UConn’s men’s national basketball championship round will continue this month, playing both sides of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, suiting Connecticut’s bemused baseball crowd.
The program announced Wednesday that the Huskies will be honored by Boston Red Sox On July 21, prior to their 7:10 PM game against the New York Mets, and by New York Yankees On July 23, head coach Dan Hurley will throw out the first pitch before the 1:35 p.m. game against his favorite team, the Kansas City Royals. (He talks about confusing the baseball fandom.)
“George Brett, favorite athlete of all time — all sports,” Hurley said at Citi Field after Andre Jackson Jr. threw the first pitch at a Mets game on May 1. “I just fell in love with Bret, Dan Kisenberry… Remember one of the first games I ever saw was pine tar. I’m a fire guy, so having George Brett running out of the dugout was a hook for me.”
The day after Hurley’s premiere, July 24, will be the 40th anniversary of the infamous pine tar incident.
UConn says details are still being sorted out on who will throw the first pitch at Fenway Park. New England’s Donovan Clingan, of Bristol, and Alex Karaban, of Southboro, Massachusetts, are likely top candidates.