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.
AP
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is enjoying that old winning feel and he doesn’t much care what his detractors have to say about it.
“I can understand how it might look, especially if you’re not Dale Jr. fans,” Little E said Sunday after ending a 76-race winless by stretching his last fuel load beyond the limit at Michigan International Speedway. “I know exactly what they’re going to say Monday.
“I mean, my fans are happy and I’m happy for them. The other half are going to tear this apart on how we won this race. But I got the trophy and I got the points. I got to see my team and my owner and my family tonight as happy as they’ve been in a long time. ... It’s a pretty big day for me.”
The most popular driver in NASCAR won this one by gambling, somehow going the last 55 laps on the two-mile oval, including three laps of overtime, without stopping for gas.
He gave most of the credit for his first win in more than two years to crew chief Tony Eury.
“We came in on that last stop and we were going to be about six laps short, and I saved six laps of gas,” Earnhardt said. “So, (we were) just real lucky. I have to hand it to Tony Jr. for being a risk-taker. ... He’s done a good job this year getting us good finishes, better finishes than we should probably have.”
A couple of late cautions helped and Eury determined the No. 88 Chevrolet was only going to be about two laps short of finishing at that point. With about 20 laps to go, Eury radioed Earnhardt to try to save more fuel and gave him the worst-case-scenario.
“We miss it by one lap, we finish 25th,” Eury said. “If we pit and put fuel in it we’re going to finish 25th. So, who cares? Go for it.”
As the laps wound down, driver after driver was forced to pit for a splash of gas, and Earnhardt, whose last victory came on May 6, 2006, at Richmond, inherited the lead with five to go in regulation. It appeared he had things under control until former IndyCar star Sam Hornish Jr. spun on lap 198, bringing out another caution.
Knowing the race was going to be extended beyond its scheduled 200 laps, Eury told Earnhardt to shut the engine off and coast whenever he could under the caution flag in a desperate effort to save more gas.
Junior did just that, coasting fast enough at times that he passed the pace car — until NASCAR warned Eury to have Earnhardt cut it out.
“I didn’t know how much they were going to worry about it,” Earnhardt said. “All the cars out there are gassing it, shutting ’em off, coasting about a half straightaway, cranking ’em back up, gas it, coast. Everybody’s doing it.
“There’s no rules specifically against that, but I was getting a little greedy ... I wanted to coast farther, so I’d gas it harder and coast past the pace car and just let him come on and catch back up, and that way I could keep my motor off longer.”
It worked out just right as the green flag came out on lap 202 for a two-lap sprint to the finish, which was then cut short when Patrick Carpentier spun on lap 203, freezing the field and allowing Junior to coast — this time behind the pace car — to his 18th career victory and first at Michigan.
“They can write what they want, but we won one,” Earnhardt said in the jubilation after the Lifelock 400.
He gave his new boss, Rick Hendrick, only his second victory of the season. Hendrick’s team won 18 of 36 races a year ago, but has struggled to reach Victory Circle in 2008, with a lone victory by two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson until Sunday.
After leaving the team his late father founded to drive for Hendrick’s juggernaut this year, Earnhardt began the new phase of his career with two non-points victories at Daytona in February. But, despite running well so far this season, that promising start did not lead to any victories in the first 14 Cup races.
“We started out and he won the (Budweiser) Clash and the 150 (qualifying race) and we said, ‘We don’t have to worry about winning a race now.’ Then nobody counted it because it wasn’t a points race,” Hendrick said in Victory Circle. “We’ve been waiting for this. Been so close.”
Earnhardt was as relieved as he was joyful about the long-awaited victory.
 | Slideshow |
 | Earning a trip to victory lane Take a look at every NASCAR driver who has claimed a checkered flag this racing season. NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | Revved up for racing Take a look at how some NASCAR fans express their dedication to the drivers and to the sport. NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | more photos |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | INTERACTIVE |
 | NASCAR wives and girlfriends They're fixtures in pit row, but they don't drive on the track or work on the cars. Take a look at some notable NASCAR wives and girlfriends. |
 | Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. 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.
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.