While everyone is waiting for Survivor, the 200th episode of CSI or the final episode ever of ER, let’s take a look at some of the UConn Huskies news that has come across since this morning.

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Final Four Thursday, UConn, UNC, Villanova, Michigan State [UConn | Men’s Basketball]

Welcome mat (picture) [In Storrs Now]

Hunger Strike [In Storrs Now]

Panic in Detroit? [Emeka, Nadav and Corny]

Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball team puts off celebrating until goal of NCAA championship is reached [St. Petersburg Times]

Under the Bleachers: UConn vs. Michigan State [FOXSports.com]

UConn Lacks the Nuns to Win in Detroit [Fanhouse]

Learning process: Thabeet tries to keep blocks in bounds [USA Today]

Calhoun deflects retirement talk [ESPN.com]

Hasheem Thabeet is a long, tall, shot-blocking machine with an NBA future. But that’s not why he can’t stop smiling. [Life of Reilly]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Montgomery Invited To WNBA Draft [SOX & Dawgs]

Montgomery, Moore Honored As Wooden All-Americans [SOX & Dawgs]

Destination: St. Louis [Elm City to Eagleville]

Faris Enjoys Trip To McDonald’s [Rich Elliott – UConn Women’s Basketball]

Why Stanford-UConn isn’t for the championship [San Francisco Chronicle]

UConn Football links

Tales From An American Football Player In Austria [Deadspin]

Other UConn related links

Is Alec Baldwin Narrating This? [Thoughts From a Fat White Guy]

Rell Makes April 3-5 Blue, White Weekend [WFSB.com]

Another day, another set of honors for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball dynamic duo of Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore as they were named to the John R. Wooden 2008-09 Women’s All-America Team.

They are joined on the team by Courtney Paris of Oklahoma, who becomes the first four-time Wooden All-American, Kristi Toliver of Maryland and Angel McCoughtry of Louisville. Moore was also selected last year as a freshman.

John R. Wooden 2008-09 Women’s All-America Team

UConn Huskies women’s basketball senior point guard Renee Montgomery is one of 15 players that has been invited to the 2009 WNBA Draft presented by Adidas on Thursday, April 9th at the NBA Entertainment Studios in Seacaucus, NJ.

The draft will start at 3 PM and the first round will be covered live on ESPN2. ESPNU and NBA TV will show the second and third rounds while WNBA.com will show all three rounds.

Here are the 15 players that have been invited to the 2009 WNBA Draft presented by Adidas:

It’s time to get excited as it’s almost time for the Boston Red Sox to head north and start the 2009 season. Today marks the final Grapefruit League game on the schedule as they head across town to take on the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium. There is no television coverage and the only radio coverage will be on the Twins Radio Network at 1:05 PM.

Brad Penny gets the start for the Red Sox this afternoon and it will determine whether or not he breaks camp with the team. If they don’t think that he’ll be ready for his April 12th start, he’ll likely go on the DL and then go out on a rehab assignment to get ready. If he does go on the DL, Clay Buchholz will most likely get his start.

After the game, the Red Sox will be heading up to New York for a 2-game exhibition series with the New York Mets at Citi Field. It will be the first MLB games, although they are exhibitions, played at the Mets new stadium. St. John’s and Georgetown played a college baseball game there last weekend.

Yesterday, Josh Beckett took to the bump for his final tuneup before starting on opening day and let’s just say he wasn’t economical with his pitches. He threw 88 pitches in 3 2/3 innings. He allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk with 4 strikeouts in the 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Javier Lopez struck out 2 in 2 1/3 innings while Manny Delcarmen allowed a hit and a walk with a strikeout in his inning of work. Jonathan Papelbon struck out 1 in the 8th inning and Chris George closed it out for the Sox.

Chip Ambres provided the Red Sox with all of their runs as he hit a 3-run homer and a solo home run in the 9th to win it. Rocco Baldelli added 2 hits and Jacoby Ellsbury, George Kottaras and Chris Carter also had a hit each.

Unlike ’08, Beckett set for opener [Boston Globe]

Sox armed and ready for season [Boston Globe]

He’s had a tough time finding his place [Boston Globe]

Tony’s Top 5: Worst Red Sox trades in history [Tony Mazz]

Jason Bay, Mike Lowell prop up Sox order [Boston Herald]

Brad Penny puts 2 cents in [Boston Herald]

Fenway Improvements [Hit and Run With Dan Roche]

Red Sox bullpen won’t have a long man [Providence Journal]

Penny’s performance on Thursday will decide whether he’ll start on April 12 [Providence Journal]

Baldelli clears another hurdle by playing in third game in three days [Providence Journal]

With Schilling’s departure, Beckett takes over leadership role with pitching staff [Providence Journal]

Papelbon perfecting delivery [redsox.com]

We are just a few days away from both the UConn Huskies men’s and women’s basketball teams competing for the right to take a home another trophy.

