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.
MELBOURNE, Australia - All those worries about Maria Sharapova after her tough first-round match in the Australian Open?
Forget about it.
The top women’s seed, who endured three hours of broiling heat in her first-round match Tuesday, needed only 58 minutes to beat fellow Russian Anastassia Rodionova 6-0, 6-3 on Thursday.
“My brain cells were restored today,” said Sharapova, who described herself as delusional in her last match. “It was nice to get a quick one in there today.”
Two other friends — Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis — raced to see who could finish their match first and took another step toward a possible quarterfinals showdown.
Clijsters extended the winning start to her farewell tour, beating Akiko Morigami 6-3, 6-0 in 59 minutes.
“I’ve always enjoyed coming here, but this year it’s even more special than in the past,” Clijsters said. “You appreciate it so much more, I think. And you think it’s the last time, you just try to suck everything in, and it’s a good feeling to have.”
Joking that she and Clijsters were racing to finish their matches, Hingis continued to build momentum in her comeback after three years away with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Russian Alla Kudryavtseva.
The 23-year-old Clijsters, who has announced she is retiring at the end of this season to start a family, recovered from an inconsistent opening set to run through the second.
“I won in two pretty easy sets, so I’m not complaining,” she said.
She finished nine minutes faster than Hingis, who lost a little time when she was broken while serving for the match at 5-1.
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Sixth-seeded Hingis won three straight Australian titles from 1997 and then lost three consecutive finals before quitting the tour because of nagging foot and ankle problems.
Her comeback to the Australian Open in 2006 ended in a quarterfinal loss to Clijsters.
“I think I can get better. I wouldn’t be out here if I didn’t think so,” said Hingis, who next meets Aiko Nakamura of Japan, a surprise 6-3, 6-2 winner over India’s Sania Mirza.
Also advancing on the women’s side were ninth-seed Dinara Safina, No. 12 Anna Chakvetadze, No. 13 Ana Ivanovic, No. 15 Daniela Hantuchova, No. 19 Li Na, No. 22 Vera Zvonareva, No. 29 Alona Bondarenko and No. 30 Tathiana Garbin. No. 17 Anna-Lena Groenefeld lost to American Ashley Harkleroad.
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.
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
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.
