Thursday night's UConn/Stanford game was the highest rated women's basketball contest shown on the ESPN networks. Here is the release from ESPN:

ESPN2’s telecast of Stanford’s win over Connecticut was the highest-rated, women’s basketball rating ever for a regular-season game on the ESPN networks. The game, in which Stanford snapped Connecticut’s record 90-game winning streak, posted a 1.5 metered market overnight rating, according to Nielsen. This surpasses the previous high of Connecticut/Duke from Feb. 1, 2003 (1.4). The last 15 minutes of the telecast earned a 3.1 rating.

Top rated markets for UConn-Stanford include Hartford, Knoxville, Columbus, Memphis, Raleigh/Durham, Greenville and San Francisco.

ESPN Classic will present the game as an “Instant Classic” today at 2 p.m.

Well, apparently not even UConn's winning streak can last forever.

Once UConn got by Baylor on Nov. 16, the Dec. 30 game at Stanford was circled as the game where the NCAA basketball record winning streak could come to an end. I was of the opinion that UConn would not win that game not against a veteran Stanford team featuring three 1,000-point scorers and seven players standing 6-2 or taller. So despite people referring to it as a "stunning upset" it was anything but. I was more surprised that Stanford lost at DePaul than I was that UConn lost at Stanford. That being said, why did it happen?

When I watched the game, it reminded me a lot of the UConn/Pittsburgh men's game. Both games were on the road against physical teams and coaches who have beaten UConn in the past. Both Pitt and Stanford took advantage of the Huskies' reliance on their superstars and the other players simply stood around and waited for either Kemba Walker or Maya Moore to win the game.

UConn's offense seemed doomed from the outlet as four of the Huskies' first five shots were 3-pointers. There was none of the crisp, cool, calculating offensive sets UConn is known for running. Compounding matters was that Stanford did not led Connecticut get out in transition as the Huskies managed two fast-break points.

Stanford's defensive effort on Moore was impressive. The Cardinal chased her, bumped her, refused to let her get into the rhythm and almost always had a taller player on her whether it was Chiney Ogwumike, Joslyn Tinkle or any of the other Stanford defenders getting a crack at her. Help was never far away. There would be no repeat of Moore's 41-point explosion against Florida State. Kelly Faris and Bria Hartley did their best to step up but it simply wasn't enough.

The biggest question mark around the post-Candice Wiggins Stanford teams was whether it had good enough guard play to beat UConn. The answer before Thursday night was no. Jeanette Pohlen's emergence into an elite player has been something to behold and she had a Maya Moore-type game last night. However, I don't think Lindy La Rocque's contributions should go unnoticed. She had 3-pointers 70 seconds apart in the first half with the second coming in the next possession after Tiffany Hayes made her only field goal of the game. I'm not privy to UConn's scouting report on Stanford but I'd have to imagine that the name Lindy La Rocque was pretty far down the list.

So what came out of Thursday night? Other than ending the winning streak and forcing the UConn players to answer the same questions about setting history, not a heck of a lot. UConn is a very good team, a national championship contender as is Stanford. That hasn't changed. If the teams meet again this season, I would think it would come in Indianapolis which would mark the fourth straight year the teams would meet in the Final Four. If that game happens, UConn coach Geno Auriemma will use this game as a teaching tool as will Stanford's Tara VanDerveer. Both teams will be better off for having played this game by the time the NCAA tournament comes around. I'd venture to say that Tiffany Hayes won't be 1 of 9 from the field nor will she sit for the final 6:20 as she did last night if there is a rematch.

This will, however, not be the end of winning streak talk since UConn will be going after an NCAA Division I record 70th straight home victory when Villanova comes into Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 5.

Although UConn beat No. 2 Baylor, I would expect the Lady Bears to ascend to the No. 1 spot when the polls come out early next week. As a voter in the Associated Press poll, I think this could be the most difficult poll I will ever have to put together. I value head to head matchups when I vote so I don't think it is a foregone conclusion that I will drop UConn from the top spot since it beat Baylor although the Lady Bears went to Connecticut and only lost by a point although I am leaning towards making Baylor No. 1. Stanford is another team I will have to ponder what to do with. They are coming off one of the most impressive weeks of basketball in recent memory. The Cardinal absolutely schooled No. 4 Xavier and then beat UConn by 12 in a span of three days but also have road losses to Tennessee and DePaul. Undefeated teams like Duke and West Virginia had more difficulty than I thought they would in wins over Temple and St. Bonaventure yesterday and Tennessee has a loss to Georgetown on its resume as well as a defeat to Baylor. Something tells me you are going to see wildly divergent polls being sent in by the voters.

HOLMES, HILLHOUSE STUN MURRY BERGTRAUM
UConn recruiting target Bria Holmes had 23 points including the 1,000th of her career as visiting Hillhouse upset New York powerhouse Murry Bergtraum 77-73 on Thursday. Holmes, a junior forward, now has 1,018 points. Andreana Thomas had 17 points and nine assists for Hillhouse, which was coming off a loss to city rival Career. Murry Bergtraum, ranked as high as No. 8 in one national high school poll, will be the opponent when UConn signee Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Calif. plays in the HoopHall Classic on Jan. 14 in Springfield, Mass.

One of the advantages of making it to the XL Center on Dec. 23 at an event commemorating UConn winning its NCAA Division I basketball record 89th straight win was getting a chance to interview Geno Auriemma and Rebecca Lobo in almost a 1-on-1 setting.

It was during that time that I got Rebecca Lobo's opinion on the upcoming UConn/Stanford game. Bear in mind, this came before Lorin Dixon's injury and Stanford's absolute dissection of fourth-ranked Xavier.

"I think they are going to pose some matchup problems," Lobo said of Stanford's frontline which is taller than some WNBA teams. "I think each team will pose matchup problems for the other. UConn is so thin in the post. I thought Ohio State would give them a good game and UConn whooped them. Coming into the season I was saying they were going to lose to Stanford. I am not convinced they are going to lose to Stanford anymore but I still think it is going to be a good game."

With Lobo, motherhood takes precedent so she is passing on working the game so she can be at home with her kids. Still, I respect her opinion and basketball insight probably more than any other women's basketball broadcaster so I was curious what her keys to the game would be.

"How healthy both teams are," Lobo said in reference to Kayla Pedersen's health and not looking into the future in terms of Dixon's bum foot. "I think the key will be how UConn handles their size and experience. For Stanford, can they handle Maya. She had 41 (against Florida State) and it was unbelievable."

It should be noted that with no Rutgers players remaining from the squad that beat UConn on Feb. 5, 2008, Stanford seniors Kayla Pedersen, Jeanette Pohlen and Ashley Cimino are the only active college players who can say they played in a game which UConn lost. Pedersen had 17 points and 7 rebounds, Pohlen had two points and two assists while Cimino did not score in her brief appearance in Stanford's 82-73 win over UConn in the 2008 national semifinals. That was the last time UConn lost a game.

While senior guard Lorin Dixon is considered questionable to play against Stanford tomorrow night, don't tell that to UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

On a Wednesday afternoon conference call Auriemma said "as of right now Lorin's not going to play. She went to the doctor today, we'll wait to hear back."

Dixon sprained her left foot at a practice on Monday in California and missed Tuesday's win over Pacific. She had the foot x-rays at Stanford's world-class facilities but Auriemma said he did not have the test results back at the time he spoke with reporters.

"She's better than she was yesterday," Auriemma said. "She is walking on it rather easily so that is good. You can't predict these things, obviously. That is why I say all the time it is a fragile thing. Here she misses two games I know she reallty wanted to play in and has been playing the best basketball of her career in some ways but ..."

With Stanford featuring seven players 6-2 or taller, Auriemma was hoping to up the speedy Dixon to turn the game into an up-tempo contest. That will likely still be the plan but assuming Dixon can't go, the only perimeter player off the bench will be seldom-used freshman Lauren Engeln so not having Dixon could be a major blow for the Huskies.

Add the United States Sports Academy to those recognizing UConn's record-breaking accomplishments.

Below is a release on the organization naming UConn its women's team of the year.

DAPHNE, Ala. –The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team, which is riding the longest winning streak in the history of college basketball, is the United States Sports Academy’s Women’s Team of the Year for the second year in a row.
The Huskies topped the 88-game winning streak set by John Wooden’s UCLA men’s team from 1971-74, beating No. 22 Florida State 93-62 on 21 December. As of that night, they had not lost since 6 April 2008, in the NCAA tournament semifinals. Only twice during the record run has a team come within single digits of Connecticut — Stanford in the NCAA championship game last season and Baylor in early November.
Connecticut established itself as the marquee program in the women’s game, the benchmark by which all others are measured. The Huskies already own seven national titles in 17 years, four perfect seasons under head coach Geno Auriemma. They’ve won five titles in the last nine years and are shooting for their second “three-peat” national title under Auriemma.
There are still milestones to reach. For Auriemma, there is the all-time career wins record for college basketball head coaches, which is currently held by University of Tennessee women’s head coach Pat Summit, who is approaching 1,100. For dynasties, Wooden’s UCLA team also won 10 national titles, including seven in a row.
There are still mountains to climb for this year’s honorees. But is there one too high for this program?

Led by junior forward Bria Holmes, who is being recruited by UConn, Hillhouse will be playing the host school in the Murry Bergtraum Classic on Thursday at 3 p.m.

Hillhouse won't be going into the game on a high note having lost to city rival Career 55-47 in the Vanguard Classic in New Haven on Tuesday as Holmes was held to 10 points.

Murry Bergtraum, the alma mater of Epiphanny Prince, Shannon Bobbitt and current Syracuse star Erica Morrow, is led by senior guard Cori Coleman and is ranked eighth in the USA Today national poll. Murry Bergtraum's biggest test could come on Jan. 14 against Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif in the HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass. Mater Dei is led by UConn signee Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. The game will start at 6 p.m.

On the subject of recruiting, UConn has a commitment from Morgan Tuck, a 6-2 forward from Bolingbrook (Ill.) High and is pursuing pretty much the same cast of characters it had its eyes on over the summer.

Forward/center Breanna Stewart and guard Moriah Jefferson are at the top of the Huskies' wish list. Holmes, speedy guard Jewell Loyd and towering center Imani Stafford are also very much on UConn's recruiting radar. Jordan Adams, a teammate of Mosqueda-Lewis, has also caught the eye of the UConn coaching staff but Adams seems likely to stay close to home in college.

