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.
ReutersMiami scored the game’s first eight points, the first six of those coming from O’Neal — who was 6-for-7 in the opening half. But the Bulls coolly withstood the opening burst and knotted the game at 14 when Gordon hit his second 3-pointer of the quarter with 5:30 left, the first of four ties in the half.
Chicago never led in the first half and trailed 48-44 at intermission, but probably felt quite good about the second quarter. The Bulls made only 33 percent of their shots in that period, compared to 64 percent shooting by the Heat. And in the third, Chicago finally broke through.
The Bulls got their first lead when Deng hit a jumper with 2:45 left. It was Deng’s third basket in an 11-2 Chicago run to end the third quarter, and when Chris Duhon hit a 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left, the Bulls had a 68-64 lead entering the fourth.
They didn’t trail again. And the so-called Baby Bulls — a young team that had endured two straight first-round ousters, including last year against Miami in six games — officially grew up.
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Notes: Gary Payton, who didn’t play in Games 2 and 3 and logged 18 minutes Sunday, left without talking to reporters — meaning it’s unknown if he’s leaning toward retiring or returning for an 18th season. He turns 39 in July. ... Heat backup center Alonzo Mourning said he will decide soon whether to return next season, and Wade said he hasn’t decided if he’ll need surgery to repair the left shoulder he dislocated in February or on playing for USA Basketball in Olympic qualifying this summer. ... The Bulls beat Detroit in three of four meetings this season. ... Posey replaced Jason Kapono as the starter at small forward for Miami; before Game 3, Kapono took the starter spot from Eddie Jones, who did not play in Game 4.
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.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
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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.
