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.
AP
COLUMBUS, Ohio - All the elements were in place for an epic upset of No. 6 Ohio State by Navy.
“If Ohio State comes in totally focused on us, we had no chance,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We felt like we had them in the perfect storm.”
The Buckeyes weathered that storm with the help of a college football rarity.
Brian Rolle intercepted a potential tying 2-point conversion in the closing minutes and returned it for two points the other way, helping the Buckeyes hold off pesky Navy 31-27 on Saturday.
“It wasn’t a dazzling fourth quarter for us, by any means,” coach Jim Tressel said in the understatement of the day.
A crowd of 105,092 — the largest ever to see the Buckeyes open a season — sat in stunned silence after the 21-point underdog Midshipmen scored twice in 4 minutes to cut a 29-14 deficit to two points with 2:23 left.
Navy went for the tie, but Rolle stepped in front of Ricky Dobbs’ pass and rumbled up the sideline to preserve the win in the Midshipmen’s first trip to Ohio Stadium since 1931 — and keep the luster on next week’s rematch between the Buckeyes and No. 4 Southern California.
“I remember a lot of bad things from last year, like that long, silent ride home,” linebacker Austin Spitler said of USC’s 35-3 pasting of the Buckeyes. “It’s up to us now. We’ll have our doubters and now we’ll have to go out and prove we’re good.”
For a while, at least, they were against Navy.
Terrelle Pryor was 14 of 21 for 174 yards, and ran for a touchdown and passed for another to help Ohio State build its lead. But then the Minutemen seemed to make every big play.
Dobbs, who completed 9 of 13 passes for 156 yards and two scores, rolled left and hit Marcus Curry on a 16-yard scoring pass with 1:24 left in the third quarter to cut Ohio State’s lead to 20-14.
The Buckeyes countered with two quick scores.
Aaron Pettrey, who kicked three field goals, made a 52-yarder early in the fourth quarter. Two plays later, Navy’s Mario Washington caught a pass that Ohio State safety Kurt Coleman ripped out of his arms with Ross Homan falling on the loose ball. Three plays after that, Dan Herron took an option pitch and bounced in off left tackle on a 6-yard scoring run to put the Buckeyes up 29-14.
It stayed that way when Pettrey’s extra-point try clanged off the upright.
Navy turned the game around with a defensive stand. The Buckeyes passed on the field-goal attempt and went for it on fourth-and-2 at their own 15 with 6:30 left, but linebacker Tyler Simmons surged forward to stop Herron for no gain.
“I certainly should have kicked a field goal on fourth-and-1,” Tressel said. “That was a huge mistake in my mind.”
On the next snap, Dobbs lofted a perfect spiral over the middle to Curry, who had a step on safety Anderson Russell. Curry then outran everybody to the end zone, completing the third-longest pass play in Navy history. The 85-yard score narrowed the lead to 29-21.
“I made the move and had enough gas to get all the way there,” Curry said. “But I was dying at the end.”
Pryor then overthrew a receiver and Navy safety Emmett Merchant intercepted and returned it 28 yards to the Ohio State 33 with just under 4 minutes left.
Dobbs ran for 4 yards, then passed for 5. On third and 1 at the 24, he faked a handoff and sprinted straight up the middle for the touchdown.
The gasp from the partisan crowd was audible.
Navy called timeout to set up for the 2-point try. Dobbs then took the snap and dropped back, passing over the middle. Rolle was the only player close and the junior thundered up the Navy sideline 99 yards.
“I’d seen it on film, but I was surprised he actually threw it,” Rolle said. “I was like, ’Wow.”’
“The guy came out of nowhere,” Dobbs said. “I don’t know how he broke on it.”
After getting the onside kick, the Buckeyes — finally, gratefully — were able to run out the clock.
“This game shows we’ve got a long way to go,” Spitler said. “The preparation starts tomorrow.”
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
 | Slideshow |
 |
more photos |
CollegeFootballTalk headlines |
 | Video: Football from NBC Sports |
 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | more photos |
 | Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | Special feature |
 | Heisman special section In-depth look at Mark Ingram's victory for college football's top individual prize in the closest vote ever NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
| Slideshow |
 | Heisman Trophy winners From Archie Griffin to Barry Sanders to Robert Griffin III and more, check out all the winners dating back to 1935. 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.
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.
The Red Wings have finally started to embrace a record they've been chasing.