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.
APBut Dallas had it all going for them — great running back, great receivers, great defense, almost-great quarterback. They have the name and the tradition and the national fan base and the national media attention. All they had to do was perform up to their abilities.
When the season began, the Cowboys were the favorites to go to the Super Bowl. That wasn’t wishful thinking on the part of the fans. It was the sober judgment of professionals who spend their lives analyzing the game.
Sure, they had some adversity. Romo went down mid-season with a broken finger and they lost some games. But the playoffs were there for the taking once December began. They didn’t have to run the table. Two wins in four games would have done it for them.
Instead, they lost three of four, and the final ignominy of the season was the humiliating exercise in self-destruction the Cowboys indulged in on Sunday in Philadelphia.
There were no excuses. Romo was healthy. The weather was balmy. They knew what they had to do.
They put in the effort early on, then imploded in a cascade of mistakes that became an avalanche of Philadelphia points.
And so the Eagles, who always seem to get dumped on by the media, are in the playoffs yet again and the Cowboys are still looking for their first postseason win in more than a decade. It was all there for them and they couldn’t grab it.
They didn’t just lose, they collapsed like few teams have ever collapsed before. Jerry Jones said last week that he’s happy with his coach and his players. After Sunday, even he has to know he’s either fooling himself or he’s lying.
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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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Fantasy impact |
Week 17 standouts | Click here for more |
| Passing | Comp. | Att. | Yards | TDs |
| 1. D. Brees, Saints | 30 | 49 | 386 | 4 |
| 2. M. Schaub, Texans | 27 | 36 | 328 | 2 |
| 3. J. Cutler, Broncos | 33 | 49 | 316 | 1 |
| Rushing | Att. | Yds. | Avg. | TDs |
| 1. M. Turner, Falcons | 25 | 208 | 8.3 | 1 |
| 2. D. Williams, Panthers | 25 | 178 | 7.1 | 0 |
| 3. M. Bush, Raiders | 27 | 177 | 6.6 | 2 |
| Receiving | No. | Yds. | Avg. | TDs |
| 1. A. Johnson, Texans | 10 | 148 | 14.8 | 2 |
| 2. S. Smith, Panthers | 5 | 134 | 26.8 | 0 |
| 3. L. Fitzgerald, Cardinals | 5 | 130 | 26.0 | 2 |
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.
