NY Boston Fan

OK, so the Sox are 0-2, Renteria has been absolutely horrible, various members of the bullpen have looked shaky while the starters have been wild. But hey, they have Jason Varitek as catcher and captain, and he showed once again that the Sox have no fear of Rivera.

Meanwhile, the UConn Huskies are no longer defending champions in men's basketball. But ESPN has them ranked as their pre-pre-pre-season #1 for 2005-6.

The Huskies are loaded for 2006, even without Villanueva, and should be playing with a purpose after their early NCAA exit. That's why we like them to cut down the nets for the second time in three seasons.

The Huskies bring back one of the top scoring point guards in Marcus Williams. They'll have a potential lottery pick who should star even more in
wing Rudy Gay, and a deep frontcourt with Josh Boone, Hilton Armstrong and Ed Nelson. The wings are set with Denham Brown and Rashad Anderson. And, barring another medical setback, the Huskies will get the point guard they thought would be playing this season in A.J. Price.

Calhoun said he expects the Huskies' forwards, notably Boone, Armstrong and Nelson, to have monster seasons. Anderson should be back to his 2003-04 form after recovering from a potentially fatal infection. Calhoun expects Andrew Bynum and Jeff Adrien to have major impacts off the bench as freshmen. He loves their toughness.
So, add all of that together – overall talent, a renewed purpose after the disappointment of this past March, and the team's finally being healthy and free of freaky illnesses – and the Huskies should be poised for a title run.

Duke is #2, not surprisingly. Nova is #4, Louisville #11, West Virginia #15, 'Cuse #22, so the Big East will be back in a big way next year.