UConn women's basketball

It’s a call that usually comes after you win the national championship, the World Series, the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup. When President Obama is on the other end of a phone call, you know something special has just transpired.

Huskies coach Geno Auriemma was in the middle of his postgame comments Tuesday night at the XL Center when UConn spokesman Pat McKenna handed him the phone. President Barack Obama was on the other line, waiting to congratulate him for UConn winning its record 89th straight game. Whether this winning streak, the longest by any other team – men’s or women’s – in the history of Division I basketball, is nationally recognized as an extraordinary accomplishment, Obama clearly recognizes it as such.

“It just keep getting more ridiculous by the day as you try to sort all this out and what it means,’’ Auriemma said. “There’s an awful lot of people that do an awful lot of good things, and they play great and coach great, and they do all the things they need to do and they don’t find themselves in this situation. So when you do find yourself having to be here right now doing this you’re just incredibly, incredibly fortunate. Incredibly fortunate. Last night I was supposed to be on WTIC at 6:10 p.m. and I missed it because I was babysitting my four-month-old grandson and he was slobbering all over me and crying. And I thought, `You know, we go play tomorrow. It doesn’t matter. When I come home he’s going to poop all over me.’ So it keeps you kind of grounded.

“Basically (he said) what any kind of sports addicted guy (would say). He said it’s a great thing for sports. It’s an accomplishment to be celebrated. He’s proud of the way we handled it. He wants Maya to know how much he enjoys watching her play. I think he was talking to me as a basketball fan. And I kind of appreciated that.’’

Here is Auriemma’s side of the conversation with Obama:

Pat McKenna: “Coach has a phone call to take.’’

Auriemma: “No, you’re not interrupting anything. You know if I was calling you and you had those reporters in front of you you’d be dying to take my phone call, right?’’

Auriemma said: “Well, Mr. President, I really appreciate that. It’s an incredible thing that these kids have done. We owe you a little bit of gratitude. That lesson you gave them on the White House basketball court (in 2009) really paid off. So I appreciate you doing that for them.’’

Auriemma said: “We have not lost since you’ve been inaugurated and how about we keep that streak going for a couple more years.’’

Auriemma: “I heard about that and it’s one of the highlights of (Maya Moore’s) life and I appreciate you inviting her. I know it meant an awful lot to her.’’ (Moore went to White House in August to entertain a group of wounded troops. She was joined by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Bill Russell and Magic Johnson, among others)

Auriemma: “Well, thank you. It means a lot to me and to my team and to everybody here that you would take the time to call. And I thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Alright, thanks. Bye.’’

After Auriemma hung up he threw out this wise-crack:

“That was the new president of the University of Connecticut (Susan Herbst),’’ Auriemma said. “We just want to get off on the right start. It was a woman, by the way. So I don’t want to hear any wisecracks.’’

Rich

UConn football coach Randy Edsall gave the Huskies high praise for tying UCLA’s record Sunday with their 88th straight win. Here are the remarks he made during Monday’s Fiesta Bowl Media Day event in Storrs …

“The first thing I want to do is congratulate Geno Auriemma, his staff and his players for tying the mark and I’m sure they’ll erase that mark on Tuesday night. I hope people appreciate what they’ve done. From being a coach and having the opportunity to watch him coach and watch those girls play, you get great satisfaction from watching them. They do things the right way. They do the basics, they give everything that they have and he coaches that way. People can say what they want to say, but what they are doing is unprecedented. I don’t care if its men or women, they should get the credit they deserve. If you can win 88 games in a row in anything, that’s special. It’s a lot harder going out there when you are expected to win each and every night. It’s incredible. You have to talk about Geno Auriemma and John Wooden in the same breath now as the greatest coaches. He’s one of the best coaches in the history of the game, men or women. It’s incredible. I’m very proud of them and what they’ve accomplished. I wish them the best of luck Tuesday night in breaking that record. I’m sure they’ll continue to grow that record as the year goes on too.’’

