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.
ReutersThat was quite a different take on things from a disappointed loser than Serena Williams offered after her straight-set setback against Henin, including a reference to the Belgian’s “lucky shots.”
Now take that in, and consider Jankovic’s explanation for why she applauded a couple of Venus Williams’ top efforts and smiled in appreciation when she glanced at the speed readout and saw a 121 mph serve.
“When she hits a great shot, why not? You can say, ’Well done.’ Nothing wrong with that,” said Jankovic, who beat the older Williams at Wimbledon last year and at the French Open this year. “I cannot do anything when she hits an unbelievable serve. I cannot return it. So why not give her credit?”
Jankovic enjoyed nearly every moment out there, smiling while waiting to receive serves and laughing even when she shanked a ball off her ankle or, later, when she slipped to the ground and did a full splits on a key third-set point.
She broke in the very first game, capping it with a perfectly placed lob. That was the first of four lob winners that Jankovic curled like a rainbow over the 6-foot-1 Williams, including one so good it drew applause from the American’s mom.
Jankovic broke again for a 4-1 edge by smacking a return winner off a 100 mph serve. Then, serving for the opening set at 5-4, Jankovic fell behind love-30 and easily could have folded, much as she did when she blew a huge lead against Henin in last year’s Open semifinals.
But this time, she hung tough, taking four points in a row — including ending one 19-stroke exchange with a backhand winner — to grab the set. That drew loud chants of “Yell-eh-na!” from Serb supporters standing at the top of the upper deck.
The second set started with more of the same. Williams hit two double-faults — she wound up with eight — and wildly missed a swinging volley to set up another break point. Jankovic converted it with — what else? — a lob, then held up a fist.
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And right there is where Williams flipped a switch, her game suddenly as bright as all of the flash bulbs popping around Arthur Ashe Stadium. She took seven of the next eight points, opening a six-game sweep through the end of the set.
The third set featured some brilliant shotmaking by both women, exactly the sort of display tournament organizers envisioned when they moved this match off Tuesday’s schedule in hopes of adding some star power Wednesday.
That sure worked, and the enthralled fans showed their appreciation with a standing ovation before the tiebreaker. They repeated the gesture when the match ended.
“It went the distance,” Williams said. “It was awesome.”
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.
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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.
