Rather than exercise the annual $4 million option on Tim Wakefield, the Boston Red Sox have re-signed him to a 2-year deal worth $7 million. They also announced they have declined the $5 million option on Jason Varitek’s contract. Varitek still holds a $3 million team option that includes $2 million in incentives based on games played.

According to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, the deal for Wakefield is worth $3.5 million in 2010. In 2011, he would be paid a base salary of $1.5 million and could earn an additional $2 million in incentives.

Wakefield needs 18 more wins to become the Red Sox all-time winningest pitcher. He was 11-5 and had a 4.58 ERA in 21 starts. He spent a good part of the second half on the disabled list with back problems. He’s had the problem surgically repaired and will be ready for the spring training in 2010.

Back on October 12th, we learned that the Boston Red Sox were going to pick up the option on the contract of catcher Victor Martinez. And today, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein made it official.

According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have exercised the $7.5 million option on VMart’s contract. And he has also points out, we know wait to see if the Red Sox will do the same thing with Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield.

The Red Sox hold an annual $4 million option on Wakefield and hold a $5 million option on Jason Vartiek. Tek also has a $3 million player option plus can earn an additional $2 million in incentives based on how many games he starts.

In 56 games with the Red Sox, VMart hit .336 with 8 home runs, 41 RBIs and a stolen base. Overall in 155 games with the Indians (99 games) and Red Sox, he hit .303 with 23 home runs, 103 RBIs and a stolen base.

In other Red Sox news, Nick Green and Joey Gathright have elected to become free agents after being outrighted to the minors last Thursday.

Any other week when you score four touchdowns, you’re probably going to be named the Big East Offensive Player of the Week. But on a week where your defense gives up 711 total yards and 555 yards to one person, you’re going to have to settle for the Big East Honor Roll.

And that’s just what UConn Huskies running back Jordan Todman will have to do as he was named to the Big East Honor Roll on Monday.

In the 47-45 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday night, Todman had 26 carries for a career-high 162 yards and a career-best four touchdowns.

The Huskies are off this week as they prepare for a trip to South Bend, IN to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on November 21st. The game will be nationally televised on NBC.

UConn Women’s Basketball links

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they will wrap up exhibition play with a game against Vanguard at 7 p.m. at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. There is no television coverage but the game will be available on Husky Vision for $9.95. You can listen to the game on the WTIC/UConn Radio Network.

Rebecca and RuthAnn Lobo to appear at UConn on Monday [John Altavilla - Hartford Courant]

Delle Donne Out Of The Gate In Style [John Altavilla - Hartford Courant]

Jess McCormack Is Back On The Floor [Basketball New Zealand] [John Atlavilla - Hartford Courant]

UConn’s Buck struggles to adjust [Connecticut Post]

UConn Women Play Second Exhibition Tonight [Hartford Courant]

Sophomore Hayes embracing new leadership role [New Haven Register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

By a Toenail [David Borges - New Haven Register]

Dyson Rips Apart Big Toe, Shreds UMass-Lowell Defense [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Still Not Much From Chuck Okwandu; Plenty From Oriakhi [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

UMass-Lowell Coach Greg Herenda [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Kingsley Onyechi on Alex Oriakhi [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

More Calhoun Analysis of Oriakhi and Okwandu [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Countdown: 5 [TheUConnBlog.com]

Rust Proof [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Patched-up Dyson scores 32 in UConn’s final preseason tuneup [Connecticut Post]

UConn’s Dyson Scores 32 Despite Painful Toe Injury [Hartford Courant]

No stopping Huskies’ Dyson [New Haven Register]

Dyson returns, scores 32 despite torn toenail in exhibition finale [The Day]

New No. 34 for UConn men [The Republican-American]

A ‘DIFFERENT’ UCONN READY FOR BIG EAST IN 09-10 [NBE Basketball Report]