Maya Moore was named the Big East Player of the Week for the third time this season after scoring a career-high 41 points in a win over Florida State.

Despite scoring a career-high 21 points against the Seminoles, Bria Hartley was beaten out for Big East Freshman of the Week honors by Louisville's Shoni Schimmel, who had 22 points in a win over Nebraska.

Since Maya Moore arrived at UConn she has kept the statisticians pretty busy.

Her scoring exploits have been well documented. She is already UConn's all-time career leader and with 2,449 career points could very well return home from the Huskies' two-game California swing as the first UConn player with 2,500 career points. But there is so much more to the senior forward than gaudy scoring totals.

Heading into today's games Moore is the only Division I women's player to lead her team in scoring, rebounding, assists (she is tied with Tiffany Hayes), steals and blocked shots.

As a point of reference, just 14 Division I players lead in four of the five categories and only Alabama's Tierney Jenkins, Miami's Shenice Johnson, Alyssa Morris of Cal Riverside and Dartmouth's Brittney Smith rank second in the one category they don't lead their team in.

Reports are coming out that former UConn star Diana Taurasi has tested positive for a banned substance.

Her lawyer Howard Jacobs told the Associated Press that she tested positive for a mild stimulant but was not a steroid or recreational drug.

There's not much more information right now. On a previous blog entry, I mentioned that Taurasi missed a game for her European team Fenerbahce and it seemed a bit odd especially when I heard that she returned home to California. It was later reported that she had the flu.

Taurasi was leading the EuroLeague with a 24.6 scoring average before heading home and missing the last three games for the Istanbul, Turkey squad. She was the WNBA's leading scorer with an average of 22.6 points per game for the Phoenix Mercury, the fourth time in the last five years she led the league in scoring.

Geno Auriemma was in rare form at an event sponsored by Dunkin' Donuts honoring the UConn women's basketball team's NCAA Division I basketball record 89-game winning streak.

Auriemma repeated what he proclaimed before the season that he did not see any way that his current team - featuring as many freshmen as healthy veteran players - would record a third straight undefeated season.

"You know it (a loss) is (coming) you just don’t know when. It is on its way just like Christmas and New Year’s, it is on its way," Auriemma said.

"Somewhere along the line there is going to be something that is going to happen and when that day or night comes, it comes. I don’t know when it is going to be. It could be at Stanford, it could be at any one of those others places. I am ready for it. I don’t think this should go on forever. If it goes on forever, it won’t mean as much. It has to end so we can appreciate what it took to get there."

Among the other topics Auriemma was asked about during a question and answer session with fans in attendance were the Maya Moore/Diana Taurasi who is the greatest Husky of all time debate, the state of mind of injured guard Caroline Doty and the best Secret Santa gift he has received from one of his players.

On Moore/Taurasi, Auriemma admitted he was being sarcastic about picking Moore over Taurasi because Moore is still here and Taurasi is playing professionally.

"If you put the two of them in front of me right now and asked me to pick one over the other to start my team tomorrow, I wouldn’t be able to do it," Auriemma said.

His comments on Doty and how difficult it was not being able to play as the Huskies won games No. 88 and 89 were particularly telling.

"The other night for the first time this season I did see that this has had an affect on Caroline not being able to play," Auriemma said. "I think the other night she sat there, the look on her face and what was going on was the first time that it really hit her that ‘I am really missing on something. No matter what I am doing on the sidelines, no matter what I am doing behind the scenes I am not as much a part of this as I would like to be. It’s been really hard."

Auriemma said that Doty has been trying to convince her head coach that she could play a few minutes here and there even as she recovers from another torn ACL.

"If you ask me, ‘no, there’s no chance whatsoever she is playing this year.’ If you ask her, she tells me every game, during every timeout she will look at the scoreboard and go ‘how about I just play the last five minutes,’" Auriemma said. "I said ‘no, how about you go back to what you were doing.’ So the next game she’ll go ‘three minutes, let me have three minutes.’ I’ll say ‘nope.’ The other night she wanted to play the whole second half. She never stops asking but no, she is not going to play."

Now onto the subject of Christmas gifts:
"Heather Buck had me as a Secret Santa. She lives in Stonington and she got me frozen scallops. Tell me how many of you ever got frozen scallops. Who’s better than Heather Buck."

Auriemma also had an interesting take of going from receiving a congratulatory phone call from President Barack Obama on Tuesday night to posing with photos with a pair of Dunkin' Donuts mascots on Thursday morning.

"That’s the unique situation that you are on national television talking to the President, the leader of the free world and the next thing you know you are getting your picture taken with a donut and a cup of coffee," Auriemma said. "The experience of being the UConn coach knows no bounds. That is why I think you keep a humorous side to it, keep it in perspective and you don’t try to get too caught up in any part of it."

Sitting next to one of his all-time greatest players Thursday morning, UConn's Geno Auriemma was in a reflective mood.

A couple of days have passed since the Huskies had recorded an NCAA Division I basketball record 89th straight win and his current players had headed home to be with their families for a few days.

So when a PR person from Dunkin' Donuts sprung a seemingly innocuous inquiry about "what is your favorite donut" during the question and answer portion, he had no idea of what was coming next.

The majority of coaches would utter "glazed" "plain" or whatever flavor floated their boat and moved on. Not Geno Auriemma. A few minutes later he wrapped up a story of where all of this began fittingly enough at a local Dunkin' Donuts.

"I remember after the interview process, it was a rainy morning in Storrs, Connecticut in April or May (of 1985)," Auriemma said. "It was probably May and I am in the offices at the old field house and John Toner (UConn's athletic directr at the time) says 'come with me.' We go out back and we get in his car, we drive down 195 down towards Willimantic. I didn’t know where we were, all I knew was campus. So there is a Dunkin’ Donuts on the right-hand side when you are going down Main Street and it is still there.

"He pulls up to this Dunkin’ Donuts. We get out and we go in. We are sitting at the counter. He orders coffee and says ‘do you want a coffee.’ I said ‘I’ll take a coffee.’ Then he orders two donuts, two old-fashioned donuts. I thought that is just like him, that is exactly who we is. He is an old-fashioned guy, he ordered two old-fashioned donuts. We sat there, ate the donuts, drank the coffee. He said ‘do you want to be the coach at Connecticut?’ I said ‘yes, I do.’ That was it, he shook my hand and said ‘welcome aboard.’ We got in the car, drove up to Storrs and the rest is history."

Tuesday's UConn/Florida State game drew the second highest rating for a regular season or conference tournament on one of the ESPN network stations in the last six years.

Here's the release from ESPN:


The top-ranked Connecticut women’s basketball team’s 93-62 win over No. 20 Florida State last night, which gave the Huskies their 89th-straight win surpassing John Wooden and UCLA’s Division I basketball record 88-game win streak, earned a 0.9 rating, representing an average of 878,00 households and 1,171,000 viewers, according to Nielsen. It's the second-highest rating for a regular-season or conference tournament women's basketball game on the ESPN networks in the last six seasons (2009 Tennessee/Oklahoma garnered a 1.0, a game where Pat Summitt was attempting to her 1,000th win).

The Hartford designated market area (DMA) recorded an 18.1 metered market rating – the highest women’s basketball rating on ESPN or ESPN2 in Hartford during the regular-season and conference tournaments since March 2003 (BIG EAST Championship final – when Villanova broke UConn’s then-record 70-game women’s basketball win streak). That game received an 19.7 rating on ESPN2. The 18.1 rating also topped last year’s Final Four contest between Connecticut and Stanford, which earned a 17.6. Connecticut has been on ESPN or ESPN2 39 times since the 2003 UConn/Villanova matchup.

I'll have to say that covering these last two UConn women's games has been, let's see what's the word ... "interesting" to say the least.

There are so many layers to this streak. There has been the absolute class in which those associated with UCLA including John Wooden's grandson, who made Tuesday's win over Florida State the first women's college basketball game he has attended, and former players like Andre McCarter and Pete Trgovich who had nothing but gracious things to say about UConn and its pursuit of the streak.

There have been the jam-packed media rooms at Madison Square Garden and XL Center featuring such innocuous questions as "what would you be if you weren't a coach" to Geno Auriemma and after scoring 41 points (the second-highest total in UConn women's basketball history) and helping the Huskies to their 89th straight win there was the long, thought out injury "Maya, how do you feel" from a talking head directed at Maya Moore.

There has been chirping from media, especially those in New York, who don't value women's basketball coverage as being worthy of their time. I ever overheard one reporter say that "Maya Moore wasn't as arrogant as I thought she was." Even in the midst of writing my story, I almost fell out of my chair when I heard those words. "Maya Moore, arrogant?" Maya Moore is a lot of things and arrogant is not one of them. This is a bit of a tangent but the way she handles the media reminds me so much of former tennis star Lindsay Davenport who was charming, personable, generous with her time all the while never letting the media get too close to her. Maya has many of those same attributes, a way of making people in the media feel like they are close to her but not letting them closer to her than she wants them to be.

There has been the wall to wall coverage by ESPN that reached Super Bowl levels in terms of overblowing an event with pre-game publicity.

There has been the always thoughtful and articulate answers delivered by Moore as she, still just a college senior, is being asked to put her team's accomplishments in historical perspective.

Then there was Geno Auriemma's press conference being interrupted so he could take a call from President Barack Obama which was good theater for sure.

Of course there has been the backlash. When I got home from the XL Center this morning around 1:30 or so, the first e-mail waiting for me was titled "you're making a fool of yourself." The contests of the e-mail are not anything different than what could be found attached to the comments section of any story documenting UConn setting the NCAA Division I basketball record with its 89th straight win. UConn couldn't beat the UCLA men. No kidding. UConn doesn't play the same teams or competition. Wow, what a startling revelation.

I'd like to see one story where somebody said that this UConn women's basketball team could beat the UCLA men. If it gets written, that person should find a new assignment. The comparison is the UCLA men against the competition they faced and UConn against the rest of the field and the dominance of both teams is quite remarkable and worth celebrating.

