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.
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'Difficult day for the organization' Feb. 26: Rockets center Yao Ming is out for the season with a foot fracture, but team officials remain optimistic about their playoff chances. |
Other than wait 'til next year, there's not much the Rockets can do with Yao Ming out for the year.
Center is the most difficult position in the league to replace and Yao is not just any center. He's arguably the best in the league playing the best of his career.
Dikembe Mutombo, 41 going on 65, certainly isn't the answer. He's scored seven points and pulled down all of 33 rebounds in the 14 games he's taken the court for the Rockets this season.
Not that any 7-6 All-Stars were on the market but trying to find a replacement via trade is out because the diagnosis came four days after the trade deadline. Perhaps the Rockets could have made a run at a former starter such as Primo Brezec if they had known this a week ago.
Don't look for much more than a body on the waiver wire or in the D-League, either. Jelani McCoy is about as good as it gets.
The Rockets' best — more like only — chance to keep their hold on a playoff spot is to go small. That likely means moving 6-9 Luis Scola from power forward to center, and inserting 6-6 Chuck Hayes back into the starting lineup or maybe giving 6-7 Carl Landry a chance to start. Seldom-used Steve Novak, 6-10, is the only player on the roster besides Yao and Dikembe who is taller than 6-9. Because they started the league's tallest center, the Rockets were able to get away with an undersized power forward. But with Yao out, they'll be even smaller at a time when the West has gone bigger.
About the only positive spin to put on the season-ending blow is that Rick Adelman's movement offense does not revolve around the low post. Of course, no matter what system the Rockets run, replacing 22.0 points is going to be near-impossible.
Well, until next year when Yao comes back, anyway.
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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 Knicks, Lin still streaking Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and point guard Jeremy Lin discuss the team and Lin's recent success. |
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Who will be MVP? Interactive: Rank each player on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 = best player, 0 = barely worthy of consideration). NBCSports.com |
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
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.
The Red Wings have finally started to embrace a record they've been chasing.