UConn Football links

Following up Cincinnati loss [Chip Malafronte - New Haven Register]

Edsall: The Day After Cincinnati [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

UConn Football Chat With Desmond Conner Live At 10:30 a.m. [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

Why Hasn’t The Reason UConn Isn’t Good Been Reported? [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

What we learned in the Big East, Week 10 [Big East Blog - ESPN.com]

Week 10 review, Week 11 preview [Big East Blog - ESPN.com]

Big East power rankings, Week 11 [Big East Blog - ESPN.com]

Quick Sunday call [John Silver - Journal Inquirer]

The day after another close shave [Neill Ostrout - Connecticut Post]

Bye week should provide relief for UConn football team [Connecticut Post]

Edsall Won’t Single Out UConn’s Defense [Hartford Courant]

Bye week gives Huskies opportunity to rest up for Irish [New Haven Register]

Huskies’ frustration mounts after another strong effort results in loss [The Day]

Better times ahead for UConn football [The Republican-American]

Other UConn related links

Field Hockey: BIG EAST Field Hockey Champions!!! [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Ice Hockey: Special Teams Play Key in 7-2 Women’s Ice Hockey Victory at Maine [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Volleyball: Balanced Efforts Lead Huskies to BIG EAST Weekend Sweep [UConnHuskies.com]

Men’s Soccer: One and done, again [The Daily Campus]

Field hockey takes home Big East tournament title [The Daily Campus]

Right now, it’s not looking like he’ll be a member of the Boston Red Sox.

According to Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have declined the $6 million option on the contract of shortstop Alex Gonzalez. He does say the Red Sox would like to have him back at a lesser salary.

By declining the option, the Red Sox will pay the $500,000 buyout on his contract.

Given the fact that Jed Lowrie has had injury problems, this move is surprising to me.

The Red Sox will now enter the offseason without a shortstop, a position which has been something of a black hole for them since the trade of Nomar Garciaparra. Gonzalez did an admirable job in 2006 but wasn’t asked back.

He did the same thing in 2009 as he committed just one error in 44 games with the Red Sox. Not known for his bat, he was rather productive as he hit .284 with five home runs and fifteen RBIs.

I sure hope that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has a plan because Red Sox Nation will be all over him if he doesn’t bring in a shortstop that can get the job done. All you need to do is look at what happened to Julio Lugo.

STORRS, Conn. – The University of Connecticut will host a “Celebration of the Life of Jasper Howard” on Thursday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Jorgensen Auditorium on the Storrs campus.

Howard, a UConn football student-athlete, passed away on Sunday, October 18.

The celebration will provide the greater University community an opportunity to remember Howard through several speakers and musical interludes.

UConn Men’s Basketball links

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they will take on UMass Lowell in exhibition play at the Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT at 1:00 p.m. There is no television coverage but the game will be available on Husky Vision for $9.95. You can listen to the game on the WTIC/UConn Radio Network.

Countdown: 6 [TheUConnBlog.com]

UConn vs. UMass-Lowell Sunday [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Jerome Dyson Playing For First Time Since Feb. 11 [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Alex Oriakhi Off To Good Start [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Calhoun Likes Challenge Of UMass-Lowell [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Okwandu Needs To Improve [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Jim Calhoun on Darius Smith [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Who’s Your Shooter? [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Austrie, Anderson on the court together Nov. 27 [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

UConn Moments: Top 10 Men’s Losses [Hartford Courant]

Lowell Connector [David Borges - New Haven Register]

At last, Dyson back as UConn starter [Connecticut Post]

UConn men’s notebook: Coombs-McDaniel waiting to compete [Connecticut Post]

Dyson Returns For UConn Amid Lofty Expectations [Hartford Courant]

Dyson to finally take the floor for UConn [New Haven Register]

Dyson to finally get on the floor for UConn [The Day]

UConn Football links

Boise State Needs An Opponent, So Why Not UConn? [SOX & Dawgs]

