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.
APOver the weekend, Scott Bordow, columnist for the East Valley Tribune in suburban Phoenix, hit the situation between the eyes, especially as it pertains to Gretzky. Not only is Gretzky the coach, he is a minority owner of the team. Yet when his team took the ice The Great One was the great Houdini.
Wrote Bordow:
Perhaps it was foolish to think Gretzky would show up for the first day of Coyotes' training camp.
After all, no one, including Gretzky, has any idea whether he'll be the coach this season.
"You can understand his position," general manager Don Maloney said Saturday. "If he comes in and three days later the ownership changes and his contract is not extended, what are you going to do, lead him out in handcuffs?"
Gretzky. In handcuffs. Is it just me, or are the Coyotes inching closer and closer to a reality TV show?
The season opener is Oct. 3, and if the court proceedings continue to drag on, Gretzky might not be behind the bench. Meanwhile, acting/temporary coach Ulf Samuelsson has the impossible task of trying to inject a normal routine into this insanity.
"It's incredibly unfair," captain Shane Doan said. "Nothing has changed since May. That's the most frustrating thing ... Absolutely nobody has any answers."
—
With the bankruptcy case still before Judge Redfield T. Baum, who knows how this issue will be settled? We're told a decision might come Monday; we had been told a decision would come last week.
Two suitors have withdrawn their bids for the team, both of which would have, in some form, kept the Coyotes in Arizona. The bidding is now between Bettman, who is stubbornly refusing to allow the team to escape his grasp; and Balsillie, who wants to move the team to Hamilton, Ont.
Bettman and Balsillie will never see eye to eye. The bankruptcy case could spark a second lengthy legal battle over whether the NHL can refuse to admit Balsillie as an owner. The NHL Board of Governors says Balsillie can take his BlackBerry billions and shove them.
So what we have in Phoenix is a group of players, coaches and executives who have no hope of support in the city and nowhere to go.
Should we blame Bettman for his stubbornness? Should we blame Balsillie for trying to get around the NHL and buy a team when the league doesn't want him?
Even if Balsillie were to follow this sage advice — I wouldn't be in a club that would have me as a member, to paraphrase Groucho Marx — and withdraw his bid, there's nothing left for the Coyotes in Phoenix.
Unlike Groucho, who could turn any situation into humor, there is nothing laughable left for the Coyotes.
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.
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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.