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's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
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.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - Two former high school classmates of disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy were both sentenced to more than a year in prison Thursday for their roles in a betting scandal that embarrassed the league.
A federal judge in Brooklyn gave James Battista, a professional gambler and admitted drug addict, 15 months in prison for making bets based on inside tips. Thomas Martino, the scheme’s middleman, was sentenced to a year and one day for paying the referee thousands of dollars for the tips.
The men, both 42 and former classmates of Donaghy in Springfield, Pa., apologized before being sentenced.
“I’m not blaming either one of my co-defendants,” Battista said. “I made bad choices.”
Martino assured U.S. District Judge Carol Amon that once released from prison, “I will do everything in my power to restore my reputation.”
The judge rejected arguments by defense attorneys that their clients deserved probation. The gambling plot, she said, had serious repercussions because anytime a referee’s “integrity is compromised in any way, the entire sport is compromised.”
Donaghy, 41, pleaded guilty last year to felony charges he took the cash payoffs from gamblers for picks on games, including ones he officiated, based on his behind-the-scenes knowledge. He faces up to 33 months in prison at sentencing Tuesday.
In a decision filed Wednesday, the judge said the three defendants must jointly pay the NBA $217,266 in restitution. The league had sought nearly $1.4 million covering hefty legal bills and a portion of Donaghy’s salary dating to 2003 — a claim the judge found excessive.
“It is undisputed that Donaghy dishonestly refereed 16 games during the 2006-2007 season, and a corresponding portion of his compensation for these games is an appropriate measure of the NBA’s loss,” she wrote.
In June, Donaghy cast a cloud over the NBA finals by making fresh accusations that the league routinely encouraged refs to ring up bogus fouls to manipulate results but discouraged them from calling technical fouls on star players to keep them in games and protect ticket sales and television ratings.
The allegations — contained in court papers arguing that Donaghy deserved leniency for voluntarily disclosing the alleged corruption — included one instance claiming referees rigged a 2002 playoff series to force it to a revenue-boosting seven games.
Though the papers didn’t name the teams involved, only the Los Angeles Lakers-Sacramento Kings series went to seven games during those playoffs. The Lakers went on to win the championship.
NBA commissioner David Stern has called the allegations baseless, saying Donaghy was only “singing” to get a lighter sentence.
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.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
 | Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
ProBasketballTalk tweets |
|
Source: Twitter. For more, follow @basketballtalk. |
 | Video: NBA from NBC Sports |
 Knicks, Lin still streaking Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and point guard Jeremy Lin discuss the team and Lin's recent success. |
 | Slideshow |
 |
more photos |
Ask the NBA expert: Ira Winderman |
Do you have a burning NBA question? Submit it now, and then check back for our reader mailbag. |  |
 | Special feature |
 |
Who will be MVP? Interactive: Rank each player on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 = best player, 0 = barely worthy of consideration). NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 |
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.
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.