Minnesota Twins @ Boston Red Sox 7:10 p.m. Fenway Park – Boston, MA SP: Francisco Liriano vs Jon Lester TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight - 5/20 [SOX & Dawgs]

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Look who's coming back to Boston!!! It's Mr. Cowboy Up himself. Here's the press release from NESN.

KEVIN MILLAR JOINS NESN AS RED SOX STUDIO ANALYST

BOSTON, MA – NESN, New England’s most watched sports network, announced today that former Red Sox first baseman and post-season hero, Kevin Millar, has joined NESN to serve as a Red Sox studio analyst for select games. Millar will share time in the NESN studios with the network’s trio of Hall of Fame baseball analysts Dennis Eckersley, Peter Gammons and Jim Rice.

“We are thrilled to have Kevin join our team of outstanding studio analysts,” said Joel Feld, NESN’s executive vice president of programming and executive producer. “Kevin is a fan favorite and he brings first-hand knowledge of the game. He has never been shy about sharing his opinions and our fans will enjoy the added dimension he will bring to our Red Sox programming.”

Millar will make his NESN debut on Thursday, May 27th at 6:00 PM on Olympia Sports presents The Boston Globe Red Sox GameDay Live before the Red Sox host the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park. He will join host Tom Caron and Jim Rice on the NESN Yawkey Way stage.

Millar became a cult hero for Red Sox fans with his iconic "Cowboy Up" rallying cry after joining the Red Sox in 2003. He was a key member of the Red Sox 2004 World Series Championship team. The 12 year major league veteran, played for 4 different teams (Marlins, Red Sox, Orioles and Blue Jays) compiling a .274 career batting average with 170 home runs. Since retiring in April of this year, Millar also recently joined MLB Network as a studio analyst.

After a strong outing in a win for Clay Buchholz last night, the Boston Red Sox will look to take the finale of a brief two-game set against the Minnesota Twins tonight at Fenway Park.

Tonight's game will start at 7:10 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Twins television market, you can catch the game on FOXSports North. If you can't catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

Jon Lester will make his 100th career start (101 career appearances) for the Red Sox tonight. In eight previous starts this season, he is 3-2 with a 3.91 ERA. He was the first opposing starter at Target Field on 4/12 and took the loss after allowing four runs in five innings. He's made five career appearances (four starts) against the Twins in his career and is 0-2 with a 5.96 ERA. He's made two of those starts at Fenway Park where he has no record with a 4.82 ERA.

After battling through injuries, Francisco Liriano has returned to his 2006 form for Ron Gardenhire. He's made seven starts in 2010 and is 4-2 with a 2.63 ERA. He's faced the Red Sox once in 2010, picking up the win on April 15th after throwing seven shutout innings. Overall in his career, Liriano has made three starts against the Red Sox and is 1-2 with a 7.20 ERA. In one career start at the Fens, he is 0-1 with a 15.75 ERA (4 IP/7 ER).

Keep reading for lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and pregame links.

For those UConn Huskies women's basketball fans looking to get their UConn fix over the summer, you are in luck.

Comcast Sports New England will be airing seven Connecticut Sun games over the course of the 2010 WNBA season. Boston Celtics play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman will have the call and former UConn great Rebecca Lobo will provide the color commentary.

And if you didn't know, the Sun boast three former Huskies on their roster. They are Asjha Jones, Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles.

CSN New England will kick-off their coverage this Friday night at 7 p.m. when the Sun will take on the Atlanta Dream in Hotlanta.

Here's the full schedule (former Huskies listed next to game time):

• Fri, May 21 @ Atlanta Dream – 7 p.m. (no Huskies)
  
• Fri, June 11 vs. Indiana Fever – 7:30 p.m. (Jessica Moore)
  
• Fri, June 25 vs. Phoenix Mercury – 7:30 p.m. (Diana Taurasi, Ketia Swanier)
  
• Sun, June 27 @ NY Liberty – 4 p.m. (Kalana Greene)
  
• Sat, July 24 vs. LA Sparks – 7 p.m. (no Huskies)
  
• Tue, August 3 @ Minnesota Lynx – 8 p.m. (Charde Houston)
  
• Tue, August 17 vs. Tulsa Shock – 7:30 p.m. (no Huskies)

To find out what channel Comcast Sports New England is on your cable or satellite provider, head over to the CSN New England website.

Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings has a great app out there for iPhone and iPod Touch which has a mullet generator. Given that Theo Epstein was caught in disguise at a Pearl Jam concert on Monday, I figured I'd have a little fun with a picture of Theo using said mullet generator.

Here's what I've come up with:

If you have the app and can make a better picture of Theo Epstein, send it along and we'll post it here along with a link to your website, if you have one.

If Sony Pictures was ever to make a remake or a sequel to the 2002 Dana Carvey hit, Master of Disguise, they may want to call on Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein to star in it.

We all know Epstein left the Fenway Park offices back on Halloween of 2005 in a gorilla suit. Now his latest disguise was worn to a Pearl Jam concert at the TD BankNorth Garden on Monday night.

