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?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
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.
Lefty wins his 40th PGA Tour event with his never-ending supply of tricks up his sleeve. What We Learned this week at Pebble Beach.
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.
APIS THERE HOPE?
I would love to see someone hit .400 as I think it would be great for baseball. Mauer and Ichiro both have one thing going for them in that they both know how to handle the pressures of a batting race. Ichiro won batting titles in 2001 (.350) and .2004 (.372), and Mauer won in 2006 (.347) and 2008 (.328). But that’s still a long way from .400.
Talking to Mauer during a recent homestand, he said he was amazed at the attention he was getting even though it was only June. He’s a great kid and it means a lot to him, but he isn’t going to get too excited about it unless he’s still around .400 come September. It’s a long season, and with everything he has to do as a catcher, the grind takes its toll. He has to focus on handling the pitching staff and calling games, and he gets beat up back there all season long. And remember, no catcher has ever hit .400.
If anyone is going to do it in this era, I think you have to look at Ichiro. He’s a little bit like Carew in that he can hit to all fields and use his speed to beat out a lot of infield hits. There are so many ways he can get on base.
Ichiro might also be better equipped to handle an expected media crush. He would do all of his interviews with English-speaking media members through an interpreter, and has years of experience in handling the Japanese media.
One other player to keep in mind is Albert Pujols. I think he has the capabilities. He’s probably the best hitter in the game today, a power-hitter with skills similar to Ted Williams. He has topped .350 twice in his nine seasons, with his worst season for batting average coming in 2002 at .314.
But as much as great as these guys are, and as much as I’d like to see it happen, I just think it is too difficult to accomplish in this era.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
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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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