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.
APThe Angels have the whole package. They have the offense, and they have the pitching and defense. The starting rotation of Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver, Jon Garland and John Lackey has been superb, and the bullpen is led by saves hoarder Francisco Rodriguez.
Perhaps the unsung hero on this budding juggernaut is Tony Reagins, who was promoted to the general manager’s job in October of 2007, replacing the respected but chronically inert Bill Stoneman. Since then, the Angels have shown a willingness to spin the roulette wheel, trading shortstop Orlando Cabrera for Garland, signing Hunter and now Teixeira.
It’s uncertain whether Reagins is fully in charge, or if the Angels are run by a committee consisting of Moreno, Reagins and committee chairman Mike Scioscia, the skipper and soul of the organization. What is clear is that since Reagins — who began with the club as an intern in 1992 — has donned the GM hat, the Angels are a different franchise.
How different? They might even outlast the Red Sox in mind games.
Their most infamous collapse occurred way back in 1986 against Boston in the AL Championship Series, which the Angels lost, 4-3. That has served as a voodoo devil whammy for subsequent Angels teams. Last year the Angels meekly succumbed, 3-0, to the Red Sox in the division series. In 2004, they were also swept by the Red Sox in the division series. And in 2005, the Angels took a break from getting whipped by the Red Sox in the division series and instead got whipped by the White Sox in the Championship Series, 4-1.
But thanks to this temblor named Teixeira, the Angels will now have the extra mojo to put all doubts about themselves behind. Like the best of the Red Sox championship teams, the Angels have no glaring flaw, barring any that may emerge via injury the rest of the way. More importantly, they have a team-wide confidence that destiny is theirs.
Some of that comes from knowing that the people who run the club actually want to win rather than just try to make it look good. There is no more convincing evidence of that than what occurred in Southern California on Tuesday, which in baseball terms is off the scale.
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.