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
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Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer has spent the entire offseason huddling with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to come up with an offensive approach that best fits what young quarterback Philip Rivers does best. After nearly two months of training camp, no one can be sure yet if they found it, but the Chargers will only go as far as Rivers' arm and head allow.
Rivers has replaced departed veteran Drew Brees, but he lacks anything resembling experience, and some feel he comes with a sidearm motion that will make it difficult for him to get the ball downfield. The Chargers may prefer the horizontal passing game to the vertical one anyway, because they lack a true deep threat at wide receiver. Look for the Chargers to continue working the ball to Antonio Gates, the explosive Pro Bowl tight end. Next choice will be to Pro Bowl running back LaDainian Tomlinson, the best back in the league. After that?
Punting is always a safe option.
Gates has scored 23 touchdowns the past two years and Tomlinson rushed for 1,416 yards and 18 scores. The bad news is Tomlinson has thrown more touchdown passes in the NFL than Rivers, so look for a lot of ball control running and short passing unless Rivers shows the fact he's a coach's son has allowed him to get a steady grasp on the offense.
The Chargers have to be concerned that defenses will not respect Rivers enough early in the season not to jam the box with eight defenders and challenge him to throw while doing all they can to stuff Tomlinson and shut down his running lanes. For that to be avoided, Schottenheimer has to let Rivers show enough for opponents to recognize that although they have in essence a rookie quarterback under center, he does have an arm and they aren't afraid to let him use it.
Defensively, San Diego needs to get more production from its pass defense. The cornerbacks had an anemic three interceptions last season, and the entire secondary produced only seven. Since the Chargers boast the No. 1 run defense in the league, the area of emphasis is clear.
Free-agent safety Marlon McCree may help some, but if things are really going to improve, No. 1 draft choice Antonio Cromarte has to finally become a draft pick who produces at cornerback in San Diego. The Chargers have wasted a team full of picks on corners with few positive results recently. That includes the No. 1 pick five years ago that brought them Quentin Jammer. Jammer was supposed to be a shutdown corner, but he has been a far cry from that.
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Hot seat
Philip Rivers. Drew Brees led the Chargers to 20 wins the past two seasons and put up Pro Bowl numbers, but they let him go in free agency after he seriously injured his shoulder in the final game of the season. That left Schottenheimer with the untested Rivers to run his offense. Rivers was the fourth player selected in the draft two years ago, but he has thrown only 30 passes in the NFL. He is also the guy the Chargers traded the rights to Eli Manning to get, so there will be a lot of people watching how he performs and comparing it not only with the departed Brees, who is in New Orleans, but also with Manning, who has begun to blossom with the New York Giants.
Overheard
The biggest battle in San Diego is not a positional one.
It's the fight for power between general manager A.J. Smith and coach Marty Schottenheimer. The owner finally had to step in and chastise them both, but that didn't really clear the air. Smith doesn't believe Schottenheimer can take the Chargers to the next level. Schottenheimer seldom agrees with Smith's personnel decisions but has to live with them.
One of these guys isn't going to be around a year from now unless the Chargers go deep into the playoffs.
Outlook
Everything depends on an untested quarterback; fourth-string tackle Leander Jordan, who will be pressed into service early because veteran Roman Oben is out for six weeks; and whether one of the poorest excuses for a secondary has been improved enough to at least be called mediocre. If Rivers isn't asked to do too much too early and the secondary can do more than the 10 interceptions it produced a year ago the Chargers could be in the playoff mix.
Prediction
Third.
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Rotoworld: Oregon RB LaMichael James and Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon among top 10 players who are being overhyped for the 2012 draft.
Rotoworld: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill among the 10 players who will slip down draft boards, but probably shouldn't.
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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.
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The Red Wings have finally started to embrace a record they've been chasing.
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