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 PRESSThe lopsided nature of the foul calls in the first two games came about because the Celtics were more aggressive and because officials working in front of a frenzied home crowd generally tend to favor the home team. Period.
Said Phil Jackson: “For the most part, what we want is just good balance. We want just even balance. When you’re on the road, you want a good road game. … You don’t want it (the officiating) to go one way or the other, that’s all. Even calls.”
Consider the source here, too. One of the duties of a coach is not to battle for fairness, but to fight for an advantage. When Jackson was informed that one of Donaghy’s charges had to do with the Los Angeles-Sacramento series in 2002, he said: “Was that after the fifth game after we had the game stolen away from us after a bad call out of bounds and gave the ball back to Sacramento and they made a 3-point shot?”
Jackson doesn’t want an evenly called game, and neither does Doc Rivers. They want to win.
And anytime there is an unbalance, there will also be raised eyebrows.
This is the climate Donaghy has helped to create, and it is also the one he is exploiting for his own ends against the backdrop of his former employer’s showcase event. Most people are wrapped up in the Finals, as evidenced by the juicy ratings. But there is a percentage that is vulnerable to the drama of a Donaghy blast and a Stern rebuke, and that segment of the population might grow the longer the story stays in the headlines.
It’s unfortunate that creeps can command such an audience, but that’s our society. Donaghy isn’t the first loser to escape punishment, and he won’t be the last. If the NBA has cooperated fully with the FBI — as Stern said Tuesday — and there is no truth to Donaghy’s allegations, then this will be a blip that will end with the clanging sound of a cell door closing.
The NBA will then move forward, while Donaghy goes nowhere.
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.
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