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.
AFP - Getty Images File
DURHAM, N.C. - Nearly six months after rape allegations were first made against members of the Duke lacrosse team, basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and other athletic administrators gathered with the school’s athletes for a closed-door pep talk to start the school year.
“What this situation this spring did was that people wanted to put a cloud over all of athletics and specifically lacrosse, and I don’t think that’s fair, quite frankly, because we have so many great kids,” Krzyzewski told The Herald-Sun of Durham. “If somebody did something wrong, then hold them accountable, but don’t indict everyone. So tonight was about saying to the rest of the student-athletes, ‘Hey, y’all are good. Have a great year. Let’s keep pursuing excellence.”’
A woman hired to dance at a lacrosse team party at an off-campus house on March 13 accused three players of sexually assaulting her in a bathroom. On March 27, the school canceled the rest of the lacrosse season and coach Mike Pressler was eventually fired. Rape charges against three players are pending. Their lawyers have strongly proclaimed their clients’ innocence.
Every athlete, coach and staff member in the athletic department — a total of 850 people — attended Monday night’s meeting at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Former Duke athletes such as basketball players Grant Hill and Johnny Dawkins and football player and Shaw University president Clarence Newsome also helped with the presentation.
Athletics director Joe Alleva said the gathering wasn’t a direct result of the charges brought against three members of last year’s lacrosse team, but acknowledged the meeting probably wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
“I would rate morale as low in April and May, but I would rate the morale as back to normal and high right now,” Alleva said. “I thought we had already turned the corner, but this really does help. It’s a fresh start. We’re turning the page, and we’re moving forward.”
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“Everyone felt real unified, and it gave us a morale boost,” Shull said. “There have been tough moments because it was always, ’Wow, you go to Duke University. They’re known for their academics and for their great athletics and for overall excellence.’ You were looked at almost as a perfect school, and this thing in the media showed us as not 100 percent perfect, and it was kind of rough.
“We just had to support each other and be there with each other through hard times.”
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.
