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 both greeted Sunday with unbridled optimism. But the day would end happily only for Mickelson.
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.
APJuan Pierre hit a home run.
For that reason alone, Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez merits strong consideration in the National League MVP race.
Pierre was hitting in the happy spot — ahead of Ramirez — when he homered on Monday at Pittsburgh. Pierre had gone 1,070 at-bats without a homer.
Ramirez makes everyone in the Dodgers' lineup better, even the lighter-than-light-hitting, toothpick-swinging Pierre.
No player has won an MVP Award in a season in which he was traded. Right-hander Rick Sutcliffe came close, winning the 1984 N.L. Cy Young Award and finishing fourth in the N.L. MVP voting. He went 16-1 after the Cubs acquired him from Cleveland.
"Manny has certainly made a difference on our club," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "If we get to the postseason, we certainly wouldn't have made it without him."
St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols would be a conventional choice for the award. He goes into tonight's game at Cincinnati ranking no lower than seventh in any of the Triple Crown categories in the N.L., in addition to leading slugging percentage and being second in on-base percentage.
Player of the year for Pujols? Sure. But not MVP.
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Los Angeles goes into tonight's game against Pittsburgh with a 25-18 record since Ramirez joined the club. That includes a 12-2 mark in September. With Ramirez, the Dodgers have moved from two games behind Arizona in the N.L. West to 4 1/2 games ahead.
Ramirez is hitting .401 with 44 RBIs and a 1.227 OPS as a Dodger. His 14 homers as a Dodger is the third-best total on the team.
"Everybody personality-wise seems to be in a better place because he is such a threat," Torre said. "When you have young players, you want them to be able to look around and have people they can lean on. Manny is one of those guys."
On Aug. 28, Torre moved Ramirez up one spot to third in the order. That changed outfielder Andre Ethier's season. Going into tonight's game, Ethier is batting .467 with three homers, 15 RBIs and a .817 slugging percentage in 15 games batting in front of Ramirez.
Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti should get general manager of the year honors, too. He managed to acquire an MVP-level player for some inconsequential prospects and without taking on any salary obligation. Future generations will marvel at that.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
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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.
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.
