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
Embattled coach Kelvin Sampson may always cherish Saturday night’s victory over No. 10 Michigan State.
It meant even more to Indiana basketball.
Eric Gordon scored 28 points and broke Mike Woodson’s school scoring record for freshman, keeping the 13th-ranked Hoosiers in the Big Ten title chase with an 80-61 victory over the Spartans.
“Yes, I think so,” Sampson said when if this win meant more to him than others. “But you know, these games are about these kids. Basketball is so much bigger than any one person, and the game is always about the players.”
It would have been hard to tell this week when Sampson’s NCAA troubles overshadowed basketball.
On Wednesday, the NCAA accused the Hoosiers coach of five major rules violations, including providing false and misleading information to investigators. On Friday, university officials announced it would conduct a second internal investigation, which is supposed to be completed by next Friday.
Fans refused to wait that long to voice their opinions.
Supporters waved signs that read “Save Sampson” and “If O.J. is innocent, so is Sampson.” Proponents of firing Sampson countered with placards reading “Sampson get off the phone” and “Every IU student prefers Knight, see ya Sampson,” a reference to former Indiana coach Bob Knight.
Others could be overheard talking about the risky move Indiana made when it hired the former Oklahoma coach two years ago. And for the second straight home game, Sampson drew more boos than cheers during pregame introductions.
“There’s no doubt what he’s done has tainted the program and we don’t want him to be part of it,” said Lisa Adams, an Indiana sophomore from Northbrook, Ill.
Yet the same people disgusted by the allegations, offered unified support for the Hoosiers on a night they desperately needed it.
With a shot at winning their first Big Ten title since 1993, still missing a signature victory on their resume and having endured four days of tortuous speculation about Sampson’s future at Indiana, the Hoosiers finally turned it around.
Gordon provided the lift after senior forward D.J. White landed awkwardly on his left leg and rolled out of bounds with 4:55 left in the first half. White, the Big Ten’s top rebounder and No. 2 scorer, eventually was helped to the locker room and didn’t return to the sidelines until late in the second half.
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“I think when a kid gets his knee injured, he’s a little afraid, and he was a little afraid at halftime,” Sampson said. “He said ’Coach, it doesn’t feel right.’ The doctor said ’I don’t think we should play him,’ and I said, ’I agree. If it doesn’t feel right we should hold him out. He’s too valuable to us.”
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The freshman guard took over on offense, finishing 9-of-15 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. He also broke Woodson’s mark of 500 points, which had stood since 1976-77, and came within a basket of becoming the first Indiana freshman with four 30-point games in a season. Gordon has now scored 520 points.
Thomas produced his best game of the year, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds and gave Indiana (21-4, 9-2) enough muscle inside to contend with the Spartans’ tough rebounders.
It was the perfect prescription for the ailing Hoosiers.
“I went, ’Aw, man,’ “ Thomas said of White’s injury. “But you’ve got to play. If something happens to him, we all have to pick our game up.”
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.
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.
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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.
