UCONN | Sports

Women's Basketball: Play ball

We take time out from the start of the baseball season to bring you this update from Greensboro.

Rainy and cold...

Oh, there is something else you may be interested in

Neither sophomore center Tina Charles or junior guard Renee Montgomery required additional tests Sunday night after sustaining their injuries during the final minutes of UConn’s Sweet 16 win over Old Dominion.

Both are expected to play Tuesday night when the Huskies play Rutgers at the Greensboro Coliseum ( 9 p.m. , ESPN) for the right to go the Final Four.

Charles suffered a bruise to he her left shoulder and Montgomery twisted her left knee.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma is expected to update the status of both players at his press conference later this afternoon.

Women's Basketball: Well, bless her heart

  Good afternoon from Blogsboro, where the women all say "Well, bless her heart" instead of "Isn't she cute" or "Isn't that nice" or "Did Pat really say that about Geno?"

  Outside the window of my sumptuous hotel suite is the Odd Fellows Lodge, where, I can only assume, fellows who are odd assemble after work - if they work - to discuss whatever oddities make them the way they are.

To be honest, sportswriters are largely odd fellows, as well. We could be card-carrying members of the Odd Fellows Lodge. Just ask the coaches and players we write about. They know the truth.

  We live incredibly bizarre lives; work late, rise early, eat bad food, drink bad things, talk to editors. And then we do it all over again. I was thinking this again this morning at 5 when I walked through the doors at Bradley International and prepared to fly here, to Blogsboro, where our girls will play those girls from ODU on Sunday at noon on ESPN - I repeat, ESPN; for emphasis, ESPN; I'm not kidding, ESPN; this is not a pledge drive, ESPN.

  Personal note: If you don't get ESPN folks, seriously, we can't help you at this point. Call the receptionist at the Odd Fellows Lodge for information on how cable television works.

  Mike Patrick and Doris Burke doing the play-by-play, and frankly, ladies and gentlemen, it gets no better than that for women's basketball.

   Oh, well. I left my son, now 10, to come here. He is in a local production of The Sound of Music this weekend. He plays the Nazi official who comes to Captain Von Trapp's home and tells him he's been ordered to report to the Navy. This is not an example of typecasting; he is Korean.

Men's Basketball: Successful Surgery For A.J.

UConn point guard A.J. Price underwent successful surgery Friday to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. The 80-minute surgery, performed by Dr. Michael Joyce, took place at the Farmington Surgery Center at the New England Musculoskeletal Institute at John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington.

Damage, as expected, was limited to the ACL, which was successfully repaired. Price is scheduled to check out of the hospital later today. Rehabilitation will begin tomorrow and is expected to continue through the summer.

Price was injured last Friday in first half of UConn's first-round NCAA Tournament loss to San Diego in Tampa.

Men's Basketball: Calhoun Chat

Jim Calhoun thought about it for nearly a week and Thursday met with reporters for about an hour and a half to discuss the loss to San Diego, the team and the program as a whole. 

UConn was 24-9 after an upset first-round loss to San Diego in the NCAA Tournament.

“Obviously we made some of the strides we had asked for,” Calhoun said, stacking up this year’s team against the team from 2006-07 that finished 17-14 and missed the postseason for the first time in 20 years. “This group, over the last two years, has won 41 games, which if you look at historically is probably eight or nine behind average. But that can happen and, given some good circumstances, we can make that up.”

Women's Basketball: Sun-ny side up

We interrupt the UConn women's basketball season to bring you some news from the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA. Hot coffee is on its way.

Women's Basketball: Take me home, country roads

   Good morning from Blogford, where all residents are free to visit ESPN without fear of SEC reprisal. We have fought long and hard for this right and we will not give it up without a fight.

    I may even give up my parking spot if I see Kelsey Bone or Taber Spani pulling in first. What are you guys going to do to me? I may even open the door for them, buy them a hamburger. Come and get me, SEC.

    Two down, four to go. That's NCAA victories for UConn, not refusals by Geno Auriemma to cooperate with the WWL [World Wide Leader] before we all get to Tampa in a few days. Patience, patience. When he talks [to his writers, that is] its going to be really, really, really worth it. Maybe you can ask Dick Patrick about it sometime.

   Well, we're off to Greensboro, N.C. and I'm glad the Sweet 16 game against Old Dominion will begin at noon on Sunday because I'm not interested in missing the fourth installment of John Adams on HBO. Man, is this great television. Paul Giamatti is freaking amazing as our portly second president. It's so good, it should only be on ESPNU.

   I would like to congratulate the five Big East teams who have made it to the Sweet 16; UConn, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and, um, wait I'll remember, just give me a second, oh yes, Rutgers.

   However, I would also like to go on record saying how disappointed I am in the elimination of Oklahoma by the Fighting Irish.

    You know how I feel about Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame's fashion plate coach, so it has nothing to do with that. But I was really hoping to see Stacy Hansmeyer, the former Husky star and Sooners assistant, in Tampa in two weeks. Now, my favorite Oklahoman still in the tournament is Stacey Dales.

      

Women's Basketball: Travel Packages

UConn has a series of travel packages available for the 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Regional in Greensboro, N.C.

    They include a three-night full package with charter airfare and a late Saturday afternoon departure from Bradley International Airport. The regional semifinal games will be played in Greensboro on Sunday. UConn's game against Old Dominion begins at noon.
   Three- and four-night land only packages are also available. Game tickets are not included in these packages, but can be purchased at the same time travel is ordered. In addition, UConn Club members have the option of purchasing game tickets only.
  UConn Club members can order these packages in special time slots assigned by donor category on Wednesday: Legend and Champion - 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.; All-American - 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.;MVP - 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Golden Husky - 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Director - 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Coach, Assistant Coach, Captain and Husky - 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
   The travel and game tickets may be ordered online on a special link on UConnHuskies.com or by calling 1-888-GO-UCONN.

John

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Women's Basketball: Brittany is starting

Word is that Brittany Hunter is starting again tonight for Tina Charles. Apparently, Geno Auriemma liked the new dynamic the lineup switch created against Cornell.

John

Football: Darius Butler Works With The Offense Tuesday

UConn starting cornerback Darius Butler spent much of Tuesday’s football practice at the Shenkman Center in Storrs wearing a blue shirt.

The blue shirts are the offense and it was Butler who was working with the depleted Husky wide receiver corps.

With starters Brad Kanuch (quad) and D.J. Hernandez (ankle) nursing injuries along with projected impact receiver Ellis Gaulden (foot), UConn coach Randy Edsall is looking around the roster for beefing up the receiving corps.

Women's Basketball: Faris to UConn

      Heritage Christian junior Kelly Faris announced Tuesday that she has made an oral commitment to join the women's basketball program at the University of Connecticut.

   "It's true, she has decided to go to UConn," said Bob Faris, her father and AAU. "She is very excited about the opportunity."

    Faris chose the Huskies over Notre Dame, Purdue, Duke, Florida State and Stanford. She is a 5-11 guard-forward who averaged 12.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists in leading the Eagles to a 27-1 record and their third consecutive Class 2A state championship this season.

A three-time All-City selection and two-time City Player of the Year, Faris will enter her senior season with career totals of 1,046 points, 667 rebounds and 394 assists.

Congratulations to Carla Berube, coach of Tufts first Elite 8 team

John