SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Walking a tight rope is not an image that comes to mind when thinking about the UConn womens basketball team. Yet the UConn staff said the Huskies are performing without a safety net in regard to players such as Katie Lou Samuelson, Napheesa Collier and Gabby Williams.If so, they look about as sure-footed as The Flying Wallendas. Remember how UConn lost its big three from last season and was probably going to struggle a bit this year trying to replace those amazing players? Yeah, whatever.There is a reason most of us picked the Huskies as preseason No. 1, and it wasnt because we went into default mode. Its because there actually was more to see with UConn last season than just being dazzled by Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. Yes, it could be hard to look away from them -- but when you did, you saw the future was right there with them, and it looked pretty good, too.Now, the future is the present. Which looks a lot like the past. Thats exactly what UConn wanted.On Wednesday, the Huskies did what theyve done so often: throw the proverbial wet blanket on the so-called wide-open race in womens basketball this season. No, its not. UConn is again the team to beat, with a winning streak that now stands at 83 in a row.The top-ranked Huskies 72-61 victory over No. 2 Notre Dame was the best example yet in an 8-0 season of why theyre the national championship favorites again. UConn showed off a different big three Wednesday; last seasons trio left the Huskies and became the top three WNBA draft picks in April. While this seasons big three dont yet have the acclaim or the experience of last years trio, they are very impressive on their own.Samuelson, Collier and Williams combined for 57 points; they almost outscored the Irish by themselves.While last years star trio each had clearly different roles -- Jefferson was the point guard, Tuck the sturdy forward, Stewart the anything she wanted to be -- the Huskies top scorers against the Irish are harder to define position-wise.Thats one of the things weve learned to use to our advantage, said the 6-foot-3 Sameulson, the tallest of UConns starters. You can say that Gabbys almost playing our center, but shes smaller than almost every center in the country. That shows its a hard matchup. But you have difficult matchups with all three of us. It just opens up the offense a little bit more.Williams is just 5-11, but her leaping ability adds an edge to her lack of height. She had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists against the Irish. UConn coach Geno Auriemma used a descriptor for Williams performance Wednesday that he doesnt toss around lightly: magnificent. Even a fellow tough grader, associate head coach Chris Dailey, said she was eager to watch the game film to see some of Williams sky-high rebounds.Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw also praised Williams, who was limited by injuries as a high school player in Nevada but is now truly coming into her own.She got any rebound she wanted; her stat line was phenomenal, McGraw said. She really did a lot of damage. I was really impressed with her.McGraw said the Irish were expecting a challenge with Samuelson and the 6-1 Collier; theyre averaging 19.0 and 19.1 points, respectively. But Notre Dame wasnt necessarily expecting Williams to make a massive impact. Everybody better get used to that, though.I felt like we were all on the same page tonight, and it was fun, Williams said. I think I understand my team really well, and I know our dynamic. Im trying to be that leader that they can go to when we need to stay calm. I want my team to look at me like, OK, Gab, whats next? I think Ive really grown in that kind of position.Samuelson and Collier had their go-to moments Wednesday, just as they have had several times this season. Samuelson acknowledges there are still moments on the court when she looks around and thinks, Am I really ready to do this? or What should I say to my teammates now?But it really doesnt show on her face or in the way she plays. She looked very confident against Notre Dame.Stewie, Morgan and Mo were calm the whole time last year; nothing fazed them at all, Samuelson said. I think Im still looking to other people when I dont know what to do. Im still trying to learn things.One of the biggest things is, even if youre a little down on yourself or not sure what youre doing, you dont want your opponents to know that.The Huskies didnt show their exhaustion Wednesday. It was a physical, defensive battle with Notre Dame. And three of the Huskies -- Williams, Samuelson and Kia Nurse -- played all 40 minutes.In highlighting UConns big three, we dont mean to shortchange Nurse, the junior guard who is averaging the most minutes (34.4) for UConn. She had eight points and four assists Wednesday and is also a key part of why the Huskies dont seem to have lost any ground -- even though it seems like they should have.Another unbeaten foe awaits UConn on Sunday, though 9-0 Kansas State is unranked. The Huskies have two more games in December against teams currently ranked in the top 10. They host Ohio State on Dec. 19 and travel to Maryland on Dec. 29.But what can stop the Huskies 83-game win streak? (After all, its still second to the programs 90-game streak.) If Notre Dame couldnt do it, whos going to beat UConn?This is December 7, and I know theres a long way to go between now and the end of the season, Auriemma said. We purposely tried to put together a schedule this year that, going into March, there would be no doubt as to what we can and cannot do.I think up to this point, weve passed every test. I dont know that weve gotten a 100 on every test, but weve passed. And the tests are going to keep coming. But the fact that we are where we are, Im kind of surprised.He probably shouldnt be; he created this juggernaut, after all. And while the names of the stars might change, the overall outcome stays the same. Peyton Manning Jersey . