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.
Tired of trying to pick the Kentucky Derby winner the loser’s way? Have you finally seen the light to fully comprehend that this a race for which all the wisdom of the racetrack might as well give way to a hatpin?
In recent years, the Kentucky Derby has been blessed with the likes of Smarty Jones, a Pennsylvania-bred owned by a car dealer, who the “assperts” said wasn’t a worthy favorite on the basis that he beat nearly nothing en route to the roses via Oaklawn; Funny Cide, a New York-bred gelding who was owned by a ragtag bunch of blue-collar guys who rode to the track in a school bus, and War Emblem, a horse so questionable that his 83-year-old owner sold him to a Saudi prince for $900,000 instead of trying to capture the priceless Derby for himself.
All three horses won the Kentucky Derby, and nearly The Triple Crown, but none of the three were on radar screens in the last week of March of the years that they ran. Now with the third and final “Future Wager” betting opportunity soon to be offered by Churchill Downs, maybe it’s time for you to look for your winner someplace other than the past performances.
Introducing “cosmic criteria” from the Kentucky Derby swami – a handicapping method that disregards speed figures, dosage definition, closing fractions and class. Abandon the consolations of verifiable fact, and follow this wizardry to a level an elevated truth. Let the stars show the way!
Consult the crystal ball
Yes, you must exercise the powers you have for seeing into the future. Picture in your mind’s eye the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs. Now, who can you see standing there?
When the big prize is on the line, people with a winning habit will be getting their photos taken. Sure, jockeys like Stewart Elliott (Smarty Jones, ’04) and Ronnie Franklin (Spectacular Bid, ’79) have flashed their choppers for the paparazzi, and trainers like Barclay Tagg (Funny Cide, ’03) and Lynn Whiting (Lil E. Tee, ’92) have pumped the hand of the governor on the presentation stand, but the people who make it to the Derby stage are typecast.
In the 10 years before Smarty Jones, seven Kentucky Derby winners were trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Bob Baffert or Nick Zito, and in two of the years in which they didn’t train the winners, Neil Drysdale (Fusaichi Pegasus, ’00) and John Ward (Monarchos, ’01) did. Drysdale is a Hall of Fame trainer and Ward may one day be one. But they know how to pose for the cameras, and more importantly, they feel comfortable with it. The fastest horses go to the smoothest operators.
Tab a Zito nominee such Sun King or Noble Causeway because Nick has the pretty eyes for the perfect picture, or a Lukas trainee such as Going Wild or Consolidator for D. Wayne’s pearly whites. If movie star Gary Stevens, with his handsome Kodachrome looks, lands on a Bob Baffert horse in the Derby, you’ll have both angles, jockey and trainer, covered. With any of these choices, you’ll get a photo worth hanging in the Turf Club.
The first of three pools of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager begins its three-day run on Friday and the bet's opening scenario is very similar to each of its opening pools since the wager was created in 1999.
It's first time that Classic will be broadcast in primetime on Nov. 3.
 | INTERACTIVE |
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 | Slideshow |
 | Derby celebs Plenty of stars from the entertainment and sports world attend the 136th Kentucky Derby. more photos |
| INTERACTIVE |
 | Triple Crown winners The horses that have won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in the same year. |
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.