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?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
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'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.
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.
Lefty wins his 40th PGA Tour event with his never-ending supply of tricks up his sleeve. What We Learned this week at Pebble Beach.
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 fileThat leaves AL contenders. The Seattle Mariners are the most logical fit for Bonds, with the Detroit Tigers a possibility, too.
Seattle opened the season with designated hitter Jose Vidro batting seventh. Only one other team used the DH as low or lower. Hideki Matsui batted eighth for the New York Yankees. The Yankees are loaded on offense.
The Mariners need help. They sacrifice a potential advantage if the DH hits seventh.
They plodded along last season with minimal production from the DH position. Their designated hitters batted for average (.294) but had sub-par power production. The Mariners' DHs ranked last in the league for homers (nine) and RBIs (60). The DHs also placed next to last in slugging percentage (.389).
The Mariners' lightweight DHs helped make the offense ordinary, at best. The Mariners ranked seventh in the league for runs last season (4.9 per game), and they lost an effective bat from that lineup when right fielder Jose Guillen went to Kansas City as a free agent this past offseason.
Seattle will pitch well. If the offense does not improve, though, it would mean a bundle of 2-1 losses. At some point, general manager Bill Bavasi must admit to the team's shortcoming and call Bonds.
Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski, however, just might beat Bavasi to Bonds.
The Tigers have a stacked offense that could join the Cleveland Indians, circa 1999, and Boston Red Sox (1950) as the only teams since World War II to score 1,000 runs in a season.
|
The Bonds-Jim Leyland relationship cannot be discounted. Leyland, the Tigers' manager, was Bonds' manager with the Pittsburgh Pirates and maintains a connection with him that few enjoy. It would be fitting for Bonds to be reunited with Leyland to make one last run at what they could not accomplish in Pittsburgh.
Bonds has at least one more season in him. The question is not if he will play but where he will play.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
HardballTalk headlines |
 | Interactive |
 |
 | Slideshow |
 | Unbreakable records in baseball A look at the most unbreakable records in baseball including Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters. |
| Slideshow |
 | The top tools of baseball You hear a lot about the tools of baseball, but who are the best hitters, fielders and pitchers? We break it down. 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.
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.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
