There looks to be a bounce to Wilson’s step long after practice is over

"At a time when guys get sore and tackling can be a little more difficult, he's got that extradimension of speed," he said.

There looks to be a bounce to Wilson's step long after practice is over.

"If anybody would describe me, energy would be a word they would use," he said. "I enjoy playing football, so I'm just out there having fun." 

Throw in the ads for local contests and the result are airwaves reaching

And if that isn't enough to satisfy one's appetite or turn one's stomach, consider the data on the U.S. Senate race in the Badger State. Democrat Rep. TammyBaldwin and Republican former Gov. Tommy Thompson and supporters dropped 17,906 ads on Wisconsinites from Oct. 1 through Oct. 21, an average of 852 a day.

Those are just two races. Throw in the ads for local contests and the result are airwaves reaching their saturation point.

"You can't take a breath without seeing a political ad right now," said Michael Wagner, a political expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "If you haven't seen a political ad in Wisconsin, you must not own a TV set."

Kljestan's hard right-footed shot was punched away by James

Kljestan's hard right-footed shot was punched away by James, and then he got his hands on Bradley's header. Soon after, things got rough and ragged, with  Bradleychallenging several opponents following a hard tackle by George Dublin, who undercut him.

Then Johnson got free in the box and smartly headed Gordon's cross back to his right past the sprawling James. Gordon was making his first international appearance.

The Americans broke through in the 20th minute after controlling much of the early play. Off a corner kick, Graham Zusi took the ball on right wing, fed Bradley and got a return pass as he curled outside the penalty area. Zusi's left-footed cross was met perfectly by Johnson, who headed the ball down, making it skid off the turf past James.

Jason Motte, who leads the NL with 40 saves

Jason Motte, who leads the NL with 40 saves, got a break after converting opportunities in each of the Cardinals' previous seven wins to earn NLplayer of the week honors on Monday.

Center fielder Jon Jay, who doesn't have an error this season, robbed Castro of a hit in the fourth inning with a tricky catch. He leapt to stop it with his glove, but it bounced off. He got his bare hand on it, before bobbling it and falling to his knees to snag it before it hit the ground. He smiled and shook his head as he got to his feet as players in the St. Louis dugout raised their arms and cheered.

"I couldn't believe he was able to come down with it," Castro said. "That was one of the best catches I had ever seen. We had some bad luck tonight."

The Razorbacks led 28-7 midway through the third quarter after freshman quarterback Brandon Allen

Leonard finished with 11 catches for 112 yards receiving.

Browning was 42 of 67 passing for 412 yards passing, and he had 69 yards rushing on 16 carries — his last the winding, game-winning scramble in overtime around and through the Arkansas defense.

The Razorbacks led 28-7 midway through the third quarter after freshman quarterback Brandon Allen connected with MeKale McKay for a 13-yard touchdown. Allen, filling in for the injured Wilson, finished 6 of 20 passing for 85 yards.

The Razorbackshad little offense after that, though they managed to take a 34-31 lead in overtime after a 37-yard field goal by Zach Hocker.

Cobi Hamilton led Arkansas with 99 yards receiving and a touchdown on six catches. The senior now has eight touchdown catches in seven career games in Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium.

France won't be playing tight either

France won't be playing tight either. The Frenchteam has already made great strides - clinching the country's first medal ever in women's basketball.

The victory over Russia in the semifinals set off a wild celebration for the unbeaten French, who have been on the rise in women's basketball over the past few years. They won the European Championship in 2009 and qualified for the Olympics for the first time since the 2000 Sydney Games where they finished fifth. In this tournament France has already defeated Australia in an overtime thriller and now topped Russia twice.

Johnson and the No. 48 team might have given the Sprint Cup

No, one year without a title after five straight years of championships isn't exit stage left -- it's just a role as a one act supporting actor after five award-winning turns in a one-man show.

On Sunday at Indianapolis, Johnson and the No. 48 team might have given the Sprint Cup Series a peek at his newest starring project. Johnson, who started sixth, obliterated the field on Sunday, leading a race high 99 of 160 laps, beating Kyle Busch by more than four seconds.

Heck, Johnson's win was so much of a butt-kicking that Busch suggested he obtained an exclusive visa to parts unknown.

Ortiz hit his 400th homer with a leadoff drive to right

Moss singled in the fourth and doubled in the sixth, leaving him a triple shy of the cycle.

Brandon Inge doubled home Moss to tie the game at 2 in the sixth.

Grant Balfour (2-2) went 1 2-3 innings for the win as the A's (41-42) moved within one game of .500 for the first time since they were 22-23 on May 23. Lone A's All-Star Ryan Cook finished with a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save in 11 chances.

Ortiz hit his 400th homer with a leadoff drive to right in the fourth inning against Oakland starter A.J. Griffin.

The 36-year-old Big Papi's home runs rank eighth among active players and 49th on the career list. Next up for him to catch: Hall of Famer Duke Snider with 407.

Jose Molina hit a solo homer in the second inning against Strasburg

Washington got three hits in their first inning but failed to record another the rest of the game, thanks in part to the Major League debut of Tampa Bay rookie Chris Archer.

