Rotoworld: Oregon RB LaMichael James and Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon among top 10 players who are being overhyped for the 2012 draft.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
The Detroit Red Wings equaled an NHL record with their 20th straight win at home, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 Sunday night on the strength of Johan Franzen's tiebreaking goal early in the third period.
PBT: Boston's Rajon Rondo continues to be named in trade talks, which is madness. The Celtics guard creates offense and makes everyone around him better, which was evident in Sunday's win over the Bulls.
Arc: Syracuse is among a solid group of No. 1 seeds in our latest tournament projections, but the middle of the pack is much more murky.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods greeted their Sunday pairing at Pebble Beach with optimism. But the day would end happily only for one.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
AP
CLEVELAND - The Chicago Bulls tried almost everything to stop LeBron James.
But James shook off some desperation grab-and-hold tactics by Chicago’s Andres Nocioni to score 12 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 102-91 victory over the Bulls on Monday night.
“He believed he could guard me, I guess,” James said after surpassing 30 points for the 16th time this season and ninth in December.
“He believed his aggressiveness could make me do things that I don’t do. I just tried to use that aggressiveness against him. It’s a great battle. I like it.”
Drew Gooden scored 20 points and Larry Hughes added 19 as Cleveland improved to an Eastern Conference-best 12-3 at home and stretched its winning streak to six games. It was the Cavs’ second victory over Chicago in five days.
Chris Duhon, Tyson Chandler and Nocioni scored 15 apiece to lead the Bulls, losers of four in a row.
“We were feisty out there, but they just hit some tough shots to win,” Chandler said.
James, coming off a 4-for-16 performance with only 14 points in a win over Indiana on Friday night, shot 12-of-25 from the field against the Bulls, adding eight rebounds and six assists.
“I thought Luol (Deng) did a good job on him and Noce did a respectable job,” Bulls coach Scott Skiles . “Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if you’re really doing a good job on him or if he just isn’t kind of trying the way he wants to.”
James certainly turned up the intensity in the final quarter after exchanging glares and occasional words with Nocioni. Both complained to officials that the other was guilty of fouling.
With 3:37 remaining, James snared a rebound and essentially called a play for himself. He went 1-on-1 against Nocioni, who ended up fouling James on a shot attempt. James made both free throws to put Cleveland ahead 95-83.
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James is averaging 32.7 points in 12 games during December, helping the Cavaliers (17-9) move a season-high eight games above .500.
“We’re very confident right now,” James said. “We’re winning games, playing good defense and executing on offense.”
PBT: Boston's Rajon Rondo continues to be named in trade talks, which is madness. The Celtics guard creates offense and makes everyone around him better, which was evident in Sunday's win over the Bulls.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
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