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 both greeted Sunday with unbridled optimism. But the day would end happily only for Mickelson.
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 ImagesSo much for the notion that the women’s tournament is predictable, predestined and pre-packaged. After two weeks of rather ordinary basketball, the brackets and expectations suddenly exploded in a single night on Sunday, leaving us with a championship game on Tuesday of …
Michigan State-Baylor?
Go figure. And now, just try to pick a winner between these two teams that have played their way at least a round beyond reasonable expectation. This so-called expert, shaken and humbled by the semifinals, will go with Baylor. But clearly, the old patterns aren’t holding anymore.
It’s a new world, with new rules, devoid of UConn blue and Tennessee orange, lacking the enormous roster depth and backcourt star power. Both these upstart teams are playing in their first-ever Final Four. Aura, mystique and institutional memory will have little or nothing to do with the outcome.
And both schools have everything to prove.
You pick your motivation with the Lady Bears of Baylor: personal, historical, or geographical. Baylor (32-3) has inspiration galore to beat Michigan State (33-3), to complete its crusade.
There is the school’s tragic scandal to overcome, a legacy that these women never deserved to inherit.
It is impossible to forget, to entirely disown, the death of basketball player Patrick Dennehy and the charges leveled against his former teammate Carlton Dotson. The women long ago vowed to create a new model program, to begin a new and much happier line of memories.
Then there is that absurd two-point defeat to Tennessee last season in a Sweet 16 tournament game, a tie with two-tenths of a second left. Jessika Stratton of Baylor was nailed with a foul after chasing a rebound with Tasha Butts. No harm, no foul. That was what everybody thought. But there was a shrill whistle. Butts hit both free throws. No overtime.
“It’s a call that goes down in the history of basketball,” says Kim Mulkey-Robertson, the Baylor coach and guiding light. “You can’t make it disappear.”
Baylor gets its overtime now, on Tuesday. Only it’s against the Spartans, not the Lady Vols.
You want more motivation for Baylor? No team from west of the Mississippi has won this tournament in the past dozen years. Baylor is supposed to be a track school, not a women’s basketball school. Mulkey-Robertson probably owned bigger dreams than the people who hired her five years ago.
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.
 | Slide show |
 |
 | Slideshow |
 | College hoops power rankings A look at the top teams in college basketball based on performance and potential. NBCSports.com |
Latest from Beyond the Arc |
Would Rick Pitino’s white suit work its magic vs. Syracuse?2 hr 54 min ago Here’s a shot you just can’t defend6 hr 1 min ago Five up, five down from college hoops’ huge day22 hr 31 min ago Michigan State sure shook up Big Ten by beating Buckeyes23 hr 16 min ago |
 | College basketball videos |
 Getty Images Highlights: No. 14 UNLV 65, No. 13 SDSU 63 Mike Moser scored 19 points, and UNLV forced three turnovers in the final 42 seconds to win. |
| Slideshow |
 | 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.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.