As we know, the UConn men will take on the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday night at 6:07 PM and the UConn women will be taking on the Stanford Cardinal on Sunday night at approximately 9:30 PM. It should be a great two games and let’s hope our Huskies make it to the finals.

UConn Men’s Basketball links

No easy path: UConn’s road to Final Four dotted with potholes [USA Today]

Michigan State’s Goran Suton blossoms at right time [Chicago Tribune]

Team of destiny at Final Four could be UConn [NBC Sports]

Motor City [UConn | Men’s Basketball]

Profit does come from UConn hoops [Connecticut Post]

Calhoun, Izzo friends and rivals [Connecticut Post]

Chat With Mike Anthony And Free Press Columnist Michael Rosenberg At 11 a.m. [UConn | Men’s Basketball]

Detroit R&B City [In Storrs Now]

UConn is on their way [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Hype Machine: Final Four [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Inga Price Stood By Her Son [Hartford Courant]

Huskies, Spartans Two Versatile Teams [Hartford Courant]

UConn Men’s Program Shows Big Profit [Hartford Courant]

Like father, like son: Another Price in Final Four [Waterbury Republican-American]

Choosing UConn’s all-time Final Four lineup [Waterbury Republican-American]

Dyson still doing what he can [Norwich Bulletin]

UConn men’s basketball turned tidy profit in 2008 [New Haven Register]

Robinson emerges as force for Huskies [New London Day]

Staying the course [Journal Inquirer]

Vitale: Expect UNC to put a stop to Big East’s party at Final Four [USA Today]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

we ain’t so bad… [Alysa Auriemma]

Four reasons to watch Final Four: McCoughtry, Paris, Appel, UConn [SI]

Local Girls Play For UConn Huskies [The Resident]

Reporter: UConn Could Be Upset In NCAA Semis [NPR]

Are the 2009 UConn Huskies the Best Women’s Team Ever? [Associated Content]

Mission possible: Stanford plotting to stop UConn [San Jose Mercury News]

The way it should be [Elm City to Eagleville]

Dress rehearsal [Elm City to Eagleville]

Faris, East fall just short [Elm City to Eagleville]

College study says Phooey to lottery system [UConn | Women’s Basketball]

No Cutting, But Plenty Of Dancing [Rich Elliott – UConn Women’s Basketball]

No Distractions [Rich Elliott – UConn Women’s Basketball]

UConn more than just Big 3 [Connecticut Post]

Huskies arrogant? No, just confident [Connecticut Post]

Auriemma, Coale reunite in Final Four [Connecticut Post]

Women’s final four notebook [Connecticut Post]

Maria Conlon: Never trust what you read in a blogpaper – it might be superstition talking [UConn | Women’s Basketball]

UConn Women Enjoying The Ride [Hartford Courant]

Auriemma Comments On Miles Controversy [Hartford Courant]

Good For Both [Hartford Courant]

No nets, but Huskies still able to party [Waterbury Republican-American]

Motto the same: ‘Natty’ or bust [New Haven Register]

UConn women welcome the pressure [New London Day]

Geno hasn’t discussed with players alleged violations by men’s team [New London Day]

Calming influence [Journal Inquirer]

Moore expected [Journal Inquirer]

Renee Montgomery gives UConn Huskies their sparkle [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Other UConn related links

Lacrosse Rookie Goalie Pulls in Another Weekly Nod [UConnHuskies.com]

Softball: Ortega Slam Puts Huskies Past Pittsburgh 4-1 [UConnHuskies.com]

Softball: Mullins Earns 750th Career Victory At UConn in 9-3 Victory At Pittsburgh [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball: Boston College Slips Past Huskies 5-4 [UConnHuskies.com]

The honors keep rolling in for UConn Huskies junior center Hasheem Thabeet as today he was named to the John R. Wooden 2008-09 All-America Team.

Thabeet was one of 11 players selected to the team and a total of 5 players from the Big East Conference were selected.

Here is the full release:

LOS ANGELES – The 2009 John R. Wooden Award All American Team was announced today by the John R. Wooden Award Committee. The 33rd annual Wooden Award ceremony will take place on Friday, April 10 at The Los Angeles Athletic Club.

