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.
APBut he wasn't the losing pitcher because Billy Wagner couldn't hold the lead despite relieving Brian Wilson with two outs and nobody on in the top of the ninth.
Rays rookie Evan Longoria doubled into the left-field corner after Grady Sizemore singled and stole second, and little did anybody know it at the time, but there would be six more innings played.
And Dan Uggla's nightmare was just about to begin. In the top of the 10th, he hit into an inning-ending double play with a man on third — part of Rivera's 1.2 scoreless-inning appearance — and it went downhill from there.
Cook relies on a power sinking fastball that produces groundball after groundball, and that's exactly the way the bottom of the 10th unfolded:
A high bouncer off Uggla's glove for an error. A hard smash through Uggla for another error, and an intentional walk to load the bases.
Then three groundball outs — two force plays at home, and Tejada's great play on a slow roller to barely get Morneau for the third out. Cook stayed on for the 11th, and the result was eventful but again scoreless.
Question: When do a single, a walk and two more singles not produce a run? Answer: When the first runner (Ian Kinsler) is cut down on a stolen-base attempt, and the second runner (Navarro) is nailed at the plate on a laser throw from Nate McLouth, temporarily denying Young of a game-winning RBI.
Uggla struck out with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the 12th — part of Joakim Soria's wiggle out of a jam. At least Uggla's third error — in the bottom of the 13th — didn't lead to any damage.
“My heart goes out to the young man,'' Hurdle said. “If you have a game like that in the regular season, you have another game the next day. But he's a real good player, and hopefully he'll get another chance in an All-Star Game.''
In case you had forgotten — and really, who didn't? — the last NL victory came in 1996 in Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium. Mike Piazza led a 12-hit attack with a home run and a double, and nine pitchers combined on a seven-hit shutout.
“A piece of my heart is broken tonight because we didn't win the game,'' Hurdle said.
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.