The 23-year-old Archer shook off his rocky first inning and lasted six in total, striking out seven.

Jose Molina hit a solo homer in the second inning against Strasburg, and the Rays (38-30) added a run in the third but could not find the equalizer.

Another shot adrift was two-time major winner John Daly

After dispensing the niceties, the world number two faced a tight third-round battle with three players tied for second on 134 and another trio two shots further off the pace.

Opening round co-leader Jeff Maggert, the 2006 winner here, shot a second-round 68 to share second place with fellow Americans J.B. Holmes (64) and Kevin Stadler (65).

Tied for fifth were Americans John Merrick (69), Chad Campbell (67) and Kevin Kisner (66), with U.S. Davis Cup captain Davis Love III, Ireland's Padraig Harrington, Noh Seung-yul of South Korean and American Ken Duke another shot away at 136.

Another shot adrift was two-time major winner John Daly, who shot a second-round 69 on return to his former home course.

POSITIVE THINGS

Orlando could use another big effort from Jameer Nelson

"We're approaching it that the 13 (healthy) guys we have now are who we're going to have the rest of the season and in the playoffs," Van Gundy said.

The Magic suffered another blow when reserve Glen Davis, filling in for Howard, exited Sunday's win with a sprained right knee. He'll undergo further examination, but there's no timetable for a return.

"He hyperextended his knee, so my guess would be that he'd not play," Van Gundy said. "I haven't been told anything officially, though."

With the injuries piling up, Orlando could use another big effort from Jameer Nelson, who had 21 points and nine assists against the Cavaliers after making just 4 of 14 field goals and finishing with nine points and four assists in a 109-81 loss to the Hawks two days prior.

The Cardinal could only get within six the rest of the game

The Cardinal could only get within six the rest of the game despite Nnemkadi Ogwumike's best efforts. The senior led the Cardinal with 22 points and nine rebounds. Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer took her out with about 30 seconds left and gave her a long embrace.
"No one feels good after a loss, especially if it's in the Final Four," Ogwumike said.
The 6-2 forward, who most likely will be the top pick in the WNBA draft on April 16, did all she could to keep the Cardinal in the game, but got little help. Her younger sister, Chiney, who had such a strong sophomore season, was ineffective. She fouled out midway through the second half with just four points.

susanstoretk: The Crimson did what they had to do

susanstoretk: The Crimson did what they had to do: "Those guys stay with their system,'' said Allen. "It's unusual, with mis-directions and back doors. But at the same time, it's the same s...

zurabstoretk: The Quakers obviously felt they could have defeate...

zurabstoretk: The Quakers obviously felt they could have defeate...: That 7-0 run restored proper order and the Tigers were never seriously threatened again. Penn took the loss hard. The Quakers obviously f...

wc9999tk: Jeff Carter had three goals

wc9999tk: Jeff Carter had three goals: Jeff Carter had three goals - two on the power play during Columbus' four-goal first period - and Steve Mason made 38 saves as the last-p...

James and Wade don't need a point guard on the floor with them

In the aftermath of another hideous performance by the Heat on the road, it remained impossible to explain why basketball sometimes is so hard for them. The answer, in part, is that they're making it hard on themselves.

The Celtics, who pounded Miami 91-72 Sunday without Ray Allen, deserve credit for resurrecting their season and climbing back into the Atlantic Division lead. With regular rest and practice time, they will be hard to deal with in the playoffs. But they don't have to be this hard to deal with for the Heat.

Same goes for the Bulls, and for anyone else in the Eastern Conference. Same goes for the Thunder, Spurs and Lakers out West.

The Heat, 1-7 on the road against playoff teams since the All-Star break, continue to do this to themselves. They are killing themselves with convention, with a refusal to understand that a unique collection of talent requires what some would consider to be an unconventional way of playing.

I started riffing away on this theme in November 2010, when Miami's newly formed Big Three were having trouble figuring out how to play. They eventually got it right -- right enough to lose to Dallas in the NBA Finals, anyway -- and made some tweaks this season that were a step in the right direction.

The simple way to describe the unconventional approach Miami needs is to say that LeBron James should play point guard on this team. Or at the very least, James and Dwyane Wade -- two of the most unguardable open-floor players ever to step onto an NBA court -- need to share the initiation role in the Heat's offense. When you have two players who are that unstoppable with the ball in their hands -- and a player of LeBron's otherworldly gifts for passing -- there's no need for Mario Chalmers or Norris Cole to be in 29 of your 30 most frequently used lineups this season.

I could've kept going as I scrolled through the handy-dandy advanced metrics tools at NBA.com/stats, but I grew tired of finding their names.

James and Wade don't need a point guard on the floor with them. They certainly didn't need one Sunday, when Chalmers (1-for-5, two points) and Cole (2-for-11, seven points) were utterly dominated by Rajon Rondo (16 points, 14 assists). James, one of the top two or three pure passers I have seen come into the NBA since I have been watching it, had zero assists in 35 minutes.

Princeