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 Lakers never trailed in the opener of a five-game homestand, making 14 of 21 shots in the first quarter and bolting to a 35-20 lead.
Anthony had a miserable first half — shooting 4-for-13 and committing three turnovers in a 2:47 span. The Lakers used a 20-6 run to increase a 13-point lead to 59-32 with 4:26 left in the second quarter.
The Nuggets had one brief competitive stretch at the start of the third quarter, slicing a 20-point halftime deficit to 71-60 with a 13-4 run capped by Dahntay Jones’ layup with 6:53 left in the period.
But the Lakers responded with a 14-2 surge capped by Bryant’s 17-foot running jumper with 2:18 left in the quarter. Denver got no closer than 14 points on a 3-pointer by Smith with 4:40 to play.
“Kobe’s energy was great tonight. They got their interior game going at the end of the first half, but at that time we were 27 points ahead at the time they got their momentum,” Jackson said. “They’re a big momentum team, but we were able to keep him to that and not go too long without a score — although we started that third quarter rather dismally.”
Bryant, who won back-to-back scoring titles immediately preceding last season’s MVP campaign, has reached the 30-point mark only once this season. That was on Nov. 1 at Denver, when he had 33 to help beat the Nuggets 104-97 in their final game with Iverson.
The Nuggets have lost nine straight meetings with the Lakers, who swept them in the first round of the playoffs, and have lost 16 of 18 regular-season games at Staples Center since the building opened nine years ago.
Notes: Bryant shot a 30-foot airball with 1:41 left in the third quarter and the Lakers leading 85-63. ... Billups was MVP of the Finals in 2004 against the Lakers, averaging 21 points while Detroit won the series in five games. ... The Nuggets are 7-2 with Billups in the lineup, and the Pistons are the only team that has beaten the Lakers. ... No Denver player has scored 30 or more points through the team’s first 13 games. It’s the team’s longest such streak at the start of a season since 2002-03, when they went 27 games before Juwan Howard had 30 against the Clippers in Los Angeles.
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.
ProBasketballTalk tweets |
|
Source: Twitter. For more, follow @basketballtalk. |
 | Video: NBA from NBC Sports |
 Knicks, Lin still streaking Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and point guard Jeremy Lin discuss the team and Lin's recent success. |
 | Slideshow |
 |
more photos |
Ask the NBA expert: Ira Winderman |
Do you have a burning NBA question? Submit it now, and then check back for our reader mailbag. |  |
 | Special feature |
 |
Who will be MVP? Interactive: Rank each player on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 = best player, 0 = barely worthy of consideration). NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 |
more photos |
 | Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
| Special feature |
 | NBCSports.com |
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.