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.
Getty ImagesBoosters questioned the direction of the program, and irate fans filled message boards and talk radio with theories of Nutt's running off the program's biggest recruit in years. One fan used the Freedom of Information Act to get Nutt's cell phone records, then placed his findings on the Internet, further riling the community and pushing the theory that Nutt forced out Malzahn and the Springdale stars because the program wasn't big enough for the head coach and the Springdale group.
Others more sympathetic to Nutt blamed Mustain for Nutt's suddenly tenuous job status. If Mustain was leaving, the theory went, he was taking Nutt down with him. (Nutt left for Ole Miss after the 2007 season.)
"People want to talk about how much control I had," Mustain says. "I apparently didn't have any, and I think that's very evident. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting in Los Angeles right now."
Last month, when Mustain was posing for a portrait for this story, the photographer asked him, "So where are you from?"
Fifteen hundred miles from perception.
"It's a new start here," Mustain says. "It's nice to be in a whole different world."
There's no fluff in Pete Carroll, no reason for USC's ubersuccessful coach to say one thing and mean another. He already has this competition sized up.
"Mark is the clear leader," Carroll says of the USC quarterback competition. "But I think you'd be foolish to not at least see what Mitch can do. And, frankly, he's got a little chip on his shoulder."
He's not the only one. The staff wants to name a starting quarterback coming out of spring drills and give him the opportunity to build chemistry with the offense during summer workouts. That's the way they've always done it — Carson Palmer to Leinart to Booty.
Three quarterbacks — including the long shot Corp, a talented redshirt freshman -- have received equal repetitions early. Eventually, two will separate and one will win the job.
At this point, earning the starting job is gravy for Sanchez or Mustain.
The winning is in persevering over perception.
"If I get a speeding ticket tomorrow, people will find out about it," Sanchez says. "But I signed up for this; I love every part of it — even the frustrating parts. There are guys that would kill to be in my position."
And there's one other star quarterback who is, in fact, in that position.
That's as simplistic as it gets.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
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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 |
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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.