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.
ASSOCIATED PRESSLeading scorer Tracy McGrady went out with a knee injury in late December and the season was leaning toward a disaster. But Adelman calmly turned to rookies Landry and Aaron Brooks and reserves like Hayes, Luther Head and Steve Novak, and finally, it all started to work.
“I said I was going to give it about 25 games, then evaluate where we were,” he said. “The young guys really gave us a lot of energy. That was the time we started turning it around.”
McGrady returned on Jan. 19 and the Rockets have lost only three games since. When Yao went out, Adelman adjusted again, giving more minutes to Scola, another rookie, and calling more pick-and-roll plays. The Rockets went on their winning streak one game after Scola entered the starting five.
“Rick has been through every situation you can imagine in the NBA,” Battier said. “There is no situation that can surprise him. He’s been great from the standpoint of, even when we struggled early on, he maintained faith in our team and kept telling us to keep believing in the plan. It’s served us well.”
Adelman never got too excited during the streak, just like he never panicked through the spate of early losses. He never talked about the streak, but set more tangible goals — getting the No. 1 spot in the West, finishing off a perfect February, mentally preparing for the inevitable loss. And the Rockets listened.
“Rick is probably the most calm guy. He’s probably a Triple-C — he’s cool, calm and collected,” said point guard Rafer Alston, who put up career-best numbers during the streak. “We were losing six or seven in a row and Rick didn’t flinch. And we won 18 straight and Rick still didn’t flinch, did not jump for joy. That’s one thing that impressed me most about him.”
Adelman, with a 61 percent postseason winning percentage, always says he’s looking no further than the next game. But Drexler said his old coach wouldn’t have taken this job if he didn’t think the Rockets had the potential to win a championship soon.
“He’s the best coach out there who’s never won an NBA championship,” Drexler said. “This team is probably the most talented team that’s never been to the second round of the NBA playoffs in the last five years. When you get a team that’s talented, with a coach that’s capable, qualified and hungry, that’s a great mix.
“He hasn’t won a championship and that’s what this team needs. It seems like they’re driving each other right now.”
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.