over host Serbia at the World University Games.
Team USA wrapped up preliminary play at 3-0 and will be the top seed for Group A in the second round. They will take on Poland, the No. 2 seed from Group D, on Saturday at 5:30 PM local time (11:30 AM EDT).
Charles’ UConn teammate Tiffany Hayes chipped in with 6 points and a team-high 5 assists.
Maya Moore missed her third straight game with a sore right knee and is still listed as day-to-day.
Here are some quotes from Charles courtesy of USA Basketball:
Were you excited to play Serbia?
We knew they were going to come out hard and aggressive, and they did, but we stayed together and the coaches helped us keep our composure. It felt great to get the win, knowing this was a team effort. Everybody scored and everybody contributed.Is the team chemistry where it should be?
In the beginning, people weren’t sure where other people wanted the ball, and we were slow on rotations, but I think we are starting to gel together and pick it up.On the USA defense:
I think our defense has really improved. We are definitely doing better on help side defense and listening to each other.
After enjoying their last day off before the All-Star break, the Boston Red Sox return home to more friendly surroundings at Fenway Park to take on the Seattle Mariners.
The game tonight will start at 7:10 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.
Tim Wakefield looks for a MLB-best 11 wins as he takes the hill tonight. Wake is 10-3 with a 4.18 ERA in 15 starts in 2009. He’s struggled against the Mariners in his career though as he is just 4-9 with a 4.06 ERA in 25 games (15 starts).
“King” Felix Hernandez starts for the Mariners tonight. In 16 starts this season, Hernandez is 8-3 with a 2.54 ERA. King Felix has had good success against the Red Sox as he is 3-1 with a 3.05 in 6 career starts. He’s 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 2 career starts at Fenway Park.
With rain scattered across New England tonight, the Red Sox have issued the following statement:
The current weather forecast (provided by the Red Sox private weather service, Meteorlogix) in the vicinity of Fenway Park calls for the possibility of scattered thunderstorms to move through the area during the late afternoon and early evening hours.
The Fenway Park gates will open at the regularly scheduled time of 5:10 p.m., and the Red Sox expect that tonight’s game with the Seattle Mariners, which is scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m., will start on time. However, the Red Sox want to alert our fans to the current forecast and to the possibility of delay.
This forecast is of course subject to change as the day progresses. Additional updates will be provided as necessary.
Pregame: Red Sox Vs. Mariners [Extra Bases]
Report: Sox in serious talks with coveted Cuban shortstop [Projo Sox Blog]
Wakefield deserves an All-Star spot [NESN.com]
Lowrie close to rejoining PawSox [NESN.com]
Dice-K to begin rehab program [NESN.com]
U.S.-Japan Youth Baseball Exchange to be honored at Fenway [NESN.com]
Sox News [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]
Matsuzaka’s long journey begins with a first toss [Projo Sox Blog]
Report: Sox to help Twins open new field in Minnesota next April [Projo Sox Blog]
Lowell Looks to Return Strong for Second Half [Full Count]
Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:
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|
|
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| 1. Ichiro Suzuki | RF | 1. J.D. Drew | RF |
| 2. Russell Branyan | 1B | 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B |
| 3. Jose Lopez | 2B | 3. Kevin Youkilis | 3B |
| 4. Ken Griffey, Jr. | DH | 4. David Ortiz | DH |
| 5. Franklin Gutierrez | CF | 5. Jason Bay | LF |
| 6. Ryan Langerhans | LF | 6. Mark Kotsay | 1B |
| 7. Chris Woodward | 3B | 7. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF |
| 8. Rob Johnson | C | 8. Nick Green | SS |
| 9. Ronny Cedeno | SS | 9. George Kottaras | C |
| Felix Hernandez | SP | Tim Wakefield | SP |
Here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:
Jason Varitek's 2008 July 4th catcher's gear - Getty Images
(Andover, MA) – July 3, 2009 – Jason Varitek and Celebrities for Charity are hosting an online raffle at www.netraffle.org to give one lucky fan a chance to win Jason Varitek’s custom Fourth of July equipment.
Previously the equipment has been auctioned off, holding the online raffle will give each fan a chance to own a piece of history for as little as $10.00. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit the Celebrities for Charity Foundation.
The grand prize package includes:
The online raffle will take place at www.netraffle.org with tickets costing $2.00 each and a minimum purchase of 5 tickets. This gives every fan a chance to win this amazing prize. The raffle closes on Monday, August 3, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. EDT.
Former UConn Huskies and current Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi was cited for driving under the influence on Thursday morning in Phoenix, AZ.
Taurasi, a guard for the team, was pulled over at 2:30 a.m. in the area of Seventh Avenue and Camelback Road, allegedly for speeding and lane violations, police said.
A police officer conducted several field sobriety tests after he first detected the order of alcohol, the department said.
Officers then drew her blood in a Phoenix Police Mobile DUI van after she refused a breath test, Phoenix police said. She was cited and released.
Taurasi is currently leading the fan voting for the WNBA All-Star Game.
Obviously she made poor judgment when got behind the wheel and she will probably end having to do a lot of public relations to fix her image. She is a role model to a lot of young girls after all.
Mercury star Taurasi cited for DUI [Arizona Republic]
After a big comeback win over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon, the Boston Red Sox enjoyed their last day off before the All-Star Break. The Red Sox will play their next 10 games at Fenway Park as they’ll entertain the Seattle Mariners (3 gms), Oakland A’s (3 gms) and the Kansas City Royals (4 gms).
At 48-30, the Red Sox currently have a 3-game lead over the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. And with the local nine sporting a record of 25-10 at home, this might be a good chance to increase their lead. Or at the very least maintain it.
If you’re heading to Fenway Park over the weekend, keep in mind there will be some road closures due to the holiday weekend. You can check those out here.
And make sure you take a moment to vote for Josh Beckett as the Pepsi Clutch Performer for June.
Regarding role, Lugo rolls with the punches [Boston Globe]
At 42, Wakefield’s not getting older, he’s getting better [Providence Journal]
Tim Wakefield pitching for AL nod [Boston Herald]
Green has made major changes [Boston Globe]
Dice-K off to Florida [Boston Herald]
Close with the closer [Boston Globe]
Red Sox’ Daniel Bard opens eyes [Boston Herald]
Will Wakefield Star in St. Louis? [Full Count]
Red Sox mounted horse pitch [Boston Herald]
The Sox Comeback: One for the Ages! [Nuggetpalooza]
Red Sox Nation Won’t Last [Fanhouse]
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.
40-38
48-30