A panel of more than 1,000 voters, comprised of sports media members and college basketball experts from around the nation, had until Monday to cast their votes, a long voting period that allowed voters to evaluate players up through games of the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Voters selected 10 players from the 24 student athletes listed on the ballot, and ranked them from 1 to 10. Wooden Award Voters were asked to take into account performance during the regular season and postseason through games last Sunday, as well as a player’s character and academic performance, essential components of an outstanding player in the eyes of Coach John Wooden.

“Each of these players has produced results both on the court and in the classroom, exemplifying all of the qualities that we search for in our All American team members,” said Richard “Duke” Llewellyn, founder and chairman of the Wooden Award. “We feel tremendously proud to have these student athletes representing the 2009 Wooden Award All American Team.”

Returning Wooden Award winner, Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina headlines the eleven man team. Joining him on this years All American Team are two more players preparing for the Final Four this weekend, Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet, and Hansbrough’s teammate, Tarheel point guard Ty Lawson.

Because of a tie for 10th place in the voting, this year the Wooden All American Team consists of 11 players. Rounding out the list in alphabetical order are DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh), Stephen Curry (Davidson), Blake Griffin (Oklahoma), Luke Harangody (Notre Dame), James Harden (Arizona State), Gerald Henderson (Duke), Terrence Williams (Louisville) and Sam Young (Pittsburgh). Curry and Harangody were selected to the 2008 All American Team.

North Carolina and Pittsburgh both had two players selected to the team. The 2009 All American team features three seniors (Hansbrough, Williams and Young) five juniors, and three sophomores. The Big East tops the list with five Wooden All Americans, followed by the ACC with three. The Pac-10, Southern and Big 12 each have one representative.

Additionally, the top vote-getters and finalists for the Wooden Award, are invited to Los Angeles for the Wooden Award gala. The top finalists will be announced on Monday, April 6. The 2009 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners, the Wooden Award All American Teams, and the Legends of Coaching Award to Rick Barnes of the University of Texas, will take place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club in Downtown Los Angeles on Friday, April 10th. The final vote tally will be released that night as well. The winners will receive a contribution from The Los Angeles Athletic Club for their university’s general scholarship fund. The Women’s Wooden All American team will be announced tomorrow, Thursday, April 2.

About the John R. Wooden Award
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), and Tim Duncan (’97), Kevin Durant of Texas (’07) and Candace Parker of Tennessee (’07 and ’08).

Tickets for the Wooden Award Gala are on sale now and may be obtained by calling The Los Angeles Athletic Club at (213) 630-5255. For up to date information on all of the Wooden Award candidates, please go to www.woodenaward.com.

Once again, the honors to continue to roll in for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball program as today as the United States Basketball Writers’ Association has selected Maya Moore as it’s player of the year and Geno Auriemma as it’s coach of the year.

Renee Montgomery was also named to the USBWA All-America Team.

Here is the press release from the USBWA:

USBWA ANNOUNCES 2008-09 WOMEN’S HONORS

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has chosen the recipients of its 2008-09 women’s postseason honors. For the third time, Connecticut has swept the association’s player and coach the year awards. Sophomore Maya Moore, the 2008 USBWA Freshman of the Year, is the 2009 USBWA National Player of the Year, while coach Geno Auriemma has captured USBWA National Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season and fourth time overall. Eight other times, the player and coach of the year have come from the same school.

Moore, who has set UConn’s single-season scoring record, leads the Huskies into the Final Four with a perfect 37-0 record. Auriemma, in pursuit of a sixth national title, has been named the USBWA Coach of the Year in 1995, 2003 and ’08. No other coach has won it more than once since the award was created in 1990. This will be his tenth appearance in the national semifinals.

Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris is the first player – man or woman – to be named to a USBWA All-America Team four times. The senior center was the association’s freshman of the year in 2005-06. Twelve other women’s players have earned three-time honors.

Also returning the the USBWA All-America Team are Louisville’s Angel McCoughtry and Maryland’s Kristi Toliver. McCoughty has led Louisville to its first Final Four and did so by helping the Cardinals defeat Toliver’s Lady Terps.

There are seven first-time selections this season. Stanford’s Jayne Appel will also be on display in St. Louis, having led the Cardinal back to the Final Four. Joining her on the team are Chante Black (Duke), DeWanna Bonner (Auburn), Marissa Coleman (Maryland), Jantel Lavender (Ohio State), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut) and Ashley Walker (California).

The 2008-09 USBWA Women’s All-America Team features 11 players, due to a tie in the voting.

Tennessee’s Shekinna Stricklen is the seventh winner of the USBWA National Freshman of the Year and the first from her school. The Lady Vols, however, did not have anyone chosen to the All-America team for just the second time since the USBWA started honoring women’s All-Americans in the 1996-97 season.

Following is the complete list of 2008-09 USBWA women’s honors: