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'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.
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.
Determined to get her first real job, Maggie Dixon drove straight from Los Angeles to the DePaul campus. At center court of Alumni Hall, she waited for coach Doug Bruno.
Bruno already had plans that evening for steak and beer at his favorite Chicago restaurant, so he told her to come back the next day for an interview. As his final question, he asked what Dixon liked to do in her spare time.
“She said, ’I like to knit and read good books,”’ Bruno said Friday, laughing. “Maggie had the gift of Irish blarney.”
In her meteoric rise in the women’s basketball coaching ranks, Dixon did more than teach Xs and Os and turn Army into an NCAA tournament team. She shared her passion, on and off the court.
Dixon died Thursday at 28 following a sudden episode of irregular heartbeat, mourned by a constant flow of military people, friends and family.
Bruno remembered how she worked at Sorriso’s restaurant, an Italian joint full of character and great characters, during her first year at DePaul.
“She had gift of being able to talk to paupers and princes equally,” Bruno said. “If you asked me how old she was, I’d tell you 38-to-42. And I mean that as compliment to her maturity.”
She knew how to let her hair down, too.
Dixon played at the University of San Diego, and former coach Kathy Marpe remembered a little skit. Dixon and a teammate dressed up as Sonny and Cher for a routine that her father videotaped.
“She was a fun-loving person from the beginning, one of the pranksters on the team,” Marpe said. “As a coach, you love to have them around.”
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He coaches the men’s team at Pittsburgh. The day after Army won the Patriot League conference title game and earned its first NCAA berth, Maggie was at Madison Square Garden, an animated presence behind the Pitt bench.
The Dixons were believed to be the first brother and sister to coach in the NCAA tournament in the same year. Always close, they both lost on the same day.
“She was a successful coach, but you’d see her and she’d say, ’I did this with Jamie’ and ’My parents and I are doing that,”’ Arizona State coach Charli Turner-Thorne said. “Sometimes as a young coach, you put those things aside.”
Turner-Thorne was at Northern Arizona when she recruited Dixon out of high school. Last weekend, Turner-Thorne saw her friend at the Final Four in Boston.
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.
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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.
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.
The Red Wings have finally started to embrace a record they've been chasing.
