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.
AP
ALBANY, N.Y. - Even late last season, listing Eli Manning among the NFL’s top quarterbacks would have been outlandish.
Now after an improbable run to a Super Bowl in which he was named the MVP, the Giants quarterback is being listed just below Tom Brady and his brother Peyton among the league’s elite.
In other words, Eli is finally fulfilling the great expectations of his background and draft position — first family of quarterbacks and first overall pick in the NFL draft.
Eli was a champion in his fourth season. That’s five years earlier than brother Peyton, who “couldn’t win the big one” until Indianapolis’ Super Bowl victory following the 2006 season, his ninth in the NFL.
The comparison is probably unfair to both siblings. Peyton, the more voluble, dislikes talking about his brother as a rival and Eli, five years younger, simply shrugs when asked.
They are similar in some ways. They have the same parents and the same build. And when Eli is lined up behind center, his arm signals and demeanor often resemble Peyton, although there are fewer audibles and fewer chances to improvise in New York’s offense than in Indy’s.
But they are not clones.
In an ideal world, each would probably be better off in the other’s city — the gregarious and flippant Peyton in New York, the humble-to-a-fault Eli in Indianapolis. Eli is said to be more like his mother Olivia and Peyton more like father Archie, who probably had as much talent as a QB as either son but was buried for most of his 14-season NFL career with a close-to-hopeless New Orleans team.
Peyton is proud of the family’s consecutive Super Bowl titles and consecutive MVPs, which has put the Manning brothers on the cover of the 2007 and 2008 NFL media guides. But he’s also uncomfortable with the continuous comparison.
“I think I’m the wrong guy to ask about that. Obviously, we are brothers. And now there are even more similarities because we’ve both proven we have the ability to win a championship,” he says, without having to add the “But ...”
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Peyton made the league’s elite in his second season, playing indoors with receivers like Marvin Harrison in an offense designed by Tom Moore, the only offensive coordinator he’s ever had. His only burden: he struggled in the playoffs, especially outdoors against a New England team that always seemed to find a way to make him look bad.
Eli?
It took him much of his early career to find his game in a run-oriented offense.
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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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.
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.
