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?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
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.
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.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had hole-by-hole reports.
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.
ReutersEverybody knew this day was coming. After A-Rod signed his $250 million, 10-year deal seven years ago, there were a few other huge contracts ($19 million a year for Jeter; more than $20 million for Manny Ramirez), but the market basically went flat and even retracted for half a decade.
It had to change, and A-Rod again is the person driving a new round of salary inflation. I’m not saying you have to approve of it, although I can’t imagine why any fan really cares what a player is making. People said that Babe Ruth wasn’t worth $85,000 75 years ago. But that’s what the Yankees were willing to pay him. And what someone is willing to pay you is what you’re worth.
If the Mariners didn’t give Ichiro the money, somebody else would have. The very stats everyone uses against him can also be used to support him.
His lifetime on-base percentage is .379 — too low, the critics say. But this year it’s .410, which is sixth in the league. He’s second in the league in hitting at .359, and is tied for third in getting on base 160 times, just two behind league leader Magglio Ordonez. His 23 stolen bases are third in the AL.
Ichiro is not Rickey Henderson, who is called the best leadoff hitter ever, but you might be surprised how close he is to the Man of Steal. Rickey is the all-time leader in stolen bases, and you can’t overstate how important that was to the teams he played for. But his 162-game averages show 121 runs against 114 for Ichiro, a .401 on-base percentage against Ichiro’s .379, and 59 RBIs against 62 for Ichiro. And Ichiro is a far better outfielder.
Maybe you like Jose Reyes, the Mets’ shortstop and leadoff hitter. But Ichiro stacks up very well against Reyes: .379 on-base opposed to .333 for Reyes; 62 RBIs to 68; 114 runs to 112. If it were Reyes going for $20 million after seven years in the Bigs, I don’t think you’d hear many arguments, yet Ichiro has been better by most measures.
The Mariners saw all that, and they wanted to keep him. The price is $90 million for five years. They paid it. That makes him worth it.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
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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.
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.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.