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.
APAfter Russell’s selection, Detroit declined several trade options for the No. 2 overall pick and chose wide receiver Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech, considered the best athlete available. It was the fourth time in five years the Lions chose a wideout high in the draft. Only one of the others, Roy Williams, has succeeded in Detroit. Johnson, an All-American junior known as “Spider-man,” is 6-4 and 237 pounds and can run a 4.35 in the 40.
“I told him when he was here (for a pre-draft visit) that he wouldn’t get past 2,” Lions president Matt Millen said. “This guy is the real deal.”
Tampa Bay picked the first defensive player, Clemson end Gaines Adams, who at 6-5 is an inch shorter and three pounds lighter than Russell.
“Oh, it’s a tremendous honor,” Adams said of being the top defensive selection. “There’s a lot of great defensive players that are out in this draft and it’s just an honor to me to be one of the first ones chosen.”
Arizona also went for offensive line help at No. 5, taking Penn State tackle Levi Brown, who should replace Leonard Davis, now with Dallas after leaving as a free agent.
Adrian Peterson of Oklahoma was chosen by Minnesota, which apparently was unconcerned by the running back’s history of injuries in college.
“I don’t want to say necessarily disappointed because my dream has come true,” Peterson said of sliding to seventh overall. “ You never put all your eggs in one basket. I am just excited.”
At No. 8, Arkansas defensive end Jamaal Anderson went to Atlanta, which went to the Super Bowl in 1999 with a running back named Jamal Anderson.
Then Miami got Ginn.
“I promise you that Ted Ginn is going to be someone you’re going to enjoy watching play for a long, long time as a Miami Dolphin,” coach Cam Cameron said.
But Johnson was the true prize at wide receiver, and Lions coordinator Mike Martz has a history of using such players well.
“He’s ecstatic just like me,” Johnson said of Martz. “Like I said, I’m going to be in a good situation.”
The 10th pick was 19-year-old defensive tackle Amobi Okoye of Louisville, by Houston. He’s the youngest player drafted in the first round since the merger and will join last year’s No. 1 overall pick, defensive end Mario Williams, on the line.
Johnson, Adams and Okoye all reportedly admitted in team interviews at the NFL combine that they had tried marijuana. That clearly didn’t hurt their stock.
San Francisco followed by choosing the best linebacker in the draft, Mississippi’s Patrick Willis. Buffalo, selected next, was interested in Willis, as well but settled for Cal running back Marshawn Lynch. Lynch could replace Willis McGahee, who was traded to Baltimore in the offseason.
The Jets and Panthers swung the first trade of the day, with New York moving up from 25th overall to 14th for Pittsburgh’s Darrelle Revis, the first cornerback selected Saturday. The Jets gave their first, a second-rounder and a fifth-rounder for Revis, who also returns kicks. Carolina also gave New York a sixth-round choice.
Late in the opening round, San Francisco sent its 2008 first-rounder to New England to get the 28th spot, where the Niners picked offensive tackle Joe Staley of Central Michigan.
Midway into the second round, the 49ers got back an ’08 first-round pick from the Colts for a pick Indianapolis used to take Arkansas tackle Tony Ugoh.
At one point in the 6-hour, 8-minute first round — longest ever — nine straight defensive players were chosen.
In all, 17 defensive players were taken, and 15 on offense. Fourteen underclassmen were selected and 11 SEC players went in the opening round.
The first three rounds took a total of 11 hours, 4 minutes, the longest ever.
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.
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.