Had Brittney Griner made a couple more free throws and Baylor had snapped UConn's winning streak at 79 games earlier this year, I think UConn's accomplishments would be just as worthy of recognition. However, there would not have been 16,294 fans at the XL Center last night, ESPN would not have provided wall to wall coverage including an on-site pre-game show and the number of media who would have showed up last night probably would have been cut in third. Regardless of how much you follow women's college basketball, men's college basketball or sports in general there is no mistaking that there are certain magical numbers in sports. UCLA's 88-game winning streak is one of them and if UConn wins another 89 in a row, it will not diminish the incredible exploits of those UCLA men's teams of the 1970s. Tuesday night was a historic one and that point can not be debated.

I do believe it is important to address Auriemma's response when he was asked to clarify his comments on Sunday.

First, here are the comments which seemed to create such a strong reaction from the national media.

"I am not bright enough to explain all the sociological things that are going on, I just know there wouldn't be this many people in the room if we were chasing a women's record. The reason everybody is in this room, the reason why everybody is having a heart attack these last four or five days is a bunch of women are threatening to break a men's record. Everybody is up in arms about it, all the women are happy as hell and they can't wait to come in and ask questions. All the men who love women's basketball are all excited. All the miserable bastards that follow men's basketball and don't want us to break the record are all here because they are (ticked off). That's just the way it is because if we were breaking a women's record, everybody would go 'aren't those girls nice. Let's give them two paragraphs in USA Today, given them one line at the bottom of ESPN and let's send them where they belong, in the kitchen. But because we are breaking a men's record, we have lots of people paying attention."

In a normal post-game press conference, Auriemma would have been asked to clarify those comments within minutes of making them. But not at MSG when a public relations member felt it necessary to start pointing to people to ask questions I guess because the poor, meek New York media members weren't able to get questions in because of us pushy members of the Connecticut media. Instead that question had to wait until after Tuesday's game.

Here is Auriemma's response.

"I think if you read the whole thing, it was pretty self-explanatory in one sense," Auriemma said. “I think the question that I was asked was in the big world of sports and what we’re doing what does it signify if we were to win 89 games? And I said it could signify whatever you want it to signify. People that love women’s basketball are thrilled to death about it. They couldn’t be happier. Sports fans that appreciate something that’s really unique are thrilled. Those people that love men’s basketball and don’t give two rips about women’s basketball, we aren’t going to change their mind and I don’t care. Then there’s a bunch of people that are being forced to cover it now. The reason they’re being forced to cover it is because it’s a team that’s breaking a men’s record.

“When we won 70, and we won 71 and 72 and 73, there wasn’t all this because it was just a bunch of girls beating a bunch of girls. And let’s just do what we always do and treat it like ... I was fine with that. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t criticizing anybody. I wasn’t demanding more recognition. I wasn’t demanding more coverage. I never said that. All I said was I’m amused that it takes a men’s record to get this kind of attention. I’m OK with it. I wasn’t bitter about it. I was just commenting on how many people now are forced to cover this event. Then after tomorrow they can go back to doing what they were doing and I’m OK with that too. That’s all it was.

“It wasn’t an indictment of anybody. It was just I’m amused that it takes something like that after all these wins, after all this time. And what normally happens in those situations is exactly what happened. Everybody that had an opinion weighed in. I can’t tell you what I’ve been called in stuff that’s been sent to me or stuff that’s been written. I get a kick out of it. But, again, like it or not like it we made you pay attention. If you want to go back, go back. But for this little time you paid attention. You didn’t have to, but you did. It’s not my fault that ESPN decided to do a 10-hour ... It felt like the Kennedy assassination. People in my family are like `turn the TV off, would you?’ I didn’t do that. They decided to do that. They know how to make a buck. They’re as good as anybody else. So don’t blame me. I’m just the messenger. We’re just out here trying to win games. What can I tell you?"

Those last 13 words says it all about not only Auriemma's UConn teams but Wooden's UCLA squads as well.

"We're just out here trying to win games. What can I tell you?"

It was never UCLA's goal to win 88 games in a row but during the journey to an unprecedented seven straight national titles, that is exactly what happened. UConn's goal was never to win 89 games in a row. If it were, the Huskies would have pushed the Baylor and Ohio State games to later in the season if there play them at all. The Huskies ultimate goal is a third straight national title. If they lose a game and still win the title, you will hear no complaints from the UConn camp. Do you think the 1999-2000 and 2002-03 national titles are held in lower esteem because UConn had one loss during those seasons? Well, they are not.


I will leave you with this link of UConn's accomplishment being the focus of an entry on the White House blogThe Huskies are just out there trying to win games and as this streak has proven, it is something they are rather good at.

The WNBA released its 2011 schedule and the first game will feature the Minnesota Lynx (I wonder if the Lynx having a certain No. 1 overall pick named Maya Moore has anything to do with that) facing Los Angeles on June 3.

The league kicks into high gear the next day with four games including former UConn stars Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi meeting when defending WNBA champion Seattle faces Phoenix. The Connecticut Sun also open on June 4 with a home game against Washington.

As a public service, I will highlight the games featuring the return of the prominent former UConn stars to Connecticut.

On July 1, Sue Bird, Swin Cash and Seattle plays at Mohegan Sun Arena, Minnesota (with Moore and Charde Houston) come in on Aug. 16 while Diana Taurasi and Phoenix
play at the Sun on Aug. 26. Also, New York with Kalana Greene play in Connecticut on July 19 and Sept. 11.

Here is the complete schedule:

