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.
Reuters
ORLANDO, Fla. - It took Dirk Nowitzki more than 60 games last season to reach 26 double-doubles. He topped that mark in 2007 on Tuesday night after only 43 outings.
Nowitzki’s defending Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks are also ahead of schedule, beating the Orlando Magic 111-95 for their 35th win of the season.
Nowitzki had 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Josh Howard added 25 points. It was the Mavericks’ 21st victory in 22 games, and it kept them ahead of last season’s franchise-record 60-win pace.
How good is Dallas? To the weak Eastern Conference, scary good.
“We’re about as hungry as it gets,” Nowitzki said. “We were so close last year. It was a very, very disappointing loss at the end. But more than anything it’s motivation for us to work even harder this year.”
For the second consecutive night, after beating the Miami Heat in a rematch of last year’s NBA finals, the Mavericks led from beginning to end. Dallas was up 16 at the end of the first quarter and pushed the margin to 25 points in the second with a 15-5 run capped by Nowitzki’s three-point play. The Mavericks kept it around 20 points most of the second and third periods.
Orlando pulled within 11 points in the third with a 13-4 run, but it happened with Nowitzki resting.
It was the closest the Magic had been since 8 minutes into the first quarter, and aside from a quick basket to begin the fourth, it was the closest they would come.
Dallas rattled off six unanswered points, including a fast-break dunk from Nowitzki, to put the lead back at 14 and out of Orlando’s reach.
“We saw a pretty good team,” Magic coach Brian Hill said. “Obviously, we can’t spot a team a 16-point first quarter, especially a good team like that, and win the game. They ran by us early in the game, shot over us, went around us to start the game and we tried to play catch-up from that point on. It was too hard to do with a team of this caliber.”
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