Will We See A Conn/RU Backyard Brawl-Type Game? [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

Would This Work? [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

Report Card (Cincinnati) [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

Big East helmet stickers: Week 10 [Big East Blog - ESPN.com]

Postgame Cincinnati [John Silver - Journal Inquirer]

Did that really just happen? [Neill Ostrout - Connecticut Post]

Cincinnati 47, UConn 45: I am officially losing it [TheUConnBlog.com]

UConn comes close, falls in upset bid to Cincinnati [Connecticut Post]

UConn football notebook: Kelly admires Edsall’s dignity [Connecticut Post]

No. 4 Cincinnati Holds Off UConn [Hartford Courant]

UConn Defense Shredded [Hartford Courant]

UConn Notebook: Frazer Finding His Stride [Hartford Courant]

UConn falls painfully close again [AP via New Haven Register]

Huskies keep fighting back, but never catch Bearcats [The Day]

UConn football notebook [The Day]

Huskies lose a shootout to Cincinnati [The Republican-American]

Bearcats Avenge 2008 Loss, Top Huskies In Shootout [WLWT.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Tiffany Hayes plays with substance, style [The Republican-American]

Other UConn related links

Field Hockey: No. 7 Field Hockey Advances to Eighth Straight BIG EAST Final With 2-0 Win Over Louisville [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Volleyball: Huskies Down Rutgers in Five Sets [UConnHuskies.com]

Men’s Soccer Huskies Fall to Providence 1-0 in Overtime [UConnHuskies.com]

Men’s Ice Hockey: Huskies Sweep AIC With 4-1 Victory [UConnHuskies.com]

The videos below are of the entire fight broken down by round. Please be patient as they may load slowly initially.

First round:

Second round:

Post-fight interviews with Gus Johnson:

Given the way the UConn Huskies defense played in the first half, the Cincinnati Bearcats should have blown them out. The Bearcats held a 30-10 lead. But the Huskies showed a lot of character and heart as they rallied to cut the lead to two at 40-38.

Unfortunately their rally fell short though as Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros had 575 yards of total offense, including one touchdown pass and two rushing touchdowns to lead the Bearcats to a 47-45 win over the Huskies at a sold-out Nippert Stadium on Saturday night.

UConn has always had trouble with mobile quarterbacks and it showed on Saturday night with Collaros running for 75 yards and the two scores. However, it was the right arm of Collaros that did most of the damage. He threw for a career-high 480 yards and had the one touchdown pass.

Any other night, UConn would have probably won this game with 462 yards of total offense. But it was all for naught.

Defense is normally UConn’s strong suit. On Saturday night, they were far from perfect as the Bearcats racked up 711 yards of total offense. And that folks was the difference in the game.

The defense did make the plays in the second half and the Zach Frazer-led offense started to roll in the second half. Most of the damage the Huskies did was by Jordan Todman out of the backfield. Todman rushed for career-best 162 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.

Frazer wasn’t bad either as he carried the momentum he built up in the second half of the loss to Rutgers when he started to look comfortable in the offense. He was 19-of-32 for 261 yards and a touchdown pass.

But on a night where the offense was better than we’ve seen all year, the defense played it’s worst game.

They allowed Cincinnati to score points on their first six possessions of the game. They let Collaros throw for 333 yards in the first half, 112 of them to Mardy Gilyard, who finished with six catches for 172 yards.  It just wasn’t pretty at all in the first half.

Some adjustments though at halftime and the defense turned itself around. They held Cincinnati to just 17 second half points. Considering they gave up 30 points in the first half, this is a good thing. The Huskies contained Collaros and the running game in the second half but in the end, it just wasn’t enough.

This is the fifth loss of the season for UConn (4-5, 1-4) and they now lost by a grand total of 15 points in those five games. To have any chance of making a bowl game this year, the Huskies will have to win their last three games of the season.

And that will be a tall task in itself.

