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 - Trevor Graham, who has coached Olympic champions Marion Jones and Justin Gatlin, pleaded not guilty Thursday to accusations he hindered a federal steroids investigation targeting baseball star Barry Bonds and other high-profile athletes.
Graham is charged with three counts of making false statements to federal agents in an indictment issued Nov. 1 by the grand jury investigating performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports.
He was freed on $25,000 bond after appearing briefly before U.S. Magistrate Edwin Chen. His attorney, Gail Shifman, entered the plea on Graham’s behalf.
Graham did not comment, but Shifman told reporters outside court that “he’ll be vindicated” at trial. If convicted, Graham faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $750,000 fine.
Shifman declined to answer questions about whether Graham supplied athletes with performance-enhancing drugs or told athletes where they were available, as the indictment alleges. Graham was granted immunity for his cooperation but not from prosecution for making false statements.
Shifman said the charges were “really regrettable,” because Graham’s intention had been to clean up track and field.
Three years ago, he helped spark the steroid investigation by anonymously mailing a vial containing “the clear,” a previously undetectable steroid, to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The probe has netted five convictions, including that of Patrick Arnold, the Illinois chemist who produced the clear for the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative.
Bonds’ trainer, Greg Anderson, also was convicted in the BALCO investigation. The grand jury is examining whether Bonds committed perjury when he told a 2003 grand jury that he never knowingly used steroids. He testified he believed Anderson had supplied him with flaxseed oil and arthritis balm.
San Francisco U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan said after the hearing that the government’s steroid probe “is an ongoing investigation.”
“Whether or not there will be more indictments,” he told KGO-AM, “only time will tell.”
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Graham operates Raleigh, N.C.-based Sprint Capitol USA, a team of about 10 athletes that includes Gatlin, the 100-meter co-world record holder who tested positive for testosterone and other steroids in April. He also coached Jones, a sprinter who won five medals at the 2000 Sydney Games, and her ex-boyfriend Tim Montgomery, formerly the world’s fastest man who was suspended from competition for two years for doping.
Following Graham’s indictment, Olympic 200-meter gold medalist Shawn Crawford and former U.S. 100-meter champion Me’Lisa Barber announced they would no longer train with him.
In August, the U.S. Olympic Committee banned Graham from its training centers, because several of his athletes have been suspended for doping offenses. Last week, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency notified Graham in a letter that he is accused of violating doping rules, sources have told The Associated Press.
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.
NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''
Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.
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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.
