Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 12/15/15

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I listened to the Geno show on WTIC Monday at 6:00 and he said that Natalie Butler will probably (yes, probably) play next Monday against LSU. I'm looking forward to see her debut.

Geno went on to say that "folks think she is Kara Wolters, or Stephanie Dolson. But she is neither. She will be Natalie Buter and that is pretty good. But remember that she hasn't played in a game in a long time.".

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Let me just brag a little here. My UConn/Florida State prediction was spot on.

This could be a close game for a while. FSU has a very experience lineup as they start 2 seniors and 3 juniors. They can definitely defend. I'm pretty sure they don't have enough offensive game to stay with the Huskies. UConn does need to take care of the ball or FSU will take advantage of the turnovers.

I expect that UConn will defend the three better in this game and Jefferson will make sure that the ball is in the right players hand at the right time. UConn's D will turn up the heat.

In the end, UConn wins by 20+.

Pretty darn good!!!

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If you haven't seen it yet, here is my UConn/Florida State Post Game Report.

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From David in Naples

Through 8 games, UConn has scored 708 points while giving up 440. That's a 33 point per game difference. Scoring for the Huskies has been fairly uniform from 1st quarter thru 4th at 189, 156, 192 and 171 points.

Interestingly, the biggest differential occurs in the 3rd period, where UConn has almost doubled opponents 192-100. The next closest is 1st period with a 66 point difference. So what explains this 3rd period domination? Possible answers include:

1. Halftime adjustments by Geno and staff.
2. Superior conditioning.
3. Stewie and MoJeff.
4. All of the above.
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A new DoggyDailies feature. What I'll do here is bring up some of the more controversial topics in WCBB (mostly UConn stuff). Some are conversations and reactions from fans on those wild and crazy message boards. Others are just things that are interesting to me. I'll give them my DoggyDaddy spin. Comment if you'd like. Hopefully you all enjoy the craziness!!

The latest controversy is the status of the UConn freshman forward De'Janae Boykin. She has been struggling with her Achilles all season after recovering from her wrist injury from high school. The most recent setback has been on the academic front.

From Geno - "It has been hard. She hasn't been healthy. She had the wrist issue and then she had the Achilles issue so that is one problems and the other problem is that there are some academic issues we are trying to work through so it is like she hasn't been there. It is a little different that Natalie because at least Natalie had a chance to practice all of last year so it has been a struggle, it really has been a struggle for her and hopefully this week she takes care of what we needs to take care of (during finals) and we will go from there "

So, clearly she is struggling in school. It happens. College is not easy, especially for student-athletes, who have to balance practice and games with schoolwork. For some, the transition is smooth, for others it's really difficult. It appears Boykin falls into the minority of players that have a tough time adjusting to the situation.

You would think that what Geno says would be enough for folks to understand the situation. He is pretty clear that she has academic issues that need to be resolved before she is allowed to join the team. It seems that would cover all activities. But many posters on message boards are the extremes of fandom and if there is a controversy to make of something, they will do it....even without facts to do it with.

In this case, some season ticket holder received a Xmas card from the team with a photo of the players and coaches. Boykin was missing from that photo....ooooo.......trouble......!!!!!! Seriously, this is the evidence that Geno hasn't been telling us the truth? Take a load of a few comments from the message boards....

"It's kind of bizarre and honestly, I'm disappointed in the UCONN staff right now. I think it's a bit irresponsible of them to do that with no explanation to the fans as to why. In a way, it's like finding out your parents are getting divorced when the family Christmas photo is missing one of them."

Bizarre? No. Diappointed in the UConn Staff? Talk about feeling entitled. As much as fans like to think of the players as family, they are not. Horrible analogy.

And another -

"I'm beginning to get the little hairs on the back of my neck into an agitated state... In the official UConn summery of the game ( AP) It mentions that Saniya and Butler were in street clothes.
No mention at all of DJB. Ominous? Or out of sight, out of mind?"

And when challenged about this he replied -

"The distress is the absence of a cherished kid with the most sketchy explanations"

Talk about an overreaction. Ominous? Sketchy explanations? Wow....give me a break! I'm pretty sure this guy thinks the moon landings were faked.

And of course, you have rumor mongers who think they have inside info and like to make Geno look bad -

"Well he is lying to the press as usual as Boykin according to my source from Penn state is about to land on their campus. Who's next?"

What a disgusting thing to say on a public board.

Thank goodness there are some sane posters on these boards -

"Give the young lady some room. I cannot imagine what it's like to be a college freshman and have your personal issues, including health issues and academic problems, played out in the media. She deserves the chance to resolve these matters in private. "

That says it in a nutshell. I don't understand the need to know every detail with the team. For me it's all about the basketball. And the beautiful way that UConn plays the game.

Hope you enjoyed the first posting of "what the ?????".....!!!!

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So, without further ado!!!

Ladies and Gents, DD looks at the news........