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
SAN FRANCISCO - Alfonso Soriano reminded the Nationals why they should be happy to still have him around.
He hit a two-run double in the five-run fourth inning of Washington’s 10-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Monday night, and also singled twice, scored two runs and stole his 27th base.
All of this to help Washington end a three-game losing streak only hours after Soriano learned he would not be dealt before the non-waiver trading deadline as everyone expected.
“Just to have him in our corner is going to help our team, help our lineup,” center fielder Ryan Church said. “We know every day he’s prepared and we know he’s going to come through in big situations. He did it again tonight. You don’t want him on the other team.”
The Nationals batted around in the fourth, tagging Giants starter Noah Lowry for five hits and Felipe Lopez’s sacrifice fly. They added four in the eighth, highlighted by Austin Kearns’ three-run double.
Omar Vizquel hit two RBI triples and singled twice and Randy Winn had a sacrifice fly, three hits and scored three runs for slumping San Francisco, which lost its eighth straight game following a season-best five-game winning streak. The Giants went winless in their road trip through Washington and Pittsburgh and lost to San Diego in the final game of their previous homestand.
This is the club’s longest skid since also dropping eight in a row from May 26-June 4 last year. San Francisco has lost the eight games by a total of 13 runs.
“We have to get well in a hurry or we’re going to be a sinking ship,” Giants general manager Brian Sabean said.
Asked whether he had a response to Sabean’s comments, manager Felipe Alou said: “He said it, right? I’m not going to comment on it. I believe that’s enough.”
Before the game, Soriano was greeted by cheers and chants of “Soriano! Soriano!” when he made his way into the visitor’s clubhouse on a makeshift red carpet — a pathway constructed of white towels taped to the floor.
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“I’m happy,” said Soriano, who got word from Nationals special assistant Jose Rijo about 20 minutes before the deadline. “It will be more easy to focus on playing every time because it passed. I was very excited they wanted to keep me here. ...
“I love my teammates, too. I think they were happy to see me walk in here.”
From his locker hung streamers in team colors, a special chair replaced the standard clubhouse offering, and a giant fruit basket and bottle of champagne waited at his feet. “Vive Soriano!” — “Soriano Lives!” read one sign. “We love you!” stated another.
“He means as much to this team in the clubhouse as he does on the field,” Kearns said.
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Pedro Astacio (2-1) pitched six strong innings in his sixth start of the year, allowing 10 hits and four runs with two strikeouts and a walk. Chad Cordero recorded the final four outs for his 18th save in 21 chances.
Lopez finished with a double and single, the sacrifice fly and two runs scored and Church hit two RBI doubles as the Nationals went 14-11 in July for their first winning month since June 2005 (20-6).
“It’s always good to see the offense come back,” Nationals manager Frank Robinson said. “We needed every run we got.”
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
HBT: Prince Fielder is gone and Ryan Braun will likely miss a third of the season because of a failed PED test. Can Milwaukee stay in contention until he gets back?
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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.