Day Date Visitor Home Local (Home) Eastern
Fri. June 3, 2011 Minnesota Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Sat. June 4, 2011 Phoenix Seattle 12:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sat. June 4, 2011 Washington Connecticut 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. June 4, 2011 Chicago Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. June 4, 2011 Tulsa San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sun. June 5, 2011 New York Atlanta 3:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sun. June 5, 2011 Los Angeles Minnesota 2:30 PM 3:30 PM
Tue. June 7, 2011 Tulsa Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Thu. June 9, 2011 Washington Atlanta 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Thu. June 9, 2011 Minnesota Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Fri. June 10, 2011 New York Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Fri. June 10, 2011 San Antonio Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. June 10, 2011 Connecticut Chicago 7:30 PM 8:30 PM
Fri. June 10, 2011 Phoenix Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Sat. June 11, 2011 Indiana New York 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. June 11, 2011 Chicago Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. June 11, 2011 Atlanta San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sun. June 12, 2011 Tulsa Connecticut 3:00 PM 3:00 PM
Tue. June 14, 2011 Tulsa Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. June 14, 2011 Atlanta New York 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Thu. June 16, 2011 Connecticut Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Fri. June 17, 2011 Atlanta Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. June 17, 2011 New York Chicago 7:30 PM 8:30 PM
Fri. June 17, 2011 San Antonio Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Fri. June 17, 2011 Indiana Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sat. June 18, 2011 Washington Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sun. June 19, 2011 Chicago Connecticut 1:00 PM 1:00 PM
Sun. June 19, 2011 Minnesota Atlanta 3:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sun. June 19, 2011 Indiana Phoenix 3:00 PM 6:00 PM
Sun. June 19, 2011 Seattle Los Angeles 5:30 PM 8:30 PM
Tue. June 21, 2011 Chicago Atlanta 12:00 PM 12:00 PM
Tue. June 21, 2011 Indiana Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. June 21, 2011 Phoenix San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. June 21, 2011 Seattle Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. June 21, 2011 New York Los Angeles 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Thu. June 23, 2011 New York Tulsa 11:30 AM 12:30 PM
Thu. June 23, 2011 Connecticut Chicago 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. June 24, 2011 Phoenix Atlanta 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Fri. June 24, 2011 Los Angeles San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. June 24, 2011 Minnesota Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sat. June 25, 2011 Connecticut Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. June 25, 2011 Phoenix Chicago 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sun. June 26, 2011 San Antonio Atlanta 3:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sun. June 26, 2011 Los Angeles New York 4:00 PM 4:00 PM
Sun. June 26, 2011 Tulsa Washington 4:00 PM 4:00 PM
Sun. June 26, 2011 Indiana Minnesota 6:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. June 28, 2011 Phoenix Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. June 28, 2011 San Antonio Chicago 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. June 28, 2011 Los Angeles Connecticut 8:00 PM 8:00 PM
Thu. June 30, 2011 New York Atlanta 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Thu. June 30, 2011 Minnesota Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. July 1, 2011 San Antonio New York 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Fri. July 1, 2011 Seattle Connecticut 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Fri. July 1, 2011 Chicago Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sun. July 3, 2011 Seattle Washington 4:00 PM 4:00 PM
Tue. July 5, 2011 Seattle Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. July 5, 2011 Washington Chicago 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. July 5, 2011 Los Angeles Phoenix 6:00 PM 9:00 PM
Fri. July 8, 2011 New York San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. July 8, 2011 Phoenix Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sat. July 9, 2011 Washington Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. July 9, 2011 Atlanta Chicago 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sat. July 9, 2011 Connecticut Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sat. July 9, 2011 Los Angeles Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sun. July 10, 2011 Chicago New York 4:00 PM 4:00 PM
Sun. July 10, 2011 Tulsa Phoenix 3:00 PM 6:00 PM
Tue. July 12, 2011 Washington Seattle 12:00 PM 3:00 PM
Tue. July 12, 2011 Los Angeles San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Wed. July 13, 2011 Atlanta New York 12:00 PM 12:00 PM
Wed. July 13, 2011 Tulsa Chicago 11:30 AM 12:30 PM
Wed. July 13, 2011 Phoenix Minnesota 12:00 PM 1:00 PM
Wed. July 13, 2011 Connecticut Indiana 1:00 PM 1:00 PM
Thu. July 14, 2011 Seattle San Antonio 8:00 PM 9:00 PM
Fri. July 15, 2011 Minnesota Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Fri. July 15, 2011 Connecticut New York 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Fri. July 15, 2011 Los Angeles Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. July 15, 2011 Washington Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sat. July 16, 2011 Chicago Atlanta 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Sat. July 16, 2011 Seattle Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sun. July 17, 2011 Tulsa New York 4:00 PM 4:00 PM
Sun. July 17, 2011 Indiana Connecticut 5:00 PM 5:00 PM
Sun. July 17, 2011 Washington Los Angeles 5:30 PM 8:30 PM
Mon. July 18, 2011 San Antonio Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Tue. July 19, 2011 Indiana Atlanta 12:00 PM 12:00 PM
Tue. July 19, 2011 Seattle Chicago 6:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. July 19, 2011 New York Connecticut 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Wed. July 20, 2011 Atlanta Washington 11:30 AM 11:30 AM
Wed. July 20, 2011 Minnesota Phoenix 12:30 PM 3:30 PM
Thu. July 21, 2011 Chicago Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Thu. July 21, 2011 San Antonio Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Tue. July 26, 2011 San Antonio Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. July 26, 2011 Connecticut Chicago 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. July 26, 2011 Los Angeles Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. July 26, 2011 Atlanta Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. July 26, 2011 Seattle Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Thu. July 28, 2011 Phoenix San Antonio 11:30 AM 12:30 PM
Thu. July 28, 2011 Los Angeles Atlanta 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Thu. July 28, 2011 Washington New York 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Thu. July 28, 2011 Indiana Connecticut 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Thu. July 28, 2011 Chicago Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. July 29, 2011 Indiana Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Fri. July 29, 2011 Seattle Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sat. July 30, 2011 Phoenix New York 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. July 30, 2011 Los Angeles Chicago 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sat. July 30, 2011 Seattle Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sun. July 31, 2011 Minnesota San Antonio 2:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sun. July 31, 2011 Atlanta Connecticut 5:00 PM 5:00 PM
Sun. July 31, 2011 Los Angeles Indiana 6:00 PM 6:00 PM
Tue. August 2, 2011 New York Atlanta 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Tue. August 2, 2011 Phoenix Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. August 2, 2011 San Antonio Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Wed. August 3, 2011 Connecticut Los Angeles 12:00 PM 3:00 PM
Thu. August 4, 2011 Chicago New York 12:00 PM 12:00 PM
Thu. August 4, 2011 San Antonio Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. August 5, 2011 Indiana Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. August 5, 2011 Connecticut Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sat. August 6, 2011 New York Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. August 6, 2011 Tulsa San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sun. August 7, 2011 Seattle Atlanta 3:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sun. August 7, 2011 Connecticut Phoenix 3:00 PM 6:00 PM
Sun. August 7, 2011 Indiana Chicago 5:00 PM 6:00 PM
Sun. August 7, 2011 Minnesota Los Angeles 5:30 PM 8:30 PM
Tue. August 9, 2011 San Antonio Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. August 9, 2011 Atlanta Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. August 9, 2011 Chicago Connecticut 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Tue. August 9, 2011 Seattle New York 8:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. August 9, 2011 Minnesota Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Tue. August 9, 2011 Tulsa Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Thu. August 11, 2011 San Antonio Connecticut 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Thu. August 11, 2011 Atlanta Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Thu. August 11, 2011 Tulsa Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Fri. August 12, 2011 New York Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Fri. August 12, 2011 Minnesota Chicago 7:30 PM 8:30 PM
Fri. August 12, 2011 Phoenix Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Sat. August 13, 2011 Washington Connecticut 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. August 13, 2011 New York Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. August 13, 2011 Atlanta Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sun. August 14, 2011 Chicago San Antonio 2:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sun. August 14, 2011 Tulsa Minnesota 6:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. August 16, 2011 Washington New York 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. August 16, 2011 Minnesota Connecticut 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Tue. August 16, 2011 Indiana San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. August 16, 2011 Seattle Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Tue. August 16, 2011 Atlanta Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Thu. August 18, 2011 Connecticut New York 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Thu. August 18, 2011 Minnesota Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Thu. August 18, 2011 Indiana Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Fri. August 19, 2011 Connecticut Atlanta 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Sat. August 20, 2011 Chicago Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sat. August 20, 2011 Los Angeles Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sat. August 20, 2011 San Antonio Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sat. August 20, 2011 New York Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sun. August 21, 2011 Atlanta Connecticut 5:00 PM 5:00 PM
Sun. August 21, 2011 Washington Indiana 6:00 PM 6:00 PM
Sun. August 21, 2011 Los Angeles Tulsa 6:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. August 23, 2011 Los Angeles Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. August 23, 2011 Atlanta Chicago 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. August 23, 2011 Minnesota Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. August 23, 2011 New York Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Wed. August 23, 2011 San Antonio Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Thu. August 25, 2011 Tulsa Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Fri. August 26, 2011 Phoenix Connecticut 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Fri. August 26, 2011 San Antonio Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. August 26, 2011 Washington Chicago 7:30 PM 8:30 PM
Fri. August 26, 2011 Tulsa Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Sat. August 27, 2011 Atlanta Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sun. August 28, 2011 Minnesota San Antonio 2:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sun. August 28, 2011 Connecticut Tulsa 3:00 PM 4:00 PM
Sun. August 28, 2011 Phoenix Washington 4:00 PM 4:00 PM
Sun. August 28, 2011 New York Chicago 5:00 PM 6:00 PM
Sun. August 28, 2011 Los Angeles Seattle 6:00 PM 9:00 PM
Tue. August 30, 2011 Chicago New York 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Tue. August 30, 2011 Indiana Atlanta 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Tue. August 30, 2011 Washington Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. August 30, 2011 Connecticut San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. August 30, 2011 Phoenix Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Tue. August 30, 2011 Seattle Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Thu. September 1, 2011 Atlanta Washington 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Thu. September 1, 2011 Phoenix San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. September 2, 2011 Washington Atlanta 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Fri. September 2, 2011 Indiana Connecticut 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Fri. September 2, 2011 New York Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Fri. September 2, 2011 Seattle Tulsa 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sat. September 3, 2011 Seattle San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sat. September 3, 2011 Los Angeles Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sun. September 4, 2011 Tulsa Atlanta 3:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sun. September 4, 2011 Minnesota New York 4:00 PM 4:00 PM
Sun. September 4, 2011 Connecticut Washington 4:00 PM 4:00 PM
Sun. September 4, 2011 Indiana Chicago 5:00 PM 6:00 PM
Tue. September 6, 2011 Connecticut Atlanta 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Tue. September 6, 2011 San Antonio Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Wed. September 7, 2011 Washington Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Thu. September 8, 2011 Chicago Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Thu. September 8, 2011 Tulsa Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Fri. September 9, 2011 Indiana New York 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Fri. September 9, 2011 Phoenix Seattle 7:00 PM 10:00 PM
Fri. September 9, 2011 Tulsa Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Sat. September 10, 2011 Washington San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Sat. September 10, 2011 Chicago Los Angeles 7:30 PM 10:30 PM
Sun. September 11, 2011 New York Connecticut 1:00 PM 1:00 PM
Sun. September 11, 2011 Atlanta Indiana 5:00 PM 5:00 PM
Sun. September 11, 2011 Minnesota Phoenix 3:00 PM 6:00 PM
Sun. September 11, 2011 San Antonio Tulsa 6:00 PM 7:00 PM
Sun. September 11, 2011 Chicago Seattle 6:00 PM 9:00 PM
Sat. June 4, 2011 Phoenix Seattle 12:00 PM 3:00 PM ABC
Thurs. June 9, 2011 Washington Atlanta 7:00 PM 7:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. June 14, 2011 Tulsa Indiana 7:00 PM 7:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. June 21, 2011 Phoenix San Antonio 7:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. June 21, 2011 New York Los Angeles 7:00 PM 10:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. June 28, 2011 Los Angeles Connecticut 8:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. July 5, 2011 Los Angeles Phoenix 6:00 PM 9:00 PM ESPN2
Thurs. July 14, 2011 Seattle San Antonio 8:00 PM 9:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. July 19, 2011 Seattle Chicago 6:00 PM 7:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. August 2, 2011 Phoenix Minnesota 7:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Tues. August 9, 2011 Seattle New York 8:00 PM 8:00 PM ESPN2
Wed. August 23, 2011 New York Phoenix 7:00 PM 10:00 PM ESPN2
Sun. August 28, 2011 Los Angeles Seattle 6:00 PM 9:00 PM ESPN2

The UConn women's basketball team is very good at many things, post-game celebrations are not usually one of them, however.

When you win as often and as convincingly as the Huskies do, it's understandable that they don't exactly screams to the heavens after every win. A little glimpse of how much this winning streak means to the Huskies came out after Sunday's win over Ohio State. After Tuesday's 93-62 victory over Florida State, which gave the Huskies an NCAA Division I basketball record 89 straight wins, Maya Moore could be seen jumping up and down like a child on Christmas morning. Tiffany Hayes simply could not come up with the words as the Huskies moved by the 1971-74 UCLA men's basketball team to post the longest basketball winning streak during the NCAA era. UConn coach Geno Auriemma took it a step closer, giving Bria Hartley a kiss to express his absolute delight with the game she was having.

"That is why we play the games," Auriemma said. "It doesn't matter how many you win and what your record is. You play so you have that feeling afte the game and you played well, everyone contributed. You feel good about what you just did. What gets lost sometimes in all of these wins and sometimes players do forget to do that. You want to make sure it isn't 'ho hum, this doesn't mean anything.' It is pretty significant to those kids because they have heard so much about it, what it all means. I know they were excited all day today. I am constantly amazed at these kids and what they are able to do under the circumstances they are put in."

Greg Wooden, the grandson of the late UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden, was among those in attendance as was former UConn great Tina Charles, who played a major role in leading UConn to the first 78 games in the 89-game run.

"It is really special," said Moore, who had a career-high 41 points on Tuesday. "Just to see Tina and how much of an impact she has made in the previous two seasons, have John Wooden's grandson to come in and show respect for our team, it meant the world to us. You should have seen my face when he was talkng to us. It was a really big moment. The way he came and honored our team, it shows the connection between great programs recognizing each other and celebrating together."

Next up is a Dec. 28 game at Pacific followed by a much-anticipated game at No. 2 Stanford on Dec. 30.

It will be business as usual as UConn will roll out the starting lineup of Maya Moore, Tiffany Hayes, Kelly Faris, Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson as starters as the Huskies go after their record 89th straight win.

Florida State will counter with Alexa Deluzio, Christian Hunnicutt, Courtney Ward, Natasha Howard and Cierra Bravard.

I know I don't have to repeat this but a win tonight would give the Huskies the NCAA Division I basketball record for consecutive wins which the UCLA men's program has held since 1974.

Greg Wooden, a 47-year-old grandson of the legendary UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden, is among those in attendance. Wooden said he felt it was important that somebody from the Wooden family be on hand to pay tribute to what UConn is accomplishing. He also chuckled when he admitted that this is his first women's college game.

UConn can also tie the NCAA Division I women's basketball record for consecutive home wins. The Huskies have won 68 in a row since a loss to Rutgers in the 2007 Big East tournament final at the XL Center. Tennessee won 69 straight home games from 1991-96 and UConn matched the mark from 2001-04.

