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.
“They were very happy arthritic changes did not exist,” Smoltz said. “That was one of the unknowns. If you have arthritic changes, that can cause some long-term problems, so they were very excited about that.
“Every issue (Andrews) described to me, whether it was the labrum, AC joint, the biceps, he feels like he’s addressed them all and fixed them. Now it will be up to the healing process and to re-engage my shoulder. I’m a very loose-jointed kind of flexible guy who will have to get used to a tightened-up shoulder a little bit and give it time to heal.”
Smoltz was on the disabled list with a sore shoulder to open the season. After a second trip to the disabled list, he tried to return as a closer, but one rocky and painful inning pitched in relief convinced him he needed the season-ending surgery.
“I’m going to be very aggressive with my rehab and that will allow me to know within a good time frame where I’m going to be,” he said.
“I’ve got targets in mind and when I reach those targets I’ll be able to determine how far I have to go and certainly if pitching again at a high level will be possible.”
Smoltz missed the entire 2000 season after Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. He switched to the bullpen midway through the 2001 season and had 154 saves during his three-plus seasons as Atlanta’s closer, including an NL-record 55 in 2002.
Smoltz then surprised observers again by switching back to a starter’s role.
Since the 2000 surgery, he is 53-34 with a 3.04 ERA and 154 saves, with his ERA under 3.50 each season.
Overall, Smoltz has 210 wins. On April 22, he became the 16th pitcher in major league history to reach 3,000 strikeouts.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
HBT: Prince Fielder is gone and Ryan Braun will likely miss a third of the season because of a failed PED test. Can Milwaukee stay in contention until he gets back?
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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.