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?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
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.
Lefty wins his 40th PGA Tour event with his never-ending supply of tricks up his sleeve. What We Learned this week at Pebble Beach.
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.
Getty Images
NEW YORK - His Wimbledon reign and No. 1 ranking surrendered, Roger Federer has one trump card left in his competition with Rafael Nadal: four straight U.S. Open titles.
He figures that counts for something heading into the start Monday of the year’s final Grand Slam.
“I still believe it’s an advantage if you know how to win a U.S. Open,” said Federer, shut out so far this year on the game’s biggest stages. “It’s a tough tournament to win.”
There were questions during media day Saturday about a “different” Federer and whether Nadal was a clear favorite even though the Spaniard has never been past the quarterfinals here.
That’s what happens when you’ve beaten your rival in two Grand Slam finals this year and won an Olympic gold medal that both players flew halfway around the world to pursue just two weeks before the Open.
American James Blake squashed Federer’s Olympic hopes in the quarterfinals in Beijing, beating the Swiss star for the first time after winning just one set in eight previous matches.
“Well, I hope it wasn’t too different,” Blake said when asked which Federer he beat. “I think he definitely didn’t have his best day against me, but playing him nine times — I guess he’s bound to have one off day out of all of them, because there are times when I felt like there was nothing I could do.”
Nadal dismissed talk of a changing landscape and more pressure accompanying his rise to the top spot.
“The goal is still the same and the pressure is still the same,” said Nadal, who opens Monday against qualifier Bjorn Phau of Germany in Arthur Ashe Stadium. “The goal is to continue to improve my tennis and to continue playing a very good tournament.”
Federer didn’t seem too disappointed to hand the No. 1 mantle to Nadal, at least for now. Federer spent 237 weeks at No. 1 — basically 4½ years — before Nadal replaced him last week.
“Rafa will now feel what I had to feel for a very long time,” Federer said. “So it will be interesting to see how he handles it, but so far he’s been great and he’s played so well on all surfaces now. Maybe it’s nice to go into a Grand Slam for a change not having No. 1 next to me, and it should be interesting.”
Andy Roddick, among the players to hand Federer one of his 12 losses this year, thinks Nadal deserves to be called the clear favorite at the U.S. Open simply because he’s “playing the best tennis.”
But he’s not ready to give up on Federer, who is dangerously close to ending a five-year run with at least one Grand Slam singles title.
“I think it’s tough to play perfect for five years in a row,” Roddick said. “I think one big result and it’s turned around for him. I know pretty much every player except for one that would take his bad year. So I think you have to use a little bit of perspective. He’s created a monster for himself.”
Venus and Serena Williams sidestepped questions about a disappointing draw that would have them meeting in the quarterfinals after they played the final at Wimbledon. That’s what happens with random seedings like fourth (Serena) and seventh (Venus).
|
“That’s the plan, but I don’t think either one of us is aiming for two,” Venus Williams said.
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.
 | Special feature |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | Slideshow |
 |
NBCSports.com |
| Special feature |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. 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.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
