Monday Links: Big East/UConn

Not to steal the Thunder from Meacham's SOBE (Mmmm, Sobe) but the links must go on.

Not much in the way of UConn links, so we'll be mashing them together today.

Football

• Desmond Connor discusses the UConn-Rutgers game briefly in his blog.
• UConnReport.com's Zac Boyer gets up close and personal with the Scarlet Knights.
• Weekly conference honor roll, etc.
• Bill Stewart apparently had to come to the defense of Jarret Brown -- Stewart said he wasn't healthy, but I think I speak for most when I say, "Hog wash" -- and of his coordinators. Hope they do the same when the head-hunters start coming for Good Ole Stew in a few days. On a side note, I say the Big East will be worse than it is now in about two years. ...

Things getting bulky; Finish on the jump

• ... A post about this may be on the horizon, but think about it: Its last two hires (Big Stew and Steve Kragthorpe) have been terrible in their tenures (a combined 13-10), and the Big East isn't strong enough or appealing enough for the better coaches to stick around. I know Greg Schiano and Randy Edsall stuck around, and Brian Kelly is doing well in Cincy, but who's to stay they stick around for the long haul? After this year, my guess is Schiano books while people still remember when Rutgers won, and Kelly is one of the rising stars in the coaching ranks; remember what happened last time that was said (clever, I know). Essentially, the Big East will never be as good as the SEC or Big 12 -- hell, they can't even be put up there with the ACC (and again here) -- unless coaches stay put. Problem is, the conference is and will be, for the foreseeable future, a stepping stone to places like Michigan. And it may not even be that much with hires like these.
• The Stache has apparently been doing well getting talent from Florida with his ties from his Dolphins day; can't describe my pleasure for this lede. A three-star tight end just signed.
• Bill Koch highlights the Bearcats' kicking game, which is highlighted by an All-American punter.
• Greg Auman catches up with some USF news in his St. Petersburg Times blog, including that he doesn't think George Selvie will make the Lombardi semifinalst list. when Theo Wilson comes back from a knee injury, it will be at receiver, not cornerback.
• Although the circumstances have changed, Greg Schiano isn't changing the gameplan for Saturday's game with the Huskies.
• This one actually can't be blamed on Greg Robinson. (Probably will, though).

Basketball

• A big feature/season preview of Pitt by Ray Fittipaldo in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The picture really emphasizes how DeJuan Blair is the shortest center ever, albeit a scary, scary guy. Man, basketball season really crept up on me.
• Cincy signed a New York shooting guard for next year.