Rich

Huskies’ coach Geno Auriemma will appear on Pardon the Interruption today at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Rich

Bria Hartley was named the Big East Freshman of the Week for the third time today. She had 13 points, three rebounds, five assists and one steal in 36 minutes Sunday as the Huskies defeated Ohio State 81-50 to earn their record-tying 88th straight win.

Rich

Geno Auriemma guided the U.S. Women’s National Team to a 9-0 record and the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women Sept. 23 – Oct. 3 in the Czech Republic. USA Basketball announced today that Auriemma and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski have been named the co-recipients of the 2010 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year award.

“USA Basketball and our national team players have been very fortunate to have such respected and renowned coaches,’’ USA Basketball Executive Director/CEO Jim Tooley said. “There are many challenges to molding a team and playing in a World Championship, and the results from this past summer were remarkable. Thanks to their leadership, dedication and expertise, the USA men and women won with impressive sportsmanship and superior teamwork.’’

Auriemma wins the award for the first time. Team USA won gold at the World Championships for the first time since 2002.

It is the fourth time Krzyzewski, who led the U.S. men to their first FIBA World Championship gold medal since 1994, has been honored (2006-08).

“It’s a great honor,’’ Auriemma said. “Looking at who the other coaches were this past year, it means even more. Certainly being mentioned with Coach K is a great honor, and I’m thrilled. I can’t be more appreciative of the hard work my staff and players did during the World Championship.’’

Said former UConn All-American Olympic gold medalist Sue Bird: “I’ve played for Coach Auriemma for a number of years, and so playing for him during the World Championship was just a reminder of what a great coach he is. He is gifted at bringing out the best in individuals and even better at putting them together to form the best team. If anyone could get us to gel in such a short amount of time, I knew Coach Auriemma could do it.’’

Rich

No. 22 Florida State is the final team standing in the way of history. The Huskies will look for Win No. 89 Tuesday at a soldout XL Center.

Here’s a quick glance at the Seminoles …

RECORD – 9-2

LOCATION – Tallahassee, Fla.

COACH – Sue Semrau (243-168, 14th year)

CONFERENCE – ACC

QUALITY WINS – Defeated then-No. 20 Vanderbilt 72-66 Nov. 21

KEY PLAYERS – 6-foot-4 Jr. F Cierra Bravard (13.5p, 8.5r), 6-3 Fr. F Natasha Howard (12.6p, 6.4r), 5-11 Soph. G Alexa Deluzio (11.1p, 4.1r), 5-7 Sr. G Courtney Ward (9.8p, 3.4r, 3.5a, 2.2s), 6-0 Soph. F Chasity Clayton (7.7p, 5.0r), 5-10 Sr. G Christian Hunnicutt (4.6p, 4.6r, 3.5a), 6-2 Soph. F Chelsea Davis (5.5p, 3.5r).

SKINNY – The Seminoles lost at Yale 91-85 Saturday. The Bulldogs had been 1-7. … Semrau is the winningest coach in program history. …Ward, who was named to the Naismith Preseason Watch List, is averaging 6.0 assists over the last three games. … Bravard has had at least 10 rebounds in five games this season. … The Seminoles have a plus-14.7 rebounding advantage.

Rich

The debate has been raging since the Huskies began to creep closer and closer to tying the record of 88 straight wins set by the UCLA men from 1971-74. Are they getting enough credit for what they are doing right now and have been doing since losing to Stanford at the Final Four April 6, 2008? Should UConn’s streak be compared to that of the Bruins? And does this streak deserve media coverage nationally?

There have been plenty of opinions made in print, on-line and on television in recent weeks. Huskies’ coach Geno Auriemma has seemingly read or heard them all because in the sweltering postgame interview room in the bowels of Madison Square Garden Sunday he voiced his opinion on a manner in which only he can.

It was a colorful stream of consciousness that showed that he had been waiting for the right time and setting to sound off. And with members of the New York and national media on hand following a record-tying 81-50 rout of No. 11 Ohio State, Auriemma did not squander his chance.

