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.
ASSOCIATED PRESSThat's when the Suns will host the All-Star Game.
That's also when O'Neal could be reduced to hometown mascot.
No longer in the Eastern Conference, where Zydrunas Ilgauskas can pass for a dominant big man, O'Neal almost certainly figures to be trumped by Yao Ming in the fan balloting for the Western Conference's starting berth at center, thanks to the worldwide clout of balloting on the web.
That's when conference coaches will take over, naming one or two reserve centers. Now, perhaps Greg Oden won't be up to speed by then, but Andrew Bynum could be. If the voting is strictly by the numbers, that would make a case for Al Jefferson. Team success? That could open the door for Tyson Chandler. Productive post play? Chris Kaman would have that edge.
A year ago, when O'Neal looked old and clearly had grown disinterested in playing for Pat Riley in Miami, there was speculation about him stepping away from the game while still under contract. That was followed by guffaws from those who grasp that O'Neal hasn't met a dollar he didn't appreciate.
This past summer, though, he started a clock on the countdown to the final days of his current contact, hardly what a team wants to hear on the eve of a season.
He then said he was merely talking about the end of this pay cycle, not necessarily the end of his career.
But flash back three years ago when he was coming off what ultimately might prove to be his final championship, when he said of the arc of his career, "I think I still can find a way to contribute. And if I can't find a way to contribute, then I'll be a backup at 37, 38. It'll just be something I have to accept."
He turns 37 in March, just over a month from the start of the playoffs, when the Suns hope to find vindication after last season's five-game, first-round ouster at the hands of the Spurs.
Failing a playoff upgrade, though, the Suns' era for Shaq could prove far shorter than even the Heat era.
Then he becomes a paper loss, an expiring contract auctioned off as an accounting measure.
Next season that could make him Stephon Marbury or Jamaal Tinsley, a mere name on a roster instead of a face of a franchise.
No, he is not looking to reprise the Patrick Ewing era in Seattle.
So you may just want to catch him now. This season. While the league still takes measure of the man, instead of a soon-to-be-expiring contract.
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.
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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.