As Big League Stew points out, this wasn't the first time he's gone to a Pearl Jam concert in disguise. This time around, Theo put on his best fake pornstache and a red trucker's hat. It also looks like he has a wig of some sorts on as well.

Here's the picture proof from Big League Stew as well:

The worst part about this is that people were making a big stink about it all. I see no reason why he can't attend a concert once in a while. My best guess is that people were complaining due to the poor start the Red Sox have had in 2010.

UConn Huskies football coach Randy Edsall doesn't put much stock into the rankings by the recruiting experts. He just tries to get the best guys that will succeed at UConn. And we won't even talk about what women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma does in recruiting.  Simply put, the man is a genius.

UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun is no different as he regularly puts together good, consistent recruiting classes. Every once in a while you'll see a player or two transfer out but you can't argue with the success that Calhoun has had in developing NBA caliber players.

During this year's recruiting season, Calhoun lost out on almost all of the top-flight recruits. He was able to secure Roscoe Smith out of Baltimore, Maryland, who was ranked No. 34 in the ESPNU 100. Joining Smith in Storrs will be point guard Shabazz Napier, shooting guard Jeremy Lamb, local boy Tyler Olander, a power forward, and center Michael Bradley.

Those five were good enough to help UConn into the top 20 of ESPN's Class of 2010 rankings at No. 20. The Kentucky Wildcats came in at No. 1.

Here's what ESPN Insider had to say about UConn's class:

UConn added a lot of nice pieces in this group of recruits. The national headliner is Roscoe Smith (Baltimore, Md./Oak Hill) and the long, athletic small forward has the talent to be a star. However, he needs to keep his motor on high and be consistent. Jeremy Lamb (Norcross, Ga./Norcross) is another long and athletic wing and could blossom during his time at Connecticut. Michael Bradley (Chattanooga, Tenn./Tyner Academy) and Tyler Olander (Storrs, Conn./E.O. Smith) are both advanced projects whose best days are ahead of them. Bradley is a long, athletic shot-blocker who is a little raw offensively right now but with great upside. Olander is stronger right now and is a nice high-post player with a solid stroke to 17 feet. Early high school graduate Shabazz Napier (Randolph, Mass./Lawrence Academy) is a surprise addition to the class. Napier can really score and could be instant offense off the bench with the Huskies' backcourt returning.

A full look at the top 25 schools can be found by using the read more button to the right.

Clay Buchholz served up just what Boston Red Sox skipper Terry Francona ordered on Wednesday night as he went 8+ innings in the 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. It really couldn't have come at a better time as the bullpen was slightly overused in the two-game set with the New York Yankees.

There's a reason why Francona and the Red Sox wanted Buchholz in the rotation all season and he rewarded their faith last night. He mixed in all of his pitches well and had great command of his fastball. Sure he'll have some bumps along the way but when he becomes consistent, this is what can expect from him.

After last night's game, the Red Sox designated Scott Schoeneweis for assignment. At that time, there was no corresponding player move but my best guess would have been a pitcher from Pawtucket like Scott Atchison or Robert Manuel. But that wasn't the case at all.

It turns out that Marco Scutaro is suffering from a case of tennis elbow in his non-throwing arm and he got a cortisone shot yesterday to help alleviate the pain. He had gotten his first day off in a long time yesterday and it turns out it was well needed. Angel Sanchez will come up from Pawtucket and play shortstop for the next couple of days while Scutaro rests up.

The Red Sox also placed Josh Beckett on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday with tightness in his back. After missing a start with back spasms, Beckett came back to start on Tuesday night only to slip on a pitch and have his back tighten back up. Beckett will miss two starts while on the disabled list and should start the day he's eligible to come off the disabled list.

This could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the Red Sox as it will allow Beckett to be 100% healthy before returning the rotation plus it'll give Tim Wakefield a few more starts. Wakefield has been outstanding filling in out of the bullpen and given Beckett's struggles in 2010, this might not be a bad thing.

And how about David Ortiz! Reports of his demise were just a little wrong as he hit his seventh home run in the month of May last night.

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy papers, head over to the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press websites.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

DC answered a few questions in his mailbag [Desmond Conner - Hartford Courant]

Post-spring position rankings: WR [ESPN.com - Big East Blog]

Rivalries we'd like to see in the Big East [ESPN.com - Big East Blog]

Spring absentees who need to come through [ESPN.com - Big East Blog]

Post-spring position rankings: RB [ESPN.com - Big East Blog]

Six Big East players on Phil Steele All-America teams [ESPN.com - Big East Blog]

UConn Women's Basketball links

Some This And That About The UConn Women [John Altavilla - Hartford Courant]

Healthy Outlook For Incoming UConn Women Freshmen [Hartford Courant]

UConn Men's Basketball links

Ranking the UConn Alumni in the NBA [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Other UConn related links

Big East Death Watch [John Silver - Journal Inquirer]

Destination Red Sox Nation is our look at how the minor league teams of the Boston Red Sox fare each night. Game story and box score links as well as links to team rosters, team stats and league standings are after the jump.

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