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.
The drivers who aren’t happy with the new cars will need to start making those mental adjustments soon because the COT will be raced 13 more times this season and will be phased into the entire 36-race schedule by 2009 for sure, and possibly by 2008.
“I would say some of the teams, like Hendrick and Gibbs and Earnhardt, have had good cars in this race,” Pemberton said. “They obviously have worked real hard to get a leg up on the other teams.
“The places where all the teams are making strides is learning how to work on these cars, how to make them better for their drivers.”
And not all of the drivers are unhappy with the car now.
“If this had been last year’s car, with that bumper, I would have been wrecked,” reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said after finishing fourth at Phoenix. “It seems like these cars are more forgiving. You can’t just knock the guy out of the way; you actually have to pass him.”
And Hendrick Motorsports teammate Gordon, who won for the first time at Phoenix and equaled the late Dale Earnhardt’s career record of 76 victories, was OK with the COT, too — for the most part.
“Well, I’ll be honest with you; it was better than I thought it was going to be,” Gordon said. “I really thought that once you got out front, all you had to do was just mirror drive and there’s no way that guy (behind you) had a chance. But Tony (Stewart) got by me and then I got by him.”
“It was better than I thought it was going to be; it really was.”
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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.
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.