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.
ReutersFlynn says he’s been that way since he was a school boy in Niagara Falls. Precocious and social, Flynn always had something he needed to tell one of his buddies, never mind that class was in session.
“I used to get in trouble all the time,” Flynn said. “Teachers had to split me up from my friends. I would be the only desk that was pushed away from everybody else in class. That was definitely me when I was younger.”
That outgoing personality has helped him as a point guard. He is the quarterback on the court, the player who can dictate the pace of the game, get the offense started and distribute the wealth.
“He was just like a born leader,” his father, William Flynn, said in a telephone interview. “Guys just take to Jonny.”
William Flynn said those qualities really started to take shape on the football field, basketball court and baseball diamond of Jonny’s youth.
“He just knew how to lead,” William Flynn said. “It would just automatically kick in. It’s amazing how it happened.”
Jonny Flynn credits growing up in a two-parent household, and having a minister for a father, with his success.
“Coming from the area I come from, you don’t see anybody with a father in the household,” Jonny Flynn said. “It’s truly a blessing to have that male figure, that role-model figure in my life that can teach me how to become a man.”
To hear his father tell it, young Jonny had plenty of parents in Niagara Falls, a town of around 55,000 residents that draws tourists year-round because of the breathtaking falls.
“He was kind of raised up by everybody,” William Flynn said. “He’s everybody’s son.”
The mayor of Niagara Falls gave Jonny Flynn the key to the city this summer, and the entire town has rallied around the chatty little boy who grew up to find riches in the NBA.
“The town is really behind Jonny,” William Flynn said. “He is the town’s No. 1 son. He’s enjoying the moment and is trying not to let it be bigger than it really is for him.”
That is why Flynn is so confident that he can succeed with the young and rebuilding Timberwolves. Despite Kahn’s eyebrow-raising assertion that this 20-year-old kid could one day be as popular as Puckett was here, Flynn doesn’t think he is being asked to do anything out of the ordinary.
“That’s just how I am,” he said with a smile. “It’s pressure when you have to switch who you are and try to adapt to what David Kahn is saying. But what he’s saying, that’s just me.
“I’m charismatic. I smile a lot. I like to have fun and joke around. I’m friendly to people. I don’t call that pressure. I just have to go out and continue to be Jonny Flynn.”
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.
ProBasketballTalk tweets |
|
Source: Twitter. For more, follow @basketballtalk. |
 | Video: NBA from NBC Sports |
 Knicks, Lin still streaking Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and point guard Jeremy Lin discuss the team and Lin's recent success. |
 | Slideshow |
 |
more photos |
Ask the NBA expert: Ira Winderman |
Do you have a burning NBA question? Submit it now, and then check back for our reader mailbag. |  |
 | Special feature |
 |
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 |
| Slideshow |
 |
more photos |
| Special feature |
 | When athletes and celebs get together A visual tour of the many links between sports and Hollywood stars. 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.