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.
APQ: After the big referee scandal in the offseason, it seems like there has been little talk on the topic during the season. Have the calls been better this year, or is it just back to business as usual?
— Rob, Sacramento
A: It seems to me guys still are complaining and getting angry, though I haven't seen anything in the NBA this season like that holding call in the Patriots-Ravens game Monday — no, I don't just watch the NBA all the time — that saved the game for the Patriots. If something like that happened in the NBA, they'd be calling for a federal investigation. It's just another example of the not-so-subtle racism and double standard that seems to haunt the NBA. The NBA is treated much more unfairly than other sports, I believe, because of the large number of black stars in the NBA. The NFL has plenty of black players, but most of its stars are white quarterbacks. Sorry to vent here. I might get a technical. But that supposed referee scandal was just the kind of issue that burdens the NBA. One stupid guy does something stupid and an entire league and its officials are suspected. Media headlines screamed the biggest scandal in league history. There was no connection to other referees, though that was hinted at in the media and innocent referees were named, erroneously. The consensus seemed to be it was a league gone bad. The NBA refs do a terrific job considering the circumstances, far better, I'd say, than NFL officials, who are part timers and even have instant replay. Making so much less than NBA refs and with so much holding going on and seemingly called arbitrarily, you figure the opportunity for shenanigans is much higher in the NFL. And then a guy changes the course of a major game of a team going for an all-time record and no one says anything. Business as usual in the NBA, which means plenty of complaining, a good share of missed calls and the best officiating in pro sports.
Q: Hey Sam. Are we finally done with all the Kobe trade rumors? Please say yes!
— Danny, Los Angeles
A: Hey, don't blame me. Kobe started them all. And they won't go away for good because Kobe hasn't let them. The Bulls have cooled as have just about everyone else considering the Lakers' huge player demands in trade and Bryant's supposed huge demands in a contract extension. I don't expect Bryant to get traded this season, but with one year left on his contract after this season before he can leave under an opt out clause, the rumors aren't going to die. Sorry.
Q: I know Tim Duncan's injury isn't supposed to be serious, but the whole thing seems like a bad omen to me. You think the Spurs will continue to be unable to win back-to-back titles?
— Bret Jarvis, San Antonio
A: I think the Spurs have been unfairly indicted with this lack of a back-to-back thing. They are the team for this era whether they do or not. Without a healthy Duncan it's obviously a Borat: Not. Duncan injury doesn't seem serious this time, though all "great" teams are dependent on the health of their stars. If Steve Nash is out, so are the Suns. The Spurs are one of three or four teams with a chance to win this season, though the margin is thin. They were within a shot of beating Dallas and probably winning in 2006. You can't predict those things. I don't have them winning this season, but it hardly takes anything away from what they've accomplished and how great a team they are.
Q: How's Steve Francis' comeback going?
— Lucy Granrough, Durham, N.C.
A: Not great. Francis has just started to get some playing time and actually hit a game winner last week. But he's pretty far down the guard rotation for new coach Rick Adelman and you figure Francis is wondering if he should have gone to the Clippers or Heat, where he likely would have played more. He got his money and wanted to return to Houston, where he lives. It's still a long way to go, but he looks slower to me and I wonder if his skills have diminished with disuse these last few years.
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.