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.
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.
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.
EPA fileThe Mets haven’t shown a lot of interest in position players despite their weakness in left field as well as at catcher and second base. Instead, they feel their problems will be solved if only they get a reliable closer. Last year, Billy Wagner was injured down the stretch and it was the failure of the bullpen in his absence that doomed the team to blowing another late-season lead to the eventual world-champion Phillies.
But even there, the Mets seem more interested in saving money than ballgames. Francisco Rodriguez is 26 and the best closer available and he’s coming off a record-setting season. But the Mets have shown far more interest in Brian Fuentes, the Rockies’ 33-year-old closer. Fuentes isn’t a stiff, but he’s not K-Rod, either. Either way, a closer is going to cost a lot of money. Why not spend a few million more for the best if he’s available? No one in the Mets organization — not even anonymous sources — can give a believable explanation.
The Mets are right that they need a serious upgrade in the bullpen, but they’re wrong to think that they don’t need help offensively. And if they don’t want Manny, they least they could do is try to land an upgrade over Luis Castillo at second. Arizona’s Orlando Hudson, 31, who hit .305 last year but without much power, is the best available.
The Yankees should also make it a priority to re-sign their own free agent pitcher, Andy Pettitte. Pettitte is in decline, but he’s a great presence in the clubhouse and he can still win 12-14 games as a fifth starter. The team could also go after Ben Sheets, a power pitcher, but Sheets has a history of injuries and after watching their staff ravaged by injuries last year, the Yankees may shy away from him. A better option would be to trade for the Padres’ Jake Peavy, one of the best younger pitchers in the business despite a 10-11 season last year.
We don’t know what rumors the teams have been putting out are true and which are smokescreens. But we do know that whatever the Yanks and Mets do in the free-agent market, the Yankees will both spend more than the Mets and get the biggest headlines.
In New York, it’s the way things are.
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.