I won't be updating the blog during the game but will be tweeting on occasion @NHRJimFuller

Add an appearance as the guest on the "Five Good Minutes" portion of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption by UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

Auriemma's comments following Sunday's win over Ohio State when he called men's basketball writers "miserable bastards" and cited gender bias as playing a role in the coverage of UConn's record winning streak made national news. PTI hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser chimed in on Auriemma's comments on Monday's show with Kornheiser admitting he was curious what was said or written to set Auriemma off so it's a safe assumption he will get his wish.

The show begins at 5:30 on ESPN

By the way, here are Geno's comments

"I am not bright enough to explain all the sociological things that are going on, I just know there wouldn't be this many people in the room if we were chasing a women's record. The reason everybody is in this room, the reason why everybody is having a heart attack these last four or five days is a bunch of women are threatening to break a men's record. Everybody is up in arms about it, all the women are happy as hell and they can't wait to come in and ask questions. All the men who love women's basketball are all excited. All the miserable bastards that follow men's basketball and don't want us to break the record are all here because they are (ticked off). That's just the way it is because if we were breaking a women's record, everybody would go 'aren't those girls nice. Let's give them two paragraphs in USA Today, given them one line at the bottom of ESPN and let's send them where they belong, in the kitchen. But because we are breaking a men's record, we have lots of people paying attention."

UConn signee Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis injured her right ankle in Mater Dei's 64-46 win over Monarch of Louisville, Colo. on Monday at the prestigious Tournament of Champions event in Chandler, Ariz. and according to a report on hoopgurlz.com, she is questionable for the semifinals.

With all the hoopla surrounding UConn tying the UCLA men's basketball NCAA Division I record 88-game winning streak on Sunday and going for No. 89 in a row on Tuesday against Florida State, another streak has gone relatively unnoticed.

If UConn wins tomorrow night, it will be its 69th straight home win tying the NCAA Division I women's basketball record set by Tennessee from 1991-96 and matched by UConn from 2001-04.

This streak has been a little hard to write about because the NCAA's definition of a home game was a little fuzzy. I have been bugging PR people from UConn and the Big East in recent weeks to get a clarification of what constitutes a home game. At first I was told that Big East and NCAA tournament games at either Gampel Pavilion or the XL Center would not count as UConn home games which I thought was silly. After further review, the NCAA is counting all games the Huskies play at the XL Center and Gampel as home games. Therefore, the last home loss came to Rutgers in the 2007 Big East tournament final. Since then the Huskies have won 68 straight home games.

The new Associated Press is out. There's no shock at the top as UConn receiving all 40 first-place votes. Ohio State only fell two spots to No. 13 after the loss to the Huskies. Florida State, after its stunning loss to Yale, dropped from 15th to 22nd. Stanford, following losses to DePaul and Tennessee, went from No. 3 to 8.

For those interested, here is link to the poll

UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski were named the winners of the USA Basketball 2010 National Coach of the Year as they led the women's and men's U.S. national teams to gold medals at the FIBA World Championships.

Bria Hartley earned her third Big East Freshman of the Week honor after scoring 13 points in Sunday's 81-50 win over Ohio State.

Tiffany Hayes was named to the Big East honor roll after scoring 26 points against the Buckeyes. She was beaten out for Big East Player of the Week recognition by DePaul's Keisha Hampton who had 27 points and a career-high six assists in an upset of Stanford.

No tickets remain for tomorrow's UConn/Florida State game at the XL Center. The 7 p.m. game, being aired on ESPN2, will be one for the ages. UConn, currently tied with the UCLA men's teams of the early 1970s for the longest winning streak in NCAA Division I basketball history, will go for its 89th win a row.

The sellout will be the first for a UConn home game since Feb. 13 when St. John's came to Gampel Pavilion and first for a game at the XL Center since the Dec. 23, 2009 game against Stanford.

The fans aren't the only ones showing an interest as 65 media have been credentialed for the game which is more than twice the amount for a normal UConn home game.

Also, a reminder that the game has been moved to ESPN2 which should please those who don't get ESPNU.

Also, here's some of what ESPN has planned to promote tomorrow's game:
The Final Four studio team of Trey Wingo, Kara Lawson and Carolyn Peck will host an hour-long pregame show on Tuesday beginning at 6 p.m. and additional post-game segments – all from the XL Center.

ESPNU will conduct five consecutive hours of UConn programming leading up to the ESPN2 pregame special on Tuesday titled "UConn’s Record Run: The Climb – UConn’s Quest for Perfection" at 1 p.m. The four part, two-hour series was a behind-the-scenes look into the 2009-10 season and was televised during the 2010 postseason.

UConn’s Record Run: Baylor vs. UConn – Breakdown with Geno Auriemma at 3 p.m. The veteran coach sat down with Doris Burke to analyze Connecticut’s 65-64 win over then-No. 2 Baylor on Nov. 16

UConn’s Record Run: UConn Legends Roundtable, a half-hour show starting at 5 p.m. Doris Burke hosts a forum with former Connecticut All-Americans – Rebecca Lobo, Jen Rizzotti and Sue Bird, in addition to current UConn All-American Maya Moore. The group will discuss UConn’s record run, Auriemma’s coaching style and much more

UConn’s Record Run: Debating the Streak, a half-hour special beginning at 5:30 p.m. Hosted by Trey Wingo, the show will contain segments featuring discussion topic about UConn’s streak from some of ESPN’s most popular daytime programming – PTI, First Take, SportsNation, Mike & Mike and Jim Rome is Burning.

Segment highlights include:
Former Division I head coach Bob Knight saw numerous student-athletes compete during his 35-year coaching career. Knight took time to analyze Maya Moore’s signature moves from a recent game and said – “Maya Moore is as complete a basketball player, as in my experience, I have ever seen.”

A feature comparing Auriemma and Wooden, using Coach Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success”;
A SportsScience piece dealing with the numbers of the streak and the many surprises surrounding those figures.

An abbreviated version of the Outside the Lines that was aired during last season highlighting Auriemma and his background.

Several sound bytes featuring coaches and former athletes that have been involved in monumental streaks, including Penn State volleyball head coach Russ Rose and former UCLA players Jamaal Wilkes and Marques Johnson.

Additional sound bytes from men’s and women’s basketball head coaches, including UConn’s Jim Calhoun and Notre Dame men’s coach Mike Brey and women’s coach Muffet McGraw

Clips from Auriemma’s SportCenter appearance on Thursday, Dec. 16 and Ohio State head coach Jim Foster’s First Take segment on Friday, Dec. 17.


ESPN Classic will feature various reairs of telecasts surrounding UConn’s Record Run. Highlights include:
The series of The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfect Monday, Dec. 20, starting at 3 p.m., showing the four episodes in consecutive timeslots

Connecticut’s 88th win of the streak – a victory over No. 10 Ohio State at the Maggie Dixon Classic on Sunday, Dec. 19. The reairs will begin Sunday, Dec. 19 at 10 p.m.

UConn’s national championship wins over Stanford (2010) and Louisville (2009) will be aired several times on Wednesday, Dec. 22, in addition to the Huskies’ games from this season vs. Baylor (original airdate Nov. 16), vs. Ohio State (Dec. 19) and vs. Florida State (Dec. 21)

A milestone day of programming Thursday, Dec. 23, including Eddie Robinson’s 400th win, Joe Paterno’s 400th win, SportsCentury: John Wooden, Penn State women’s volleyball national championship title and streak, and several additional moments.

ESPN Classic schedule
Date Time (ET) Program
Sun., Dec 19
10 p.m. Game No. 88: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 10 Ohio State
Mon., Dec 20
1 p.m. Game #88: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 10 Ohio State
3 p.m. The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfection – Episode 1
3:30 p.m. The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfection – Episode 2
4 p.m. The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfection – Episode 3
4:30 p.m. The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfection – Episode 4
5 p.m. Ohio State vs. Connecticut – Dec. 19, 2010
Wed, Dec 22
Midnight 2010 National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Stanford
2 a.m. Game No. 89: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Florida State
7 a.m. Game No. 80: No. 1 Connecticut vs. then-No. 2 Baylor
9 a.m. 2009 National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Louisville
11 a.m. 2010 National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Stanford
1 p.m. Game No. 88: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 10 Ohio State
3 p.m. Game No. 89: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Florida State
5 p.m. 2009 National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Louisville
7 p.m. Game No. 89: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Florida State
9 p.m. 2010 National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Stanford
11 p.m. Game No. 89: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Florida State
Thur, Dec 23
11 a.m. Eddie Robinson’s 400th win
1 p.m. Joe Paterno’s 400th win
3 p.m. Barry Bonds passes Hank Aaron
5 p.m. Cal Ripken passes Lou Gehrig
7 p.m. SportsCentury: John Wooden
7:30 p.m. Game No. 89: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Florida State
9:30 p.m. Up Close Classics: John Wooden
10 p.m. Jimmie Johnson’s 5th NASCAR Sprint Cup title
Fri, Dec 24
1 a.m. Penn State Volleyball National Championship Game

Other than the brief moment when Ohio State Brittany Johnson hit a pair of 3-pointers 25 seconds apart to give the Buckeyes the early 6-0 lead, it was just another day at the office for the UConn women's basketball team.

The Huskies routed the Buckeyes 81-50 as Tiffany Hayes (26 points), Maya Moore (22 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four steals), Stefanie Dolson (15 rebounds), Bria Hartley (13 points, five assists) and Kelly Faris (eight points, 10 rebounds) played major roles. The victory was the Huskies' 88th in a row, matching the NCAA Division I record - men's or women's - set by the UCLA men from 1971-74.

While the UConn players and coaches were thrilled to reach the magical No. 88, they were more excited about the way the victory came together.

Ohio State features three senior starters including likely WNBA lottery pick Jantel Lavender and dynamic junior guard Samanthia Prahalis and they were run right out of Madison Square Garden.

"It's one of those things that you practice a certain way and you hope when game time comes, you can execute the things that you have practiced," Moore said. "That is exactly what we did. We came out, we ran hard. Coach wanted us to rebound and that's what we did. It was the best transition (offense) we've had all year and it was fun. Everybody was involved. I don't think you could ask for a better team win.

"That's the way you want to win. You want to go to work every day and work your tail off. That's the type of people we have."

UConn coach Geno Auriemma was at his entertaining best while fielding questions about the streak and was a bit emotional when he told of the reaction of former UCLA great Gail Goodrich, who was one of the many dignitaries at Madison Square Garden.

