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
OMAHA, Neb. - A contrite Dana Altman vowed to finish his career at Creighton, just two days after he was introduced as Arkansas’ new basketball coach.
Now that he has returned, he knows he must regain the trust of his players.
“This is home,” the 48-year-old Altman said Wednesday. “This is where I will finish my coaching career. That’s pretty obvious now.”
Just 24 hours after he was introduced at Arkansas on Monday, Altman was on a plane back to Omaha.
“My ego and money affected my decision,” said Altman, who reportedly was offered $1.5 million by Arkansas. “After I had an opportunity to think about it with the good counsel of my wife (Reva), we decided relationships — family, friends who have been great to us, a city that has been great to us, players who have been just unbelievable for a long period of time — were more important to us than making that move.”
Creighton athletic director Bruce Rasmussen said he had no reservations about taking back Altman, who has had nine straight 20-win seasons and taken the Bluejays to the NCAA tournament seven of his 13 years at the school.
“Coach and I play golf on a somewhat regular basis, and he knows that his boss occasionally needs and takes a mulligan,” Rasmussen said. “So it’s easy for me today to say, ’Coach, I grant you a mulligan.’ “
Altman met with Creighton’s players shortly after arriving in Omaha on Tuesday night. He also has called recruits and said he’s satisfied he’ll be able to keep the incoming class together.
He said he knows he must rebuild relationships with fans and boosters.
“I went out on a date with somebody else, so there is some trust broken there,” he said. “I hope, first of all, that the relationship I had with them previously will help. It starts with our players, because they’re the ones I’m closest with.”
Altman said Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles first approached him Friday. He accepted the job Monday morning.
|
At 6 a.m. Tuesday, Altman called Rasmussen to ask for his job back.
“I had to make sure I had a place to come back to,” Altman said. “It became obvious that that’s what I wanted to do.”
Nothing he discovered in Arkansas made him change his mind, Altman said.
“My decision was with the heart and something I needed to do.”
The Arkansas chancellor called Altman’s one-day tenure “one of the shortest chapters and most disappointing chapters in the history of the institution.”
In previous years, Altman has been pursued by Illinois, Georgia, Miami and other schools. He said he doubts his phone will ring with calls from prospective employers any time soon.
“A school would be real reluctant to make an offer to someone who’s backed out of one. That’s a reality of life,” Altman said. “That’s OK. My wife and I are comfortable in this decision. There are no second thoughts about that at all.”
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.
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.
 | Slideshow |
 | College hoops power rankings A look at the top teams in college basketball based on performance and potential. NBCSports.com |
Latest from Beyond the Arc |
Latest NCAA tourney projections a seeding mess in middle3 hr 23 min ago Would Rick Pitino’s white suit work its magic vs. Syracuse?8 hr 18 min ago Here’s a shot you just can’t defend11 hr 24 min ago Five up, five down from college hoops’ huge day1 day 3 hr ago |
 | College basketball videos |
 Getty Images Highlights: No. 14 UNLV 65, No. 13 SDSU 63 Mike Moser scored 19 points, and UNLV forced three turnovers in the final 42 seconds to win. |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
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.
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.
