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 both greeted Sunday with unbridled optimism. But the day would end happily only for Mickelson.
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.
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Kevin Harvick, who didn't win but dominated the first Nextel Cup race of the season at Richmond International Raceway in May, is my pick to get to Victory Lane on Saturday night at the Virginia short track.
Working in Harvick's favor
In the spring event at Richmond, Harvick led for 272 of the 400 laps, and he had by far the best car until about the final 50 miles of the race. In the end running on a set of older tires took away his chance at a win and he finished third.
Harvick will be in the same chassis that fared so well at Richmond earlier this year. It's a car that was built for one-mile type tracks, and it has proven its worth on such layouts as Harvick drove it to Victory Lane at the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway in April.
Richmond is a .75-mile oval and its to Harvick's liking as he races well on short tracks. At Richmond he has one pole, three top-fives and five top-10s in 11 Cup starts.
Last year he posted a pair of top-10s at the Virginia venue, and was extremely impressive in the fall race when won the pole and led for 167 laps before handling issues arose with his car, resulting in a 10th-place finish.
The Richard Childress driver has led in six of his 11 races at Richmond, where he has an average finish of 14th.
Harvick's in third place in the championship standings, so barring a disastrous night on Saturday, he'll be in the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship, which begins on Sept. 17 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
He only needs to finish 39th or better at Richmond to clinch a spot in the Chase.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. won in May at Richmond, and I think he has a good shot at making it a sweep on Saturday night. Junior is sixth in the championship standings, and he can lock up a spot in the Chase by finishing 16th or better at Richmond.
This is Junior's 15th Cup start at Richmond, where he has chalked up three wins and nine top-10 finishes. He has been running at the finish in all of his Richmond races, and has led in eight of them.
Kyle Busch has a short but impressive Cup resume at Richmond. This is Busch's fourth Cup start at the .75-mile oval, where he has come home in the top five in each of his previous races.
He has led in two of his three Richmond races, but for just 14 laps. Busch placed fourth in this race last year, and he was fifth at Richmond in May. At this short track, Busch has an average finish of 4.3. -- the best among the current top-10 drivers.
Busch, who is fifth in the championship standings, can clinch a berth in the Chase with a result of 22nd or better at Richmond.
Look out for Tony Stewart on Saturday night. This is the defending Cup champion's 16th start at Richmond, where he has three wins and 10 top-10 finishes. Stewart's last Richmond victory came in May of 2002.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver placed seventh in this race last year, and he was sixth at Richmond in May, extending a streak of three straight top-10 finishes at this short track, where his average result is 11.6.
Since Stewart is eighth in the championship standings, he -- and actually all of the drivers from third through 11th in the standings -- will be more concerned about points racing than winning this event.
Stewart clinches a Chase spot by crossing the checkers seventh or better at Richmond, but he will be in a backup car after crashing in the opening moments of practice on Friday.
Richmond has been a good track for Mark Martin in his long Cup career. He only has one win at the .75-mile oval, but he's enjoyed a lot of good runs in Virginia, logging 22 top-10s in 41 career Richmond Cup starts.
Martin finished 13th in this race last year, and he was 11th at Richmond in May. At this short track, Martin has an average finish of 11th.
He's ninth in the championship standings, and clinches a place in the Chase with a finish of fourth or better on Saturday night.
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