"I saw him after the game and it was almost like he had look in his eye, the only words that came out of his mouth is it was my pleasure, you guys are a real team," Auriemma said. "Those people who played on those teams, although he didn't play on that particular one, but he won a couple of championship, they understand that we are a team and yo u do what teams do. You go out, you play hard, you play together
and you accomplish what you set to do."

Auriemma didn't stop there. Never one to pull punches, he had his own take on why the press room was filled to capacity with reporters - many of whom who don't normally cover women's basketball.

"I just know there wouldn't be this many people in the room if we were chasing a women's record. The reason everybody is in this room, the reason why everybody is having a heart attack these last four or five days is a bunch of women are threatening to break a men's record. Everybody is up in arms about it, all the women are happy as hell and they can't wait to come in and ask questions. All the men who love women's basketball are all excited. All the miserable bastards that follow men's basketball and don't want us to break the record are all here because they are (ticked off).

"That's just the way it is because if we were breaking a women's record, everybody would go 'aren't those girls nice. Let's give them two paragraphs in USA Today, given them one line at the bottom of ESPN and let's send them where they belong, in
the kitchen. But because we are breaking a men's record, we have lots of people paying attention."

CALHOUN ON GENO
Thanks to the Register's UConn men's basketball beat writer David Borges for forwarding me Jim Calhoun's take on what Auriemma has accomplished.

"They're proving they're the greatest women's team in the history of women's basketball.

"The 18-0 by the Patriots has nothing to do with the 56 games by Oklahoma and Bud Wilkinson. I think he's handled exceptionally well, and his kids have, and he's said the right things.

"You win 88 straight games in Parcheesi, you're doing something special … Who's been a better coach in college basketball than Geno? Nobody. It's the greatest women's program in the country, until someone passes them … and I don't think anybody will do it, including them. The game is getting better."

"I'm friends with Vivian Stringer, I know Pat Summitt very well – good person, good coach. But the facts are there: it's the best women's program in the history of women's college basketball."

Now that UConn has matched the UCLA men's basketball program's NCAA Division I basketball record by winning its 88th straight game, ESPN is going into its own version of a full-court press to promote the Huskies attempt to win No. 89 in a row against Florida State on Tuesday.

As previously reported, the 7 p.m. game at the XL Center has been moved from ESPNU to ESPN2. Now here are some of the additional coverage plans ESPN has scheduled.

Highlights include:
The Final Four studio team of Trey Wingo, Kara Lawson and Carolyn Peck will host an hour-long pregame show on Tuesday beginning at 6 p.m. and additional post-game segments – all from the XL Center.

ESPNU will conduct five consecutive hours of UConn programming leading up to the ESPN2 pregame special on Tuesday titled "UConn’s Record Run: The Climb – UConn’s Quest for Perfection" at 1 p.m. The four part, two-hour series was a behind-the-scenes look into the 2009-10 season and was televised during the 2010 postseason.

UConn’s Record Run: Baylor vs. UConn – Breakdown with Geno Auriemma at 3 p.m. The veteran coach sat down with Doris Burke to analyze Connecticut’s 65-64 win over then-No. 2 Baylor on Nov. 16

UConn’s Record Run: UConn Legends Roundtable, a half-hour show starting at 5 p.m. Doris Burke hosts a forum with former Connecticut All-Americans – Rebecca Lobo, Jen Rizzotti and Sue Bird, in addition to current UConn All-American Maya Moore. The group will discuss UConn’s record run, Auriemma’s coaching style and much more

UConn’s Record Run: Debating the Streak, a half-hour special beginning at 5:30 p.m. Hosted by Trey Wingo, the show will contain segments featuring discussion topic about UConn’s streak from some of ESPN’s most popular daytime programming – PTI, First Take, SportsNation, Mike & Mike and Jim Rome is Burning.

Segment highlights include:
Former Division I head coach Bob Knight saw numerous student-athletes compete during his 35-year coaching career. Knight took time to analyze Maya Moore’s signature moves from a recent game and said – “Maya Moore is as complete a basketball player, as in my experience, I have ever seen.”

A feature comparing Auriemma and Wooden, using Coach Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success”;
A SportsScience piece dealing with the numbers of the streak and the many surprises surrounding those figures.

An abbreviated version of the Outside the Lines that was aired during last season highlighting Auriemma and his background.

Several sound bytes featuring coaches and former athletes that have been involved in monumental streaks, including Penn State volleyball head coach Russ Rose and former UCLA players Jamaal Wilkes and Marques Johnson.

Additional sound bytes from men’s and women’s basketball head coaches, including UConn’s Jim Calhoun and Notre Dame men’s coach Mike Brey and women’s coach Muffet McGraw

Clips from Auriemma’s SportCenter appearance on Thursday, Dec. 16 and Ohio State head coach Jim Foster’s First Take segment on Friday, Dec. 17.


ESPN Classic will feature various reairs of telecasts surrounding UConn’s Record Run. Highlights include:
The series of The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfect Monday, Dec. 20, starting at 3 p.m. , showing the four episodes in consecutive timeslots

Connecticut’s 88th win of the streak – a victory over No. 10 Ohio State at the Maggie Dixon Classic on Sunday, Dec. 19. The reairs will begin Sunday, Dec. 19 at 10 p.m.

UConn’s national championship wins over Stanford (2010) and Louisville (2009) will be aired several times on Wednesday, Dec. 22, in addition to the Huskies’ games from this season vs. Baylor (original airdate Nov. 16), vs. Ohio State (Dec. 19) and vs. Florida State (Dec. 21)

A milestone day of programming Thursday, Dec. 23, including Eddie Robinson’s 400th win, Joe Paterno’s 400th win, SportsCentury: John Wooden, Penn State women’s volleyball national championship title and streak, and several additional moments.

ESPN Classic schedule
Date Time (ET) Program
Sun., Dec 19
10 p.m. Game No. 88: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 10 Ohio State
Mon., Dec 20
1 p.m. Game #88: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 10 Ohio State
3 p.m. The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfection – Episode 1
3:30 p.m. The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfection – Episode 2
4 p.m. The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfection – Episode 3
4:30 p.m. The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfection – Episode 4
5 p.m. Ohio State vs. Connecticut – Dec. 19, 2010
Wed, Dec 22
Midnight 2010 National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Stanford
2 a.m. Game No. 89: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Florida State
7 a.m. Game No. 80: No. 1 Connecticut vs. then-No. 2 Baylor
9 a.m. 2009 National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Louisville
11 a.m. 2010 National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Stanford
1 p.m. Game No. 88: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 10 Ohio State
3 p.m. Game No. 89: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Florida State
5 p.m. 2009 National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Louisville
7 p.m. Game No. 89: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Florida State
9 p.m. 2010 National Championship Game – Connecticut vs. Stanford
11 p.m. Game No. 89: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Florida State
Thur, Dec 23
11 a.m. Eddie Robinson’s 400th win
1 p.m. Joe Paterno’s 400th win
3 p.m. Barry Bonds passes Hank Aaron
5 p.m. Cal Ripken passes Lou Gehrig
7 p.m. SportsCentury: John Wooden
7:30 p.m. Game No. 89: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Florida State
9:30 p.m. Up Close Classics: John Wooden
10 p.m. Jimmie Johnson’s 5th NASCAR Sprint Cup title
Fri, Dec 24
1 a.m. Penn State Volleyball National Championship Game
3 a.m. ESPN Films: The Streak

A little more than a week has passed since one of the stunners of the women's college basketball season when then No. 6 Ohio State headed to Syracuse, N.Y. and promptly were suffered a 75-66 loss to an unheralded Syracuse team.

Senior center Jantel Lavender, who had 26 points, eight rebounds, two steals and three blocks against the Orange, believes the loss was a blessing in disguise.

"We were too complacent," Lavender said. "It was kind of a wake up call just to say 'hey, if you come out like this against UConn, you are going to be a part of a blowout.' I think (her team knows) the intensity and level we need to play against UConn because they don't stop, they play for 40 minutes. They go after every loose ball, they do everything necessary to be the best and that is why they are No. 1. I think that loss did bring us together and it did (tick) us off a little bit. It helped us more than it hurt."

What hurt the Buckeyes against Syracuse was the offensive struggles of the other key Ohio State players. Senior Sarah Schulze missed all six of her field-goal attempts and was held scoreless while fellow starters Tayler Hill, Samantha Prahalis and Brittany Johnson were 14 of 40 from the floor. Also, none of the three reserves who got into the game attempted a shot.

I wasn't sure what to look for when I headed down to New Haven for the Yale/Florida State game. What I wasn't expecting was Yale 91, Florida State 85.

Having seen Florida State play UConn a few times, I know scoring against the Seminoles isn't always an easy task. I remember last year when the Huskies made just 15 of 36 shots in the first half of a regular-season game at FSU including going 4 for 14 from 3-point range. So I was not anticipating that a Yale team which hadn't hit the 70-point mark since a season-opening win over Holy Cross would drop 55 first-half points on FSU. Yale made its first five shots and 8 of its first 10 against the Seminoles.

Seminoles coach Sue Semrau scoffed at the notion that her players weren't focused on Yale.

"We were focused on Yale, we haven't talked about UConn," Semrau said.

Maybe they didn't talk about UConn but that doesn't mean UConn wasn't on the minds of the Florida State players. Regularly one of the better defensive teams in the nation, it was shocking to see how many times the Bulldogs' top shooters were left all alone on the perimeter or the ease that the Yale players were able to cut to the basket and receive a pass with limited opposition.

It is human nature for a ranked team like Florida State to look at a 1-7 Yale team and consider it was just a formality, a glorified practice before facing the Huskies on Tuesday.

"This stings," said Alexa Deluzio, who had 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting for FSU. "Not to take anything away from Yale but this is a game we should have won so when lose a game you should have won, it was very disappointing. It burns and stings a lot."

Yale was playing without starting guard and captain Yoyo Greenfield, who missed her fourth straight game with a concussion. The Bulldogs were led in scoring by sophomore Megan Vasquez and freshman Janna Graf who finished with career-high totals of 25 and 22 points respectively.

"We've had a rough stretch of seven losses but it was a game that proved to ourselves that we are good," Graf said. "We really set it in stone that we can really compete with all teams."

