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.
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CHICAGO - Maybe Reggie Bush’s taunts fired up the Chicago Bears’ defense.
One moment, the New Orleans rookie was taunting Brian Urlacher on the way to the end zone. Then, the Bears clamped down to advance to their first Super Bowl in 21 years, beating the New Orleans Saints 39-14 in Sunday’s NFC championship game.
Urlacher finally is playing for a championship.
“We gave up some big plays,” said Urlacher, a six-time Pro Bowl selection. “But we never put our heads down.”
The Bears followed their traditional blueprint to get to the Super Bowl — combining a solid running game and big defensive plays.
Nathan Vasher had an interception. Adewale Ogunleye, Mark Anderson and Israel Idonije each had a sack, and Urlacher was in on four tackles.
With Chicago up 16-7, the Saints took over at the 7 after the Bears punted on the third quarter’s opening possession.
That’s when the game got interesting.
On the second play, New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees connected with Reggie Bush for an 88-yard touchdown pass that made it a two-point game. Bush beat Chris Harris at the line, caught the ball along the left side and faked out Danieal Manning before crossing the field. Bush outran the speedy Urlacher, then pointed back at the middle linebacker before flipping across the goal line.
Urlacher brushed off the taunting, saying, “What did he do? I think we’re going to the Super Bowl.”
Bush said he allowed his emotions “to get the best of me” and apologized to his coach, Sean Payton.
“Obviously, I know I made a mistake, but I’m not going to kill myself over it,” Bush said.
A play that could have been a turning point for New Orleans instead was just an aberration. The Bears’ defense, however, was true to form and took over.
The Saints had the ball on their 5 when Brees, with Lance Briggs bearing down, was called for intentional grounding in the end zone. That resulted in a safety that made it 18-14 with 5:32 left in the third.
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With the score 25-14 early in the fourth, the Bears’ Ogunleye sacked Brees and recovered a fumble at the Bears 26. Cedric Benson ran it in from the 12, leapfrogging a defender on the way, to make it 32-14.
Vasher then intercepted Brees.
“That’s the thing with turnovers, dropped passes and touchdowns — they come in bunches,” Vasher said. “You’ve got to be able to capitalize when they’re there.”
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The Bears, who had four takeaways Sunday, led the league with 44 during the regular season — 39 in the first 12 games. Chicago’s defense was ranked No. 1 before slipping to fifth late in the season.
Rotoworld: Oregon RB LaMichael James and Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon among top 10 players who are being overhyped for the 2012 draft.
Rotoworld: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill among the 10 players who will slip down draft boards, but probably shouldn't.
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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.
Silva: 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 NFC teams.
The Red Wings have finally started to embrace a record they've been chasing.
