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's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
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.
Getty ImagesBATON ROUGE, La. - Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong started dancing. He hopped from the sideline almost to the Tiger Stadium hash marks as though riding an invisible pogo stick. Then, he jogged in place and pumped his right fist hard enough to jar the headset off his ears.
The play: a fourth-down, fourth-quarter sack of LSU's Jordan Jefferson.
The night: a 13-3 victory for the top-ranked Gators over the No. 4 Tigers.
The consequence: a cruise to the SEC championship game.
Don't pencil the Gators into Atlanta for the first weekend of December. Chisel them into what's become a national semifinal, a game where a victory means a spot on the sport's biggest stage. And put them there as a 12-0 squad, because any Florida loss between now and the first weekend of December would rank as the biggest upset in college football this season.
"It always pops into your head," safety Will Hill said of going unbeaten. "The coaches are going to do a good job keeping us focused on Arkansas. But it's always a thought."
For Hill, it's a thought. For anybody who knows a field goal from a first down, it's a certainty. Who's beating these guys before Dec. 5 and a potential 1-2, Alabama-Florida showdown in Atlanta, emerging as America's Most Wanted College Football Game?
Arkansas takes its humiliation in The Swamp next Saturday. Georgia will get it worse on Halloween in Jacksonville. Dates at South Carolina, and then a Senior Day soiree with Fading Swiftly University? Gainesville High has as much of a chance to beat the Gators this fall.
LSU was the lone team on the Gators' schedule with the running game, the defensive playmakers and the home-field advantage to beat them in the regular season. And when the big night rolled around, the Tigers couldn't even line up onsides. Enjoy the Capital One Beauxwl, boys.
For Florida, of course, Tim Tebow was Saturday's headliner. Coach Urban Meyer used terms such as "courageous" and "team first" to describe the quarterback's effort after bruising his brain two weeks back at Kentucky.
But Florida's big-picture fate seems far more intertwined with its defense. The group, with all 11 starters back from last season, has allowed two touchdowns in five games. LSU gained 162 yards on 47 plays Saturday night, a startling statistic, and enough to turn one touchdown and two field goals into plenty of padding.
"We ain't got the greatest offense," tight end Aaron Hernandez said. "But our defense stops people."
Earlier, Hernandez said he knew since the spring the Florida defense could produce something like Saturday's effort. Truth is, we knew it, too. All the recent concussion discussion shoved one of the nation's best defenses to sideshow status.
Against LSU, with a stadium-record crowd screaming for a 33rd consecutive Tigers' Saturday night home victory, Strong's studs re-emerged as the cornerstone of this team.
Maybe Alabama can match the Gators' defense sack-for-sack. Maybe, hopefully, those groups will clash in eight weeks.
After Saturday night, Florida can dance all the way there.
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.
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 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
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No. 1 Florida 13, No. 4 LSU 3 |
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.