Florida State now has a couple of days to get ready for UConn. The teams will meet on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the XL Center. If UConn beats Ohio State later today, the game will be one for the history books as the Huskies will look for its 89th straight win, the longest streak in NCAA Division I basketball history.

Unless they meet in the NCAA tournament as they did in 2005 and 2010, this will be the last game between the teams until who knows when.

After the same Semrau confirmed that UConn is not on FSU's schedule for next year although she did leave open the possibility of restarting a home and home series with the Huskies.

"I would love to play them," Semrau said. "We'd love to. I think their schedule is full (next year) and ours is full."

Since the first meeting on Dec. 30, 2002 in Tallahassee, the teams have played six times with the Huskies winning all six games. UConn beat FSU twice last season including a 90-50 win in the Dayton Regional final, a win that punched a ticket to the Final Four.

There will be a sizeable story in tomorrow's Register about the reaction of UCLA players to the UConn women's basketball team going for its 88th straight win. Even though my editors were generous in alloting me space for the story, there was stuff I was not able to get in from my interviews with Andre McCarter and Pete Trgovich.

I'll start off with some goodies from McCarter

REFLECTING ON THE RECORD WINNING STREAK
"Sixty-one was the goal." McCarter said. "People forget that 88 is what we extended it to but 61 was the mark because Bill Russell and the USF (University of San Francisco) teams held the record. The streak wasn't our goal. We were like, we've got it now go leave us alone. Everything that happened after that was just gravy and we did what we were supposed to do. We weren't happy that we lost. We were in a last-second situation where we still lost."


DO THE WINNING TRADITIONS OF TEAMS LIKE UCONN AND UCLA INTIMIDATE OPPONENTS
"The girls from (Baylor) they had a great opportunity. They really should have beaten them that day but when it came down to it, they didn't fear UConn. That is what I saw in them. Notre Dame, Digger Phelps, one of his good coaching qualities is he knew how to coach against UCLA. He got beaten by them quite a bit but at the key moments he seemed like he knew how to get those players to believe. He took away some of the fear, I think. Some coaches can get that away. Other teams, you can sense when they don't keep up in the games. We always thought of ourselves as the best conditioned team so when teams started bending over and grabbing their trunks, it is time for them to go home because we weren't allowed to do that. If teams made mistakes, we always capitalized on them. That is the signs of good teams. That is what UConn does in the games I do see. They say don't turn the ball over. Why? Because if you turn it over against UConn, if you turn the ball over against UCLA, they are going to capitalize on it. They are trained to execute (off) those mishaps and that separates you from a lot of teams."

Now here's some of Trgovich's reaction to UConn's success.
"I get so excited for those girls because I know they are going to do something that is going to last a lifetime. I get so excited for them. I envy them, I wish I could do it again like they are doing.

"I have never really followed women's basketball but since I am hearing about the UConn team, I do catch them when they are on and I watch them as much as I can. They are about the only team that I watch."

Now for soem interesting facts about the two former teammates.

McCarter has been gathering photos for the pictorial recollection honoring Wooden's 10 national championship teams. The project called "Anatomy of the Champion" is in the process of trying to secure investors so the project featuring more than 700 photyos can be published.

This is the first year in quite some time that Trgovich is not involved in basketball. A former high school and college coach, Trgovich has taken a break and is spending time tracking the athletic exploits of his daughter Alaina, a redshirt junior, who is one of the top players on the Wisconsin women's tennis team. Last season she played five matches at No. 1 singles for the Badgers.

With three of the 10 healthy UConn players growing up in New York, it's no wonder that there is a little added excitement at the prospects of playing at Madison Square Garden on Sunday as part of the Maggie Dixon Classic.

Freshmen Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley have been to the Garden but this will be the first time they have played a game there.

"It is a great place," was how Dolson referred to the "World's Most Famous Arena."

As for Hartley, here are her thoughts.
"I am really excited. I have never played there before so it should be really exciting. Just to be back in my home (state), I am going to have a lot of my friends and family who are going to be there."

Senior Lorin Dixon, who has been drawing lofty praise from UConn coach Geno Auriemma for her work at practice and efforts since having a heart to heart talk with UConn assistant coach Shea Ralph, she has played at MSG before both during her days at Christ the King and at UConn.

"We've been there before," Dixon said. "Madison Square Garden is home. I have played there since high school so I feel like I am coming home. We are probably going to have the crowd on our side with me, Stef and Bria being from New York. It is going to be an unbelievable experience for everybody and the atmosphere is going to be unreal. It is something I am going to be pumped for come Sunday."

Speaking of games, Florida State will be playing at Yale tonight at 7 p.m. If UConn beats Ohio State on Sunday, the Huskies would play Florida State on Tuesday at the XL Center for a record 89th straight win. The Bulldogs have lost their last seven games and have been struggling on offense as Yale is shooting 36 percent from the field and have more turnovers than assists. The good news is that a challenging non-conference schedule could toughen up the Bulldogs before they start play in the Ivy League.

TAURASI BACK HOME
Here is a little bit of an update courtesy of FIBA Europe on former UConn star Diana Taurasi who is not currently with her European team Fenerbahce/

Here is an edition of Sports Illustrated in 2003 featuring the national champion UConn women's basketball team on the cover with the added bonus of John Wooden autographing the issue for UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

Geno Auriemma lives to tell stories and over the course of his Hall of Fame coaching career he certainly doesn't lack for material. But few tales delight him any more than his retelling of the time he spoke at a clinic in Palm Springs, California in between leading the Huskies to its first and second national title and was able to have an audience with legendary UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden.

On Friday as Auriemma met with the media for the final time before his Huskies attempt to tie the NCAA Division I basketball record for consecutive wins set by Wooden's UCLA teams from 1971-74, he had no problems obliging a request to tell his favorite John Wooden story.

"John Wooden has probably met a lot of people in his life, obviously and some young coach at a clinic, he wouldn't remember that," Auriemma said. "We did talk, I should say, I sat there and I just listened. He patted my knee while I talked. It was like listening to your grandfather. Every once in a while he would ask me a question and he would give me an answer. It was 15-20 minutes, I don't know how long and I thought 'wow, I am talking to John Wooden.'

"Then we win the national championship in 2002 and he is asked 'why I like UConn women's basketball.' He has a story in Sports Illustrated. He talked about our unselfish play, how we move without the ball, how it is the way the game used to play and all the good stuff that he admired about the game. Somebody asked him about me and he said 'I never met their coach but he seems like a pleasant young man.' I have always kept that and said lots of people who are nowhere near John Wooden category have called me lots of things other than that but as long as he thinks I am a 'pleasant young man,' I have a lot going for me. I always hold onto that and some day when all those people are yelling at me, I'll say you shouldn't do that, John Wooden thinks I am a 'pleasant young man.' Hope he is putting a good word with God for me now.

Of course Auriemma couldn't stop there. Syracuse men's coach Jim Boeheim, a good friend of Auriemma's was at the same clinic as Auriemma recalls in a manner which can be summed up only as classic Geno Auriemma.

"It was kind of a bittersweet clinic for me. It was kind of the best of times and the worst of times. I got to spend half an hour with John Wooden but I also had to spend a whole weekend with Jim Boeheim."

I asked Geno if he reflected at all on Wooden's death earlier this year as UConn prepares to play Ohio State on Sunday in search of its 88th straight win.

"CD (UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey) and I were just talking about that, if we were fortunate enough to win on Sunday I wish he were alive so he could comment on it. That would put everybody else's comments in perspective."

With UConn two days away from potentially tying the NCAA Division I record 88-game winning streak currently held by the UCLA men's basketball program, it shouldn't come as a shock that UConn's streak dominated the conversation.

As to be expected, UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma handled the flood of inquiries from the assembled media rather deftly including how he is preparing his team for Sunday's game against Ohio State.

"Nothing that much different from throughout the other games," Auriemma said. Other than Tiffany (Hayes) and Maya (Moore), they haven't been a part of it. It would be a different case if the same group of people had been here, present for all 87 games I think my approach would be much different than it would be this coming weekend with this group. I think the only thing you can do if you really harp on this is scare the living daylights out of the freshmen and I don't intend to do that.

"I am a little uncomfortable saying your team is better than the UCLA team because first of all, you don't compete against the same people but if you want to compare what we have tried to do here in the sense of how we put our program together to sustain year after year after year, I would be honored to be in that company of people who do that. It is the same with the Yankees, it is the same with the Montreal Canadiens, it is the same with the Boston Celtics. If you think about certain programs and franchises, every year you have to talk about them being championship contenders. Any other comparison I don't particularly like."

ABOUT 6,500 TICKETS REMAIN FOR SUNDAY
The latest report we have received has 13,265 tickets have been sold for the Maggie Dixon Classic on Sunday leaving just under 6,500 tickets remaining.

DePaul 91, Stanford 71. OK, I didn't see that one coming. I know Stanford was playing without injured star Kayla Pedersen but DePaul doesn't have the services of Deirdre Naughton.

Keisha Hampton, who for some reason has always flown a bit under the radar, had 27 points and Felicia Chester had 24 points (on 8 of 9 shooting), seven rebounds and four steals.

Jeanette Pohlen led Stanford with 23 points but was just 8 of 19 from the floor. More stunning was that the Ogwumike sisters combined for just 17 shots which is just not enough especially considering that they were 9 of 17 from the field.

DePaul shot nearly 60 percent from the field against normally a very solid defensive Stanford squad and if the Cardinal hadn't hauled down 16 offensive rebounds, this one could have really gotten ugly.

Add this one to Syracuse's win over Ohio State to give the Big East a couple of early feathers in their caps.

ESPN officials were adamant that Sunday's potentially history-making UConn women's basketball game against Ohio State will air on ESPNU even if that means that some people in the state won't be able to watch the game because their cable companies don't carry ESPNU.

Make no mistake, great strides have been made in the area of getting ESPNU carried by more cable providers but the fact is that there are those who will not be able to watch the game because they do not have ESPNU. ESPN spokesperson Rachel Margolis said on Thursday's conference call that there are no plans to move the game to ESPN2 (although if UConn wins on Sunday, Tuesday's game against Florida State will be shifted from ESPNU to ESPN2).

"You have to consider that ESPNU is in 73 million homes and it is a network dedicated to college sports," said ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer Tina Thornton. "This is a huge college sports moment and it is in a significant amount of homes. I guess people can say all they want about where we put it but I think it is a great place to put it and a great vehicle to deliver a great game."

