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?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
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.
Lefty wins his 40th PGA Tour event with his never-ending supply of tricks up his sleeve. What We Learned this week at Pebble Beach.
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.
Reuters
DAYTON, Ohio - Michigan State? Gone. Defending national champion North Carolina? Gone, too.
Any more questions about whether George Mason belongs in the NCAA tournament?
Didn’t think so.
The upstart Patriots turned Carolina a whole different shade of blue Sunday, knocking the third-seeded Tar Heels out with a 65-60 victory that set up a mid-major matchup in the round of 16.
George Mason (25-7) will play Wichita State on Friday in the Washington Regional semifinals, pitting the Colonial Athletic Association against the Missouri Valley’s regular-season champion. The Patriots won 70-67 at Wichita State last month.
“There’s been talk about the Missouri Valley all year,” said Lamar Butler, who led the Patriots with 18 points. “Hardly anyone has talked about the CAA. It’s hard to believe we’re both in the Sweet 16.”
Not for Michigan State or Carolina, the two pedigree programs that got upset — if that’s the right term — by an at-large team from an overlooked league. George Mason is the first Colonial Athletic team to make the round of 16 since Richmond did it in 1988, and only the third overall.
This one has everything it takes to play with the big boys. That was coach Jim Larranaga’s message to his green-uniformed team before the opening tip.
“The last comment I made to them was, ‘What color is kryptonite?”’ Larranaga said. “They said, ‘Green.’ I said, ‘Look at your jerseys. You have everything you need to win this game.”’
|
Carolina showed it wasn’t anything like the super team that won the NCAA tournament last year. The Tar Heels (23-8) lost their top seven scorers from that team, forcing coach Roy Williams to use four freshmen much more than he’d prefer.
Three of them were on the floor at various times Sunday, and played down to their age for the first time since early in the season.
“We’re going to cry about it, be sad, but it just wasn’t our time,” said senior forward David Noel, who was on the floor for the final seconds of last year’s title game.
Nimble forwards Will Thomas and Jai Lewis dominated up front, and the Patriots shocked the Tar Heels by going to a newly installed zone defense in the first half to climb out of a 16-2 hole.
|
In the second half, the Patriots went back to their man-to-man and beat the Tar Heels straight up, making most of the clutch shots. Their poise and balance helped them make a point.
“I think a lot of experts expected them to dominate us,” Larranaga said. “We have enough faith and confidence in ourselves that we’re not listening to the experts and the so-called prognosticators.”
Carolina faded down the stretch, missing four straight shots and repeatedly fouling. George Mason went 9-of-12 from the line in the final 3 minutes to pull away.
It was yet another second-round stunner for Williams, who suffered one of his worst in the same arena 16 years ago. His Kansas team was considered a title contender in 1992, but got knocked off by Texas-El Paso in the second round.
Williams was so upset as it wound down Sunday that he picked up his folding chair and slammed it down courtside. He tried everything, even yelling at his team during a timeout to try to fire it up. Nothing worked.
He also made a significant coaching mistake, putting his team in a press during a late timeout because he thought Carolina was down by three. Instead, the score was tied at 54. George Mason broke the press and Butler was fouled, going to the line for two free throws that put the Patriots ahead to stay.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
 | Slideshow |
 | College hoops power rankings A look at the top teams in college basketball based on performance and potential. NBCSports.com |
Latest from Beyond the Arc |
Would Rick Pitino’s white suit work its magic vs. Syracuse?1 hr 47 min ago Here’s a shot you just can’t defend4 hr 54 min ago Five up, five down from college hoops’ huge day21 hr 24 min ago Michigan State sure shook up Big Ten by beating Buckeyes22 hr 9 min ago |
 | College basketball videos |
 Getty Images Highlights: No. 14 UNLV 65, No. 13 SDSU 63 Mike Moser scored 19 points, and UNLV forced three turnovers in the final 42 seconds to win. |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
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.
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.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
