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.
Reuters file
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The new Dolphins have the fingerprints of Bill Parcells all over them, from the new head coach, to the offensive and defensive systems, to the style of players acquired.
The Dolphins couldn't address every big problem in one offseason. They still have a major question mark at the quarterback position, where second year man John Beck will compete with free agent pick up Josh McCown and second round pick Chad Henne.
The larger question: Will it matter who plays quarterback? New general manager Jeff Ireland has said one of the reasons the team chose offensive tackle Jake Long with the first pick in the draft and not quarterback Matt Ryan was because the Dolphins believed they had to be able to block before they could throw.
Indeed, Ireland has paid a lot of attention to both Dolphins' lines, bringing in two veteran defensive linemen (Jason Ferguson and Randy Starks) and two veteran offensive linemen (Justin Smiley and Steve McKinney) and then drafting three defensive linemen (Phillip Merling, Kendall Langford and Lionel Dotson) and three offensive linemen (Long, Shawn Murphy and Donald Thomas).
The Dolphins might not be ready to overtake the Patriots in the AFC East, but everyone knows they are not the same team that won only one game last season. The Dolphins are a bigger, more physical team with players who fit the schemes better.
And with Parcells looking over everyone's shoulders, the degree of accountability will be raised.
Without a doubt, we can say it's going to be an interesting season in Miami.
Hot seat
Beck is in a tough position. He proved nothing his rookie year. Now he's playing for a head coach and general manager who did not draft him and have no vested interest in seeing him succeed.
The Dolphins signed a veteran in McCown who undoubtedly is more savvy and capable of immediate results. McCown is widely regarded as the favorite to start heading into camp. And the team also drafted a player who could be the quarterback of the future in Henne.
Unless Beck lights it up early and consistently, he's likely to find himself lost in the commotion.
It will not be easy for any quarterback to play consistently in this setting: the receivers are substandard, the blocking will be questionable and everyone is trying to learn Dan Henning's new offense.
Overheard at camp
The Dolphins have a potentially effective running back combination of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. But they have to question if they can count on either player.
Between them, they played eight games last year.
Brown has been a pretty good back when he's played, but he hasn't made it through a full season in three years in the league and is trying to come back from a surgically reconstructed knee. He missed one game in 2005 and three games in 2006, and has rushed for more than 1,000 yards only once.
Williams is a 31-year old back who is one bad drug test away from a very long suspension. He has 758 NFL rushing yards over the last three years.
Many wonder how the quirky Williams will get along with Parcells once the bullets start flying.
Comings and goings
Zach Thomas has been a cornerstone of the Dolphins for more than a decade, and the Dolphins will have a hard time replacing his presence, leadership and production.
Thomas wasn't the only mainstay shown the door. Also swept out in the housecleaning were wide receiver Marty Booker, defensive tackle Keith Traylor, offensive linemen L.J. Shelton and Rex Hadnot and quarterback Cleo Lemon.
The Dolphins granted defensive end/linebacker Jason Taylor's wishes to be moved, trading him to the Washington Redskins.
Prediction
If any team ever were in a rebuilding mode, it is the 2008 Dolphins. They are not being built to win now, rather, they are being built to win in two or three years. Give Parcells and company time, and they will turn this team around. But they do need time.
Look for the Dolphins to make solid gains this year, and for them to figure out where they need more help. Even if they only win five games, it will be called progress.
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Rotoworld: Oregon RB LaMichael James and Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon among top 10 players who are being overhyped for the 2012 draft.
Rotoworld: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill among the 10 players who will slip down draft boards, but probably shouldn't.
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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.
The Red Wings have finally started to embrace a record they've been chasing.