If UConn wins on Sunday, there will be a five-hour block of all UConn all the time on ESPNU from 1-6 p.m. followed by an hour-long pre-game show on site at the XL Center.

"There are so many plans to talk about the streak, to deal with the streak over the weekend and some real unique programming opportunities not only in studio but on SportsCenter, on ESPNU and all kinds of other places," Thornton said. "We really put a lot of resources and efforts just like we would do for any other historical event. This opportunity we have this weekend as well as early next week is going to be a great opportunity and I think you are going to see a lot of elements about this streak, about UCLA, about John Wooden, about Geno, about the UConn team, about women's basketball that are going to be a real positive experience for everybody."

Of course if Ohio State wins, there will be no pre-game hype leading into the FSU game.

Just out of curiousity I looked at what was on the schedule for ESPN2 from 2:30-5 p.m., the block when UConn's game will be aired on ESPNU. This is what I found:

2:30-3: 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Season in Review
3-3:30: 2010 NHRA Thrills & Spills
3:30-5: 2010 World Series of Poker

I find it interesting that ESPN would bump a North Carolina men's basketball game off ESPN2 as it will do if UConn goes for No. 89 in a row on Tuesday but would not do the same with some auto racing highlight packages and the World Series of Poker which the network has a window up until 7 p.m. to televise the card-playing extravaganza before showing the Tennessee/Stanford game.

There are fewer than 1,000 tickets remaining for Tuesday's game against Florida State and the feeling is that the game will be a sellout, the first for the Huskies since playing St. John's on Feb. 13 at Gampel Pavilion. The last sellout at the XL Center was a Dec. 23, 2009 game against Stanford.

Obviously some history could be on the line since a win by UConn on Sunday against Ohio State would tie the NCAA basketball record - men's or women's - of 88 straight wins set by the 1970 UCLA men's basketball program and the FSU game would be for No. 89 in a row. With 68 straight home wins, the Huskies could match the NCAA Division I women's basketball record home winning streak mark of 69 straight shared by Tennessee (1991-96) and UConn (2000-04).

MOSQUEDA-LEWIS ON NAISMITH "WATCH" LIST
UConn signee Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, a senior guard/forward at Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif., is one of 10 players named to the Naismith Trophy High School Player of the Year watch list.

Fan balloting for the Euroleague Women's All-Star Game has begun. Former UConn stars Tina Charles, Charde Houston, Svetlana Abrosimova, Kalana Greene and Diana Taurasi are on the ballot as are Sandrine Gruda, Kelsey Griffin and Anete Jekabsone=Zogota of the Connecticut Sun along with Alba Torrens, whose rights are owned by the Sun.

The game will be played on Mar. 8 in Gdynia, Poland.

Outside of game results, getting info on what's transpiring in Europe is not always the easiest task. But I can say this, former UConn stars Tina Charles and Diana Taurasi have missed time with their respective teams.

Charles returns after being suspended for two games by the Russian Federation. UConn's all-time leading rebounder had 22 points and 9 rebounds to lead Nadezhda to a 66-64 win over Bourges Basket today.

Taurasi's situation with Fenerbahce is little hazy at the current time. I'm not a big fan of repeating internet rumors without some concrete information to lend some validity to them so I will refrain from doing just that. What I do know is that Taurasi, the leading scorer in the Euroleague, did not play in the Istanbul, Turkey team's 92-81 win over MKB Euroleasing today. When I have more info to pass on, I will certainly do so.

On a brighter note, Kaili McLaren is enjoying quite the season with Apollon Ptolemaidos in Greece. On Dec. 8 she had 30 points, 22 rebounds and five assists in an 82-68 win over Proteas. Three days later she had 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 75-69 loss to DAS Ano Liosa. In eight games McLaren is averaging 17.5 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists and had five double doubles.

Speaking of double doubles, Swin Cash has two straight for DongGuan New Century Club in China as she had 15 points and 12 rebounds in a 90-71 win over Henan on Saturday and on Tuesday had 21 points and 11 rebounds in an 80-60 victory over Liaoning.

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS BEGINS ON SATURDAY
Two future Huskies could be squaring off a week from today if Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis' Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Calif. team and Morgan Tuck's Bolingbrook (Ill.) squad take care of business at the Nike Tournament of Champions event in the Phoenix area.

Both teams are in the star-studded Joe Smith Division and will open play on Saturday when Bolingbrook plays Santa Monica (Calif.) at 5:30 p.m. (Eastern time). Three hours later Mater Dei faces Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas. If the two teams, currently ranked No. 1 and 2 in USA Today's national poll, earn win three games they would meet at 9 p.m. on Dec. 22 for the division title.

It won't be easy as No. 3 Brea (Calif.) Olinda, No. 5 Long Beach (Calif.) Poly, No. 10 Christ the King of Middle Village, N.Y., No. 14 Memphis (Tenn.) Central and No. 16 St. Mary's of Phoenix are also in Joe Smith Division bracket. The majority of the games in the division will be played at Hamilton High in Chandler, Ariz. although Basha High, also in Chandler, and Perry HS in Gilbert will also be utilized. Here is the tournament bracket scroll down to page 7 to see the division involving Mater Dei and Bolingbrook.

I just received word that the NCAA tournament games at Gampel Pavilion do count towards UConn's home winning streak. As a result, the Huskies home streak is at 68 games and not 63 which was the number going by the parameters of the Big East tournament games at the XL Center and NCAA tournament games at either Gampel or the XL Center do not count.

What this means is that if UConn beats Ohio State on Sunday, the game against Florida State on Dec. 21 at the XL Center will not only be for the NCAA basketball - men's or women's - record 89 straight victories but the Huskies will tie the NCAA Division I women's basketball home winning streak record currently joined by Tennessee (from 1991-96) and UConn (2000-04).

UConn senior forward Maya Moore was named the Big East Player of the Week after scoring 31 points while adding eight rebounds, five blocked shots, three assists and four steals in a win over Marquette.

Connecticut Sun assistant coach Bernadette Mattox will be appeared on ESPN's Outside the Lines on Sunday at 9 a.m. Mattox was an assistant coach on Rick Pitino's Kentucky men's basketball staff before becoming the women's head coach at Kentucky so it makes sense that Mattox will be offering her insight on a show that will focus on women coaching men in basketball.

Also, Connecticut Sun guard Kara Lawson will be appearing and signing autographs at the Westfarms Mall from 10-11 a.m. on Saturday.

I called out to Stanford to check on a rumor that the much-anticipated game against UConn on Dec. 30 is in danger of being cancelled. Word is that if UConn beats Ohio State on Dec. 19 and then takes out Florida State two days later, UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma will take his ball and go home. After all the Huskies will have topped the NCAA basketball record 88-game winning streak held by John Wooden's UCLA men's basketball program since 1974 so what else is there is play for?

Yes, I am joking but considering some of the line of questioning following Thursday's win over Marquette (UConn's 87th in a row) you would think the world would be coming to an end at some point once the final buzzer sounds either on Dec. 19 or 21.

Where the UConn players feeling pressure because of the streak which they quite frankly have barely concerned themselves with? Would the UConn coaches try to protect the players from having to answer questions about the streak? Then the best of all. I won't even try to paraphrase it but give you the exact question posed to Auriemma last night.

You have played so many big games in your career, you have a good sense for this kind of thing, do you think next Sunday's game - the Garden is almost sold out - do you think it will be the biggest, most watched, most anticipated game in UConn history?

A few thoughts. First, the game is on ESPNU so really how many people will really be able to tune in when UConn and Ohio State meet in the Maggie Dixon Classic on Dec. 19? Second, there is no way the game can approach the level of relevancy of UConn's first NCAA tournament game in 1989, win over Clemson in 1991 to punch a ticket to the Final Four for the first time, ground-breaking regular-season win over Tennessee on Jan. 16, 1995 which set the table for the incredible run of success to follow or the national-championship game victories over Tennessee in 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2004, over Oklahoma in 2002, Louisville in 2009 and Stanford earlier this year? It can't and won't.

Perhaps the question meant to be asked was whether the mainstream public would view the game in that context and would the chance at witnessing history bring in viewers who normally don't tune into women's basketball games? But to imply this could be the most important game in UConn women's basketball history is laughable.

I view the streak a little bit like Cal Ripken's consecutive games played record. As he approached Lou Gehrig's seemingly unapproachable record of 2,130 consecutive games played, the buzz was something to behold. Once he passed it, however, it garnered little attention until Ripken's streak came to an end. I believe the same will be true if UConn beats both Ohio State and Florida State. Sure there will be speculation before the Huskies play at Stanford on Dec. 30, at Notre Dame on Jan. 8, at West Virginia on Feb. 8 or home games against Duke (Jan. 31), Oklahoma (Feb. 14) and Notre Dame (Feb. 19) whether this is the day or night when the record streak finally comes to an end. But other than that, it will be just another line in game stories documenting the Huskies' latest victory.

There's no questioning the quest for 88 wins in a row is a big deal. The New York Times had a reporter there last night, Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine have also had their two cents on UConn's record run recently. But if UConn were to lose to Ohio State on Dec. 19, other than losing its No. 1 ranking it has held for a record 48 straight weeks, what else would be lost? Unlike those NCAA tournament games, the Huskies' national-championship hopes would not be dashed nor will their Big East title hopes be impacted in any way. UConn will still go down in the record books as the owners of the longest winning streak in NCAA women's basketball history.

As UConn senior forward Maya Moore has mentioned on more than one occasion that what she likes the most about the streak is the positive attention it brings to the sport. I am expecting that when UConn holds its next open practice on Dec. 17, it will be the most well attended women's basketball media event of the season. I would anticipate a large media contingent at the Ohio State game as well and I would guess that even on an NFL Sunday, highlights of the UConn/Ohio State game will make it onto just about every newscast in America.

However, anybody who knows anything about the way Auriemma goes about his business, games on December 19 do not define his program. If No. 88 or 89 happened to come in the Final Four, I think Auriemma's reaction to the program's history-making achievement might be a little different. Auriemma's obsession is not with winning streaks but championships. If UConn's streak ends at 87 and the Huskies win their third straight national title in April, Auriemma will be a very happy man.

In the meantime, there will be a sense of heightened expectations as we get closer to Dec. 19 and the Huskies go for the magical 88th straight win. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that as far as I am concerned.