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.
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There really isn’t a lot of alternatives for the Bombers, not with Chien-Ming Wang sentenced to a soft cast for six weeks and then facing two or three weeks more to get back in shape to pitch. And that’s the optimistic line on the foot injury he suffered Sunday while engaging in the unfamiliar activity of running the bases against the Houston Astros.
The whiners on the team immediately blamed interleague play for the injury. American League pitchers aren’t used to running the bases, said fellow pitcher Mike Mussina. No wonder the poor fellow got hurt. You’d think maybe teams would practice that stuff when they know their pitchers are going to have to hit. But the Yankees don’t, and now their down an ace.
The Yankees didn’t have enough pitching to make it to the playoffs for the 14th straight season before Wang got hurt. General manager Brian Cashman was already looking longingly at last year’s Cy Young Award winner, Sabathia, as the person most likely to be on the trading block. He’s in his walk year, and the Indians, who entered the season with high hopes, are muddling along four games under .500 and not showing many signs of righting their ship.
It’s probably early for Cleveland to pack it in. There are just more than six weeks remaining until the July 31 trade deadline, and the Indians are in fourth place, 7 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Dysfunctional Central.
But Cleveland isn’t known for its deep pockets, and Sabathia is likely to cost a bundle to keep. On the other hand, if the team feels it has a shot, it can keep him, let him go as a free agent, and content itself with the compensatory draft picks it will get for losing a premier player.
Bedard, who was a stud in Baltimore but is less so in Seattle, where good ballplayers go to finish last. The Mariners own the worst record in the majors. They’re not going anywhere, and if they can dump salary and pick up prospects, you have to figure they’d be pretty happy.
After Sabathia and Bedard, the quality of pitching likely to be available before the deadline starts to thin. Paul Byrd, another Cleveland pitcher, might be available, but he’s hardly what anyone would call overpowering. When he’s on, he can be maddeningly effective. But when he’s not, it’s batting practice.
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.
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.
The Red Wings have finally started to embrace a record they've been chasing.
