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.
APThe locker room could’ve been especially deflated at halftime because players know they’re going to be missing some top players for a while. Johnson said before the game that Harris and Howard will be out most of the rest of the regular season, with Griffin and reserve Keith Van Horn likely missing several more games.
Then came 12 of the best minutes of Dallas’ season. The Mavs outscored the Cavs 27-8, outrebounded them 17-8 and didn’t have a turnover. James had six of Cleveland’s points, but took only four shots.
“I thought we were a little more physical with them,” Johnson said. “We seemed like we were apologizing for being on the court in the first half.”
The Cavaliers lost their third straight game and sixth straight in Dallas. Their previous game, against Miami, followed a similar script — a blown second-half lead, then a near-comeback that fell short.
“Two games in a row we’ve played a playoff opponent in their building, they stepped it up and we didn’t know how to respond,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. “The crowd was alive and it was too much for us to handle.”
Notes: Dallas’ previous best defensive quarter was 10 points, done several times. ... James was 8-for-8 from the line after setting NBA season-highs for makes (24) and attempts (28) against the Heat. ... This was the fifth time this season the Mavs have won after trailing by at least 17. ... The teams hadn’t met all season, but will again March 29 in Cleveland.
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.
Wesseling: 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 AFC teams.