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.
AP“It’s like in spring training, the first few days of spring training,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “You’ll never see him pull a ball.”
Mike Piazza, whose fifth-inning homer tied the game at 5, isn’t surprised that Ramirez is hitting well after missing nearly a month.
“He still has quick hands. He’s a huge run producer,” Piazza said. “He’s not afraid to get jammed and hit the other way.”
Pedroia’s leadoff homer off Jerry Blevins (0-1) started a four-run sixth inning and broke the tie.
Ramirez then walked, Ortiz doubled him to third and Lowell singled both home. Lowell took third when center fielder Nick Swisher misplayed J.D. Drew’s long fly ball for a two-base error and scored on Jacoby Ellsbury’s groundout.
Lowell, who can become a free agent after this season, is having the best of his nine seasons. Ortiz had a single and two doubles, giving him a career-high of 50, and Pedroia doubled twice and hit his eighth homer.
Mike Timlin (2-1) entered the game with two outs and a runner at first in the sixth, with the score tied at 5. He needed one pitch to retire Piazza on a foul popup to third baseman Lowell.
Boston starter Jon Lester had a season-high nine strikeouts in 4 1-3 innings but allowed Piazza’s eighth homer, a solo shot that tied the game. Lester walked the next batter and was relieved by Kyle Snyder.
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Oakland had taken a 1-0 lead in the third on Swisher’s sacrifice fly. Boston made it 3-1 in the bottom of the inning on Lowell’s two-run single and Drew’s sacrifice fly. Oakland jumped ahead on Donnie Murphy’s three-run homer, his sixth of the season, in the fourth.
Then Boston took a 5-4 lead in the fourth on RBI singles by Ramirez and Lowell.
“It’s great to have (Ramirez) back and Youk in there,” Pedroia said. “We’re getting healthy. We’re getting there.”
Notes: Piazza’s homer was his 427th and moved him into 39th place in major league history ahead of Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs. ... Lester is 6-0 in his last 14 starts starting on Aug. 13, 2006, but his ERA in that span is 5.54. ... Jack Cust had three strikeouts and leads the AL with 160 in 385 at-bats. ... Ellsbury singled in the fifth and has hit safely in 21 of his 22 games since being recalled on Sept. 1 from Triple-A Pawtucket. He has reached base in 26 straight games. ... Timlin tied Roberto Hernandez for 10th on the all-time list with 1,010 appearances.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
HBT: Prince Fielder is gone and Ryan Braun will likely miss a third of the season because of a failed PED test. Can Milwaukee stay in contention until he gets back?
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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.
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