Still on the schedule for the Huskies are games against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the road and two home games against Big East opponents in the Syracuse Orange and South Florida Bulls.

The Notre Dame game is certainly a game the Huskies can win if their offense shows up like it did on Saturday ngiht. But if the same “swiss cheese” defense shows up, in the words of the great television show The Sopranos, fuhgetaboutit.

They should beat the Orange and they have a chance against the Bulls although they’ve been a Jekyll and Hyde team this season but are playing well as of late.

This Huskies team has been through the ringer and back this season. You have to really wonder how much more they can take. But as long as they continue to believe in themselves and the fans as well, they can do this.

It may take a hail mary and a prayer but it can happen. But the big question remains, will it?

Scoring:

1st quarter

CIN – Isaiah Pead 1 Yd Run (Jake Rogers Kick) – Cincinnati 7 UConn 0

CON – Jordan Todman 6 Yd Run (Dave Teggart Kick) – UConn 7 Cincinnati 7

CIN – Jake Rogers 41 yard field goal – Cincinnati 10 UConn 7

2nd quarter

CIN – Zach Collaros 4 Yd Run (Jake Rogers Kick) – Cincinnati 17 UConn 7

CON – Dave Teggart 42 yard field goal – Cincinnati 17 UConn 10

CIN – Jake Rogers 27 yard field goal – Cincinnati 20 UConn 10

CIN – Armon Binns 41 Yd Pass From Zach Collaros (Jake Rogers Kick) – Cincinnati 27 UConn 10

CIN – Jake Rogers 34 yard field goal – Cincinnati 30 UConn 10

3rd quarter

CON – Jordan Todman 46 Yd Run (Dave Teggart Kick) – Cincinnati 30 UConn 17

CIN – Zach Collaros 28 Yd Run (Jake Rogers Kick) – Cincinnati 37 UConn 17

CON – Robert McClain 87 Yd Punt Return (Dave Teggart Kick) – Cincinnati 37 UConn 24

4th quarter

CIN – Jake Rogers 35 yard field goal – Cincinnati 40 UConn 24

CON – Jordan Todman 1 Yd Run (Jordan Todman Pass To Marcus Easley For Two-Point Conversion) – Cincinnati 40 UConn 32

CON – Jordan Todman 2 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed) – Cincinnati 40 UConn 38

CIN – Isaiah Pead 14 Yd Run (Jake Rogers Kick) – Cincinnati 47 UConn 38

CON – Marcus Easley 9 Yd Pass From Zach Frazer (Dave Teggart Kick) – Cincinnati 47 UConn 45

Offensive Players of the Game:

This is a no brainer but I’m awarding two of them.

UConn running back Jordan Todman had 26 carries for a career-high 162 yards and career-best four touchdowns. He also threw for two-point conversion.

Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros was 29-of-37 for 480 yards and a touchdown. He also had 13 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensive Player of the Game:

In a game with 1,173 yards of total offense, it’s really hard to pick a defensive player of the game. However, I’m going with UConn linebacker Lawrence Wilson who had the most tackles of anyone with eleven.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

• The failed two-point conversion with 5:03 to go in the game turned out to be the difference.
• Robert Vaughn’s missed tackle of Pead on the touchdown late in the game. If he makes that tackle, Cincinnati probably kicks a field goal making it 5 point lead instead of 9.

Offensive Notes:

Zach Frazer completed 19-of-32 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t turn the ball over at all. In fact, neither team had a turnover. Jordan Todman had 26 carries for a career-best 162 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. Marcus Easley had six catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.  Kashif Moore had caught four balls for 77 yards, including a 52 yard reception that set up one of Todman’s four TD’s.