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Kemoko Turay Jersey .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. http://www.coltsfansshop.com/Colts-Eric-Ebron-Draft-Jersey/ . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Denzelle Good Jersey . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. Matt Slauson Jersey .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later.Its only two starts, but Chien-Ming Wang appears to be just what the doctor ordered for the Blue Jays beleaguered pitching staff. He has taken the team deep into both games hes pitched and picked up the victory Sunday at Arlington, pitching seven shutout innings while walking two and striking out five. The Blue Jays were able to get Wang, who starred for the Yankees in 2006 and 2007, winning 19 in each of the those seasons, simply because the Yankees felt he couldnt help their big club. They released him from his Triple A deal at Scranton-Wilkes Barre of the International League, allowing him to sign on with the Blue Jays. In a certain way, it reminds me of the success the Jays had with another Yankee discard, Doyle Alexander. In 1982, Doyle went 1-7 for the Yankees with a 6.08 earned run average. He got off to another rocky start in 1983 going 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA. Then out of frustration one night, he punched a wall and broke his hand. On May 31 of 1983, the Yankees released the 32-year-old Alexander and some wondered if his career could be over. The Blue Jays signed him on June 21 of that season, and suddenly Doyle was reborn. He went 7-6 for the Jays the rest of the season and, more importantly, shaved his earned run average to 3.93. Things only got better the next two seasons under skipper Bobby Cox. Doyle won 17 games in 1984, and 17 again in 1985, the year the Blue Jays won their first division title. In fact, Doyle pitched the division clincher against the Yankees on a Saturday afternoon at Exhibition Stadium on the second last day of the regular season. Doyle had a very strong and serious personality. Bobby Cox left after the 85 season and returned to Atlanta to become general manager of the Braves. Whether it was Cox leaving or some other reason, "Dour Doyle" as he came to be known, slipped a bit in 1986. He was 5-4 with 4.46 ERA when he was ultimately swapped to Coxs Braves in July for a young starting pitching prospect by the name of Duane Ward, who would eventually become part of the greatest 1-2 relief punch the Blue Jays ever had with Tom Henke. Alexander had his moments after leaving Toronto, especially in 1987, when he helped Detroit beat out the Blue Jays for the East Division title on the final weekend of the season at Tiger Stadium. Still, overall, he never again reached the heights he enjoyed in Torronto.dddddddddddd Over two full seasons with the Blue Jays and parts of two others, he went 46-26 with a 3.56 ERA. Though he won 194 games over his career, the best span of Doyles career came in Toronto. Truth be told, over those Toronto years, I enjoyed watching him pitch more than any other Jays starter. The man knew how to pitch. He could change speeds and vary his location as well as anyone Ive ever seen in a Blue Jays uniform. No, he could not blow people away like a Roger Clemens and he wasnt Dave Stieb or Roy Halladay, but when he was on, he could make hitters look foolish. The circumstances are different with Chien-Ming Wang. The Yankees werent fed up with him. They just didnt have a spot for him, what with Michael Pineda going on rehab and expected to finally pitch for the big club in the near future. But the Yankees could get stung on this one, just as they did in 1983 when they released Alexander. The Blue Jays should be so fortunate. Playoff Watch If you look at the American League standings from last year, four of the five teams that made the post-season are holding down playoff positions right now outright with the only exception being the Yankees and Texas, who are tied for the second Wild Card position. Both teams are struggling right now, especially at the plate. The team that has stepped up is Boston. Theyve gone from also rans to first place in the AL East under John Farrell. If this continues the rest of the campaign, Farrell is going to be a shoo-in for American League Manager of the Year. Along those same lines, if the BoSox win the East, Dustin Pedroia would have an excellent shot at the Most Valuable Player Award, though Ive got a feeling in the end it will boil down to a battle between the Orioles slugger Chris Davis and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers. The Blue Jays are coming off a great 6-1 road trip, just when they needed it most, to climb to within five and a half games of the second Wild Card spot. But theyve got to come close to sustaining this pace through the end of this month. They have 13 games left in June, including 10 against the East: three at home this weekend against Baltimore followed by three at Tampa Bay and four at Fewnway Park in Boston. Going 8-5 would keep them in the conversation at least about having meaningful games down the stretch. 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