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.
Reuters
WASHINGTON - North Carolina State was told not to seek revenge against Wake Forest.
No one — particularly the Demon Deacons — could stop the Wolfpack from winning.
Julius Hodge led a balanced attack with 22 points and Ilian Evtimov added 18 points and seven assists, helping N.C. State upset No. 3 Wake Forest 81-65 Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
With the loss, Wake Forest might have blown their chance to earn at No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Wake Forest point guard Chris Paul was suspended for the game for punching Hodge in the groin during the teams’ previous meeting earlier in the week, giving this early round game the emotion and intensity of a Final Four. The referees seemed to sense that, too, so they made it a point to call touch fouls and to step in whenever there was contact.
“Anger is one letter short of danger,” Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek said. “It’s important to focus, not get angry. Our guys did a great job of coming together.”
In the first half, a technical foul was called on the Demon Deacons bench — apparently on one of the support staff — and later Wake Forest guard Justin Gray left for a bit after getting elbowed in the face by N.C. State’s Andrew Brackman. Amazingly, Gray was called for a foul.
“We were even warned about it during the game, so I think that opened our eyes a little bit more, saying, ‘Hey, we just need to be focused on the game and not get caught up in the physical aspects,”’ Wolfpack guard Cameron Bennerman said.
The Wolfpack will play Duke in the semifinals. The fifth-ranked Blue Devils beat Virginia 76-64 in the final game Friday night.
Paul sat beside the coaches at the head of the bench, looking very dapper in a three-piece, gold suit. He stood near his teammates during their pregame warmups and often offered encouragement or instruction during the game, but Demon Deacons (26-5) sure could have used him on the court, mostly on defense.
The Wolfpack (19-12) shot 51 percent and consistently beat defenders to the rim on backdoor cuts, with everybody getting a chance in their Princeton-style offense.
“Nobody’s left out,” Evtimov said. “Everybody touches the ball. If they don’t have the basket, they have the assist. If they don’t have the assist, they have the pass prior to the assist, which is just as important.”
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.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
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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.
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The Red Wings have finally started to embrace a record they've been chasing.