Defensive Notes:

Lawrence Wilson led the Huskies with 11 tackles. Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Scott Lutrus both  had nine tackles while Robert McClain had

Special Teams Notes:

Robert McClain had an 87 yard return for a touchdown. He was untouched the whole way. Jordan Todman had six kickoff returns for 124 yards. Desi Cullen averaged 44.2 yards on five punts. After missing badly the past few weeks, Dave Teggart made his only field goal attempt.

Injuries:

Andre Dixon came up limping early in the game. He did come back in the game but wasn’t used that much.

Officials:

Referee: Dennis Hennigan – Umpire: Bruce Palmer – Linesman: Steve Matarante- Line judge: Kevin Codey – Back judge: Gary Dancewicz – Field judge: Tony Tarantini – Side judge: Howard Curry – Scorer: Shawn Sell

Game Notes:

UConn Huskies @ Cincinnati Bearcats 11.7.09 box score

Game notes courtesy of the UConn Huskies

The Huskies are now 1-5 all time against Cincinnati and 1-4 against the Bearcats in BIG EAST Conference action.

The Huskies are 0-3 at Nippert Stadium.

Sophomore wide receiver Kashif Moore set a career high in receiving yards with 77 on four catches.

The kickoff return for a touchdown by Robert McClain in the third period, was the first of his career.

McClain destroyed his return yards record of 68 set against Cincy last season (10/25/08) by returning the ball 116 yards with one touchdown.

Marcus Easley recorded a touchdown for the fifth-straight game as he brought the Huskies within two with 13 seconds remaining.

Big East Games and Results:

Syracuse 10
(13) Pittsburgh 37

Louisville 9
West Virginia 17

Things to Work On:

• Tackling, tackling and tackling. I can never stress this enough. If the Huskies continue to miss tackles, they’re going to continue to have their hearts broken.
• Working on the defense. 711 yards of total offense is completely unacceptable in my book.
• Continue to develop the offense with Frazer. The offensive line did a great job of opening up holes for Todman and that allowed Frazer to have time to find the open receiver.

Up Next:

The Huskies are off this week and will be preparing for a trip to South Bend, IN on November 21st against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in another nationally teleised tilt.

The Boise State Broncos need an opponent to play on September 3, 2011. So why couldn’t the UConn Huskies play them?

We all know head coach Randy Edsall likes to start his season with a FCS team or one that his team has a chance to beat. But why not start your season with a challenge with the Broncos?

The Broncos play in the WAC which for the Broncos is almost like playing a high school football team. Sure they’ll get a challenge now and then but for the most part they usually roll over their conference opponents. And no one from a BCS conference wants to play them.

They’ve offered to play anywhere on that date in 2011. There’s even the promise of a nationally televised game on ESPN. They don’t even want a return game. So why not UConn?

Edsall said the next two games against Cincinnati and Notre Dame are going to be a three hour infomercial for his football program and the university. Why not take that chance again against Boise State?

It wouldn’t be simple but it is feasible.

The Huskies have an open date on their schedule on September 3, 2011. It’s a perfect match, right?

Unfortunately, it isn’t.

The Huskies do have room on their schedule for two more games. They are already scheduled to play at Vanderbilt and Buffalo while hosting Iowa State. Notre Dame was on the preliminary schedule but the proposed deal fell through. While it’s unlikely to get done in the near future, the Huskies probably won’t be playing the Irish again any time soon.

The one game that is unscheduled is against the Fordham Rams. More than likely that game would be played on September 3 at Rentschler Field. But with Notre Dame off the schedule, the Huskies need to fill one more slot in the schedule.

Why not see if you can play Fordham later on in the season? Other FBS teams play FCS teams at all different points of the season. So why can’t UConn do it too?

Cody Endres would be a senior that year, Mike Box a junior so the quarterbacks would be experienced as would the offensive line. Same with the defense. UConn would definitely be able to compete with the Broncos.

A national television audience, a packed house and an experienced football team like the Huskies would be could definitely provide some competition for Boise State. But Edsall probably wouldn’t do it. But he should in my opinion.

