There's plenty of stuff to get to so let's start from the end and work out way back.

Got off the phone with Mel Thomas and she was happy to report that about 300 people made it to Monaco Ford in Glastonbury for her latest public appearance to promote her new book "Heart of a Husky."

There will be a story on Thomas and her venture into the publishing world in Sunday's edition of the Register. Among the things which I didn't get into the story because of space limitations (as anybody who reads this blog on a regular basis may have realized, I can be a little long winded at times with my ramblings) was her take on being on the other side of the CPTV broadcast. Friday night was the first time Thomas sat in front of her television to watch a UConn game on CPTV. After four years of being on the screen courtesy of CPTV's coverage of UConn, it was an eye-opening experience for Thomas.

"It was very strange," Thomas said. "But it is great seeing them play. They are great. I've been out of the country so I haven't had a chance to watch them play but I watched them (Friday). I am very impressed with them, I think they have the potential to go all the way and probably will. I hope so."

Thomas will leave for her hometown of Cincinnati shortly and will have two more book signings there before returning to Connecticut. She will leave on Jan. 1 for Ireland where she will rejoin the Waterford Wildcats pro team. In five games with the Wildcats Thomas averaged 24 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals. She is hoping her play will lead to her getting invited into the WNBA training camp.

Speaking of basketball and Europe, the field is set for the EuroLeague Women playoffs.

Former UConn stars Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird will lead their Spartak Moscow Region team on its quest for a third straight title in the quarterfinals against a ZVVK USK Prague team led by the Connecticut Sun's Lindsay Whalen and former UConn star Swin Cash, a teammate of Bird's last season with the WNBA's Seattle Storm. Ex-UConn greats Asjha Jones and Svetlana Abrosimova will lead UMMC Ekaterinburg against TEO Vilnius. The best of three quarterfinal series begin on Jan. 27.


There is more scheduling news coming out of Cancun, Mexico courtesy of John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant and the Connecticut Post's Rich Elliott, who are representing the rest of the UConn media contingent quite well with their informational blog entries and news items. Looks like ESPN is pushing hard for a Texas/UConn next year, possibly at the Alamodome in San Antonio - the site of the 2010 Final Four. Since I have San Antonio and St. Louis running neck and neck as the most memorable Final Four sites I have been to (easily outdistancing Philadelphia, Tampa and Atlanta), count me among those who would be thrilled to make the trip back to San Antonio. They are also reporting that nine of the 13 UConn players attained grade-point averages of at least 3.0 which is impressive but hardly stunning considering UConn's track record in the academic department but impressive nonetheless.

If the Texas thing happens, UConn would play nine of the top 16 teams in the latest Associated Press poll during the 2009-10 season with non-conference games against No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 8 Duke going with Big East games versus No. 9 Louisville, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 14 Rutgers and No. 16 Pittsburgh. I'm just thinking out loud here, but one non-conference series I'd love to see UConn work on is one against California. Former Duke assistant Joanne Boyle is building something special out in Berkeley and there are worse places to head to in either November or December than sunny California. Even without the Bears on the 2009-10 schedule, the slate of games promises to be one of the best in the program's illustrious history.

Also, don't concern yourself with reports of Stefanie Dolson committing to UConn. The gifted 6-foot-5 post from Minisink Valley in Slate Hill, N.Y. is high on UConn's wish list but it is not true. Since she has yet to visit the campus, this commitment talk is a bit premature. Don't be surprised if a visit does happen later this season since it's only about a three-hour drive from Slate Hill to Storrs but sounds like some recruiting tomfoolery is being practicing by one of the other schools which is pursuing Dolson. Just a thought, why not let these kids go through the process without adding extra pressure by putting false rumors out there, is that too much to ask for from the college coaches out there.