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.
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Top-ranked Texas suffered its first loss Monday night, falling to Kansas State in Manhattan. That leaves Kentucky as the nation’s only undefeated team. But the NCAA released its latest RPI Tuesday and guess which team rose to the top? Syracuse.
Things are getting interesting, huh?
Time to answer your questions.
Q: OK, I know John Wall is awesome, but what about Evan Turner returning for Ohio State and turning the Buckeyes back into a Big Ten title contender? Is there any way Turner can make up for lost time and be Player of the Year?
— Kristi White, Cincinnati
A: Good question Kristi. First, don’t assume that John Wall has the POY all wrapped up. Just because he’s faster than everybody else, just because he can elevate beyond belief, and just because he steps his game up when his team needs him most doesn’t mean Wall is an automatic. But if Kentucky remains undefeated deep into the season — and Wall continues doing what he is doing — he likely will win many of the awards.
When Evan Turner hurt his back, he was very much in the race — if not leading — for POY. Most people wrote him off because he was expected to miss so much time. The fact he missed only six games gives Turner a chance. That 32-point game against Purdue quickly put him back in the race. He has averaged 18.8 points since returning and that’s impressive. Overall, his averages are 18.6 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 5.5 apg. Great numbers.
Right, now my first-team All-America selections are Wall, Duke’s Jon Scheyer, Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, Syracuse’s Wesley Johnson and Damion James of Texas. James had my POY vote until he played so poorly against Kansas State Monday night. There’s a lot of basketball left and I think the POY race is wide open. If Turner puts up some huge numbers and the Buckeyes win the Big Ten regular season title, he could definitely make up for lost time and be a contender.
Q: How good in BYU’s Jimmer Fredette?
— Doug Armstrong, Argyle, N.Y.
A: Full disclosure Doug. I haven’t seen that much of Fredette. I’ve caught highlights but, living on the East Coast, I’m not sure there has been any opportunity to watch an entire BYU game live on TV. I do know Fredette’s 49-point performance in a 99-69 victory at Arizona in late December was one of the most impressive shooting performances this season — and possibly several seasons.
The 6-foot-2 junior was 16 of 23 from the floor and hit 9 of 13 from three-point range. Fredette has a beautiful stroke and extraordinary range. Against Arizona, it was a little like watching Steve Alford in an Indiana Hoosiers uniform. That’s high praise.
The Arizona game was no fluke. Fredette is averaging 19.9 points (26th in the nation) and shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range. He also averages 5.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds and shoots 91.1 percent (13th in nation) from the line. Those are the stats of a well-rounded point guard. Playing in the BYU system, it’s no surprise he has a high basketball IQ. We’ve seen this before. He’s not a great athlete but he makes up for that with a fearless attitude that makes him a great leader.
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Q: Who’s going to win the A-10? Now that Xavier beat Dayton, are people going to believe in the Musketeers again?
— Larry Smith, St. Louis, Mo.
A: I think the Atlantic 10 race is shaping up to be a great one, Larry. And Xavier certainly is very much in the picture with a 4-0 start in conference play. That 78-74 victory over Dayton was a big step but the rest of this week will really tell where the Musketeers are headed. Xavier is at Temple (3-0) Wednesday, and then returns home to play Rhode Island (2-1) on Saturday. Those are two tough games and Xavier would likely move into the Top 25 with two victories.
Xavier has five losses but there’s nothing embarrassing about falling to Marquette, Baylor, Kansas State, Butler and Wake Forest. Indiana transfer Jordan Crawford has come in and averaged 19.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists. And Terrell Holloway is having a solid sophomore season.
Give coach Chris Mack high marks for keeping things going after Sean Miller’s departure. It would be foolish to count Xavier out, but Temple, Rhode Island, and Dayton all appear capable of winning the A-10 too. Richmond and Charlotte could be in the mix as well. The A-10 might send four teams to the NCAA tournament.
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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 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. |
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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.
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.