Why not give your up-and-coming football program a chance to compete against the best. The Big East Conference while good for other sports, isn’t exactly the best for football. Sure there are some good teams but no one really cares about the Big East.

Everyone’s afraid of Boise State. So why couldn’t UConn step up and get that signature win if it hasn’t come already?

It’ll take Edsall a lot of convincing to get it done and it can start here.

We know Boise State needs an opponent, I say why not UConn, Randy?

Boise State BCS Blocked [Yahoo! Sports]

Sorry we’re a little late this morning. Walmart was having an early Black Friday sale on certain electronic products. Unfortunately, the store I went to only got one television in and I was third in line. After three trips to other Walmarts in the area, I’ve returned home sans television.

UConn Football links

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies football team as they are in Cincinnati, OH to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats. The game is in prime time at 8 p.m. on ABC. It is one of three games at 8 p.m. so you can check out which game your getting here. And if you missed my game preview, be sure to check that out as well.

Edsall Knows The Score But Urban Meyer Doesn’t? [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

Husky kickoff: UConn at Cincinnati, tonight 8 p.m. [Connecticut Post]

Huskies face prime-time opportunity [Connecticut Post]

Huskies Could Make Huge Statement Vs. No. 4 Bearcats [Hartford Courant]

Check Out This Interactive Seating Chart Of Rentschler Field [Hartford Courant]

Huskies ready themselves for Cincinnati, primetime [Norwich Bulletin]

Huskies look to finish strong [New Haven Register]

Never-say-quit Huskies face biggest challenge [The Republican-American]

UConn will have ‘hands full’ at Cincinnati [The Day]

No. 4 Cincinnati tries to match best start [AP via Newsday]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Changing times? [Jim Fuller - New Haven Register]

Memories of The College of Saint Rose [John Altavilla - Hartford Courant]

Faris Is The Real Deal [Rich Elliott - Connecticut Post]

Can anyone beat UConn women’s basketball team? [SI.com]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Dyson and Beverly Cleared to Practice/Play; Coombs-McDaniel Cleared to Practice [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Caron Butler’s Papa John’s Shoot [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Dyson, Beverly cleared [Neill Ostrout - Connecticut Post]

Dyson, Beverly Cleared; Not Coombs [David Borges - New Haven Register]

UConn clears Dyson, Beverly [Connecticut Post]

UConn Clears Dyson, Beverly To Practice, Play [Hartford Courant]

Dyson, Beverly cleared to play for UConn men [New Haven Register]

Dyson, Beverly cleared to resume play for Huskies [The Republican-American]

UConn’s Dyson, Beverly to play in Saturday’s exhibition [The Day]

Other UConn related links

Men’s Soccer: Huskies Host Providence in BIG EAST Quarterfinal on Saturday [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Volleyball: Volleyball Heads to New Jersey for a Pair of BIG EAST Matches [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Ice Hockey: Hockey East Slate Continues as Huskies Search for First Conference Win in Maine [UConnHuskies.com]

Field Hockey: Field Hockey Sweeps BIG EAST Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year Honors [UConnHuskies.com]

Men’s Ice Hockey: Huskies Put 3-1 Sting On Yellow Jackets [UConnHuskies.com]

This week:

The UConn Huskies travel to Cincinnati, OH to take on the #5/4/7 Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday night at Nippert Stadium at 8:00 p.m. on ABC.

Here are the rosters for the Huskies and the Bearcats.

The Line/Prediction:

According to Rivals.com, the Bearcats are 17 point favorites and the over/under is 52. My prediction is Cincinnati 27 UConn 21.

Tickets:

The game is sold-out on Saturday night. However, Cincinnati’s secondary ticket provider, the Seat Exchange, has tickets available for the game.

