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.
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Through the years Take a look at the most memorable moments in Michael Jordan's storied basketball career. more photos |
He was never really about the money. Not after his first contract, anyway. He felt flush. The dollars were one way to measure his accomplishments, but like the scoring titles, regular season and finals MVP awards and even championships, they were byproducts. The only goal Jordan ever set for himself was winning.
Every time out, against anyone — whether as a kid going hammer-and-tong with older brother Larry on a caked-dirt court in the backyard, or doubling down at the blackjack table as the sun came up outside one of the dozens of casinos Jordan has frequented since.
His trump card was always the same. You didn't have to spend much time around Jordan to know that the outcome was always going to matter more to him. That's why people always got out of his way.
What fans remember about Game 6 of the 1998 Finals against the Jazz was the jumper Jordan drained to lock up the Bulls' sixth title, and the way he stood frozen for a heartbeat afterward, his shooting hand tracing the arc of the basketball as it rippled through the net. What I'll never forget is the moment that preceded the shot.
Jordan had suckered Utah's Bryon Russell into reaching for the ball with a crossover dribble. There was no way Russell could recover in time to get back in Jordan's way. Still, the moment he sensed the defender was off-balance, Jordan reached down and gave him a shove, just to be sure. Then he rose up and launched the shot.
I'd covered Jordan around the world for nearly 15 years by that point, from his first pro practice in Chicago, through the Dream Team's Olympic adventure in Barcelona, and finally to Salt Lake City.
That push, more than the swished shot that followed it, or the pose Jordan struck in the moment after that, remains the perfect tableau for the most competitive athlete we will ever see.
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The less said about his last comeback with the Washington Wizards the better.
By then Jordan realized he'd already passed on the perfect ending while he had the chance. Maybe that's why he didn't mind when Kobe coolly sank two free throws to erase the one Jordan cobbled together in the closing seconds of the first overtime in the 2003 All-Star game. It was midway through what was, mercifully, his final season.
"As much as I wanted to play well," Jordan said after his East side lost 155-145 in double overtime, "it felt good just being out there."
For most of his competitive life, you couldn't have pried a sentence like that out of Jordan with the jaws of life. He never worried about perfect endings, or playing well, and he never set foot on a court just to feel good "being out there." He watched the final five minutes of this one sitting on the bench though, looking lost.
He will feel that way again Friday. Jordan planned to enter the Hall on his way out of one arena and on his way to the next, preferably sandwiching his appearance between game-winning shots. He wanted the honor to be just another milepost on his way to still others, not a set-in-stone reminder that nobody wins forever, not even Michael Jordan.
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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 Knicks, Lin still streaking Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and point guard Jeremy Lin discuss the team and Lin's recent success. |
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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 |
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
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.