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.
APBrock Lesnar looks like one of the comic strip heroes in the Mighty Thor comic book with his bulging muscles and blonde crew cut hair.
Image has always been a focal point in Lesnar’s career.
Lesnar starred as an All-American amateur wrestler in college, then as a pro wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment. Whether he liked it or not, Lesnar has been primed for entertainment value to the fullest extent.
Lesnar doesn’t care about image. Dispensing with tune-ups, Lesnar will face former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Frank Mir (10-3) at UFC 81: “Breaking Point,” in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The fight card takes place Saturday and will be shown on pay-per-view television.
The South Dakota native has a zeal for competition and doesn’t care what he sacrifices to obtain it.
“Since I was five years old I’ve been a competitor,” said Lesnar (1-0). “It’s in your blood.”
Though winners in pro wrestling are pre-determined, it’s still a dangerous sport that can result in life-threatening if not career-threatening injuries.
It’s one of the seldom talked about pitfalls of pro wrestling. Dan Madigan, author of “Mondo Lucha A Go-Go”, a book on Mexican pro wrestling, said the general public is largely unaware of the injuries and dangers pro wrestlers face daily.
“That’s real blood you see in the ring,” said Madigan about pro wrestling injuries. “The stuff they do is unbelievable. It takes a toll on your body.”
While performing a stunt called the “shooting star press” — where a wrestler climbs on the top strand of the ring ropes and hurls himself in the air like a human catapult — Lesnar performed the stunt and missed his target. He was seriously injured.
“Brock got a concussion doing a shooting star press,” said Madigan, who also scripted wrestling bouts and has written a screenplay. “One time out of 50 he was off and landed on his head. Any other man would have broken his neck.”
The daily grind endured by pro wrestlers is another forgotten aspect. It’s a blue-collar job with little rest.
“Three hundred days a year they are working,” said Madigan of pro wrestlers. “It’s unbelievable. It takes a toll on your family and on your body.”
Lesnar realized that his dreams of competing in a non-scripted situation were narrowing, so he left WWE and tried the National Football League. That didn’t work quite right because of an incident involving an injury by a Kansas City Chief quarterback he sacked during a scrimmage. So he left that sport too.
“This is something I wanted to do a long time ago,” Lesnar, 30, said, who first signed with K-1 and took part in his first MMA fight last June in Los Angeles. He won by technical knockout. “Everybody is talking about UFC.”
Former UFC champion Mir becomes the first true test for Lesnar. A few years back Mir suffered a near fatal motorcycle accident and has not fully recovered since returning to the Octagon. He knows Lesnar poses a real threat.
“There’s a reason Brock Lesnar had a long career in amateur wrestling. He has legitimate roots to be an MMA fighter,” said Mir, who was never beaten as a heavyweight champion but was forced to vacate the title because of injury. “Lesnar has all the tools to be on that platform.”
Mir is not the only MMA veteran acknowledging Lesnar’s legitimacy.
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.
NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''
Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.
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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.
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The Red Wings have finally started to embrace a record they've been chasing.