“There’s a lot of things out there that I can’t explain,’’ Auriemma said. “I’m not bright enough to explain all the sociological things that are going on. I just know that there wouldn’t be this many people in the room if we were chasing a women’s record. The reason there’s everybody in this room and the reason everybody’s having a heart attack the last four, five days is because a bunch of women are threatening to break a men’s record. And everybody’s all up in arms about it. All the women are happy as (heck), and they can’t wait to come in here and ask questions. All the guys that love women’s basketball are all excited. And all the miserable (people) that follow men’s basketball and don’t want us to break the record are all here because they’re (mad). So that’s just the way it is. If we were breaking a women’s record, everybody would go, `Aren’t those girls nice?’ Just give them two paragraphs in USA Today. Give them one line on the bottom of ESPN and let’s send them back to where they belong … in the kitchen. But because we’re breaking a men’s record, we’ve got a lot of people paying attention.’’

UConn spokesman Pat McKenna has confirmed that Tuesday’s game against Florida State at the 16,294-seat XL Center is sold out. The Huskies will be looking for their record-breaking 89^th straight win.

 It will be just the third sellout at the venue for the Huskies since 2007 – vs. Stanford Dec. 23, 2009 and vs. Tennessee Jan. 6, 2007.

Rich

ESPN is going all out Tuesday to set the stage for what could be UConn’s record-breaking 89th win at the XL Center against No. 15 Florida State. It starts with the network moving the game from ESPNU to ESPN2.

Here are some highlights from a five-hour block of Huskies’ programming on ESPNU from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. that has been dubbed “UConn’s Record Run’’ …

1 p.m. – “The Climb – UConn’s Quest for Perfection.’’ The four-part series was a behind-the-scenes look at the 2009-10 season.

3 p.m. – Baylor vs. UConn – Breakdown with Geno Auriemma. Auriemma sat down with Doris Burke to analyze the 65-64 win over the Lady Bears Nov. 16.

5 p.m. – UConn Legends Roundtable. Burke hosts a forum with former UConn All-Americans Rebecca Lobo, Jen Rizzotti and Sue Bird and current All-American Maya Moore. They will discuss UConn’s Record Run, Auriemma’s coaching style and more.

5:30 – Debating the Streak. Hosted by Trey Wingo, the show will contain segments from some of ESPN’s shows such as PTI, First Take, SportsNation, Mike & Mike and Jim Rome is Burning.

Wingo, Kara Lawson and Carolyn Peck will host a 60-minute pregame show from the XL Center starting at 6 p.m. There will be also several postgame segments, including:

Former Division I head coach Bob Knight’s analysis of Moore’s signature moves; A feature comparing Auriemma and legendary UCLA coach John Wooden using Coach Wooden’s “Pyramid of Succes’’; A SportsScience piece dealing with the numbers of the streak; An abbreviated version of the Outside the Lines episode that aired last season focusing Auriemma and his background; Sound bytes featuring coaches and former athletes that have been involved in monumental streaks, including Penn State volleyball coach Russ Rose and former UCLA players Jamaal Wilkes and Marques Johnson; Sound bytes from UConn men’s coach Jim Calhoun, Notre Dame men’s coach Mike Brey and Notre Dame women’s coach Muffet McGraw; Clips from Auriemma’s SportsCenter appearance last Thursday and Ohio State coach Jim Foster’s segment on First Take last Friday; And several SportsCenter hits will air Monday and Tuesday that will include spots from the UConn campus.

ESPN.com’s coverage will be highlighted by in-game blogging, chats and tweeting leading up to and during Tuesday’s game.

espnW.com will have several features surrounding UConn’s Record Run.

ESPN Classic will air “The Climb: UConn’s Quest for Perfection’’ Monday at 3 p.m. The Huskies’ wins over Stanford (2010) and Louisville (2009) in the NCAA tournament final and their wins over Baylor and Ohio State this season will air numerous times Wednesday. Tuesday’s game against Florida State will also be replayed Wednesday.

Rich