Getting To The Game:

Here is a map for the University of Cincinnati campus. Here is a link for directions and parking to Nippert Stadium. Here is a seating chart for Nippert Stadium. Here is the fan guide and a link to the FAQ. Here is the weather report for Cincinnati.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television:

Saturday’s game will be televised live by ABC Sports and is one of three games in the time spot joined by USC-Arizona State and Nebraska-Oklahoma. Brent Musburger is on play-by-play while Kirk Herbstreit is on color and Lisa Salters is on sidelines.

Radio:

For the 18th consecutive season, WTIC 1080-AM in Hartford serves as the flagship station for the UConn Radio Network. WTIC is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada. Veteran UConn announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Norman (color commentary) return to call the action with Kevin Nathan on the side lines and Eric Davis on production.

The UConn pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff, while home games, the UConn Tailgate Show will air two and a half hours prior to the game with Arnold Dean. UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet at WTIC.com. For a full list of stations on the WTIC/UCONN radio network, click here.

Cincinnati Radio:

The game will air over the Cincinnati Bearcats Radio Network presented by IMG College starting at 11:30 a.m. on 700 WLW AM, XM 203, and Sirius 122. Dan Hoard (play-by-play), Jim Kelly Jr. (analyst), Tom Gelehrter (sideline), and Mo Egger (host/engineer) make up the UC broadcast team.

The radio broadcast can also be heard over the internet at GoBEARCATS.com.

Last Week:

For the second straight week, the Huskies lost a heartbreaker, this time to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 28-24. The Cincinnati Bearcats beat the Syracuse Orange 28-7.

History:

The Huskies are 1-4 all-time against Cincinnati and 1-3 in BIG EAST action. Also, they are 0-3 at Nippert Stadium. The Huskies only win came last year when they won 40-16.

Connections:

• The UConn roster has two players from Ohio on it — Lindsey Witten of Cleveland and redshirt freshman defensive end Ted Jennings of Dayton.
• The Cincinnati roster does not have a Connecticut native on it.
• UConn’s assistant head coach for defense Hank Hughes coached defensive line for the Bearcats in 1993 under Tim Murphy. Cincinnati went 8-3 that season.

Other News:

UConn’s four losses this year have been by a combined 13 points and the Huskies have held fourth quarter leads in each of the game.

• Saturday vs. Rutgers: UConn led 24-21 after taking their first lead of the game with 38 seconds to go. Rutgers scored on an 81-yard pass play for the 28-24 win.
• Sept. 12 vs. North Carolina: UConn led 10-0 after three quarters, but gave up 12 fourth quarter points for the loss. The Tar Heels scored the winning points on a safety when UConn was called for holding in the endzone.
• Oct. 10 vs. Pittsburgh: UConn led 21-3 late in the third quarter. Pittsburgh scored a TD with 12 seconds left in the third quarter and added a TD and field goal as time expired for the win.
• Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia: UConn led 17-14 at halftime and took a 24-21 lead with 3:50 to go in the fourth on an 88-yard TD play. West Virginia came right back and scored on a 56-yard running play with 2:10 to go for the win.

Here are the categories where UConn is in the top 30 in the 2009 NCAA statistics:

• Passing Offense – 39th at 238.50 (Second in BIG EAST)
• Total Offense – 38th at 402.25 (Third in BIG EAST)
• Total Defense – 31st at 323.00 (Fifth in BIG EAST)
• Scoring Defense – 36th at 20.63 (Fifth in BIG EAST)
• Net Punting – 20th at 38.00 (First in BIG EAST)
• Kickoff Returns – 16th at 25.42 (Second in BIG EAST)
• Fumbles Rec. – t39th at 7 (Fourth in BIG EAST)
• Interceptions – t14th at 11 (Third in BIG EAST)
• Sacks – 14th at 2.88 (Third in BIG EAST)

In addition, Jordan Todman is tied for 42nd in the country in rushing yards per game at 83.00 while Andre Dixon is 36th at 87.88. Robert McClain is tied for tenth in interceptions at 0.50 per game along with teammate Robert Vaughn. Desi Cullen is 15th in punting, and second in the BIG EAST, at 43.79 yards. Lindsey Witten is tied for second in sacks at 1.31 per game. Lawrence Wilson is ninth in tackles.

