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.
AFP - Getty ImagesFor the United States to reach the round of 16, it must win, coupled with an Italian victory over the Czechs. Or Italy would have to tie the Czechs along with a U.S. victory by at least four goals — and maybe more. The U.S. also could advance if Italy loses depending on how the Americans fare in tiebreakers.
Italy has incentive to beat the Czechs — the group’s second-place team likely will face Brazil, a challenge the United States gladly would accept right now.
“Perhaps four points for the U.S. team will be good enough to get out of the group,” American coach Bruce Arena said.
Pope and Mastroeni will miss Thursday’s game against Ghana. McBride, who has twice had plastic surgery to repair soccer injuries, said he’s fine to play.
“Brian has, I think, a few titanium plates in his face already,” Keller said, “so you know he’s going to stick his head in places where most people would really prefer not to.”
The draw was a milestone in U.S. soccer history. The Americans were 0-8 in World Cup games played in Europe, and they had never gotten even a single point in Europe in any match against the big five nations of Italy, England, Germany, Spain and France.
By the end, players’ legs were heavy from running in the wide-open space created by all the red cards. The United States, which brought on Conrad after Pope was sent off, ended the game in a formation of four defenders, three midfielders and one forward. The Azzurri used three forwards to apply pressure.
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But thanks greatly to Keller, the Americans didn’t buckle.
For a few brief seconds, it even appeared the United States had gone ahead in the 66th minute, when second-half sub DaMarcus Beasley slotted the ball in off goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. But with Arena pumping an arm on the sideline, the whistle blew for an offside call on McBride, who had screened Buffon.
Keller then made the save of the night, jumping to his right to palm away a short shot by a wide-open Del Piero, who had gotten a chip from Pirlo. Keller made another outstanding stop on Del Piero in the 79th.
“It was,” Keller said, “a crazy game.”
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.
Alex Morgan's 2 goals, including the winner in stoppage time, lift the U.S. past New Zealand 2-1.
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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.