Cincinnati leads the nation in tackles for a loss (9.5), ranks second in sacks (3.6), third in turnover margin (1.6), and ninth in scoring defense (12.9).

Offensively, the Bearcats lead the country in passing efficiency (168.49), rank fifth in scoring offense (39.1), eighth in total offense (454.0), and 10th in passing offense (305.3).

Cincinnati has turned the ball over four times in 2009, all on INTs, the fewest turnovers in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision.

Cincinnati is also the lone NCAA FBS team to have not lost a fumble in 2009.

Could We See Johnny McEntee By The End Of The Night? [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

How Likely Is It That We’ll See 2009 Huskies In A Bowl? [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

Edsall: Pre-Cincinnati [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

What to watch in the Big East, Week 10 [Big East Blog - ESPN.com]

Hard-luck UConn takes on hard-charging Cincinnati [Big East Blog - ESPN.com]

Breaking Down My Career Choices: If You Can’t Laugh At Yourself Edition [Thoughts From a Fat White Guy]

Update from Edsall, no bombshells [Neill Ostrout - Connecticut Post]

Kanuch Named To CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn at Cincinnati: Who’s got the edge? [Connecticut Post]

Primetime at Cincy is like free 3-hour ad [New Haven Register]

Beware of the Cincinnati defense [The Republican-American]

Are UConn gridders ready for prime time players? [Mansfield Today]

PRIMETIME IS THE RIGHT TIME [The Daily Campus]

Next Week:

The Huskies are off next week. They head to South Bend, IN on November 21st to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

UConn Football links

The UConn Huskies football news will be coming up shortly in the game preview section other news.

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Memorable debut [Jim Fuller - New Haven Register]

Lynx Get First Pick in WNBA Draft; Sun Draft Third [John Altavilla - Hartford Courant]

Tina To The Lynx? Renee Thinks So [Rich Elliott - Connecticut Post]

Faris lives up to billing as UConn women rout St. Rose [Connecticut Post]

UConn Women Dominate Exhibition [Hartford Courant]

Freshman Kelly Faris Impressive In UConn Women’s Exhibition Opener [Hartford Courant]

A First Look [Hartford Courant]

A Score to Settle [New Haven Register]

Faris shines in UConn’s rout of Div. II St. Rose [New Haven Register]

UConn women are nice and tough [The Republican-American]

Freshman Faris stands out in first game [The Daily Campus]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

No curses here [Caron Butler Blog]

Countdown: 8 [TheUConnBlog.com]

Player by Player vs. AIC [Mike Anthony - Hartford Courant]

Status on UConn’s Dyson, Beverly unchanged [Connecticut Post]

Documents Submitted, But Dyson, Beverly Not Cleared Yet [Hartford Courant]

Huskies have pieces in place [New Haven Register]

Younger Huskies take advantage of chances [The Day]

Time to kick things off at Gampel [The Daily Campus]

Other UConn related links

Men’s Ice Hockey: Huskies To Open Home Season At Freitas Friday [UConnHuskies.com]

Men’s Ice Hockey: Huskies hope to win first game in front of home crowd [The Daily Campus]

Women’s Ice Hockey: Four UConn Women’s Ice Hockey Student-Athletes Named to WHEA All-Star Roster [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Ice Hockey: Women’s hockey team still searching for first Hockey East win [The Daily Campus]

Women’s Soccer: Taylor Named BIG EAST Defensive Player Of The Year [UConnHuskies.com]

Men’s Soccer: Providence comes to Storrs for quarterfinal matchup [The Daily Campus]

Field Hockey: Road to Big East Championship starts against Louisville [The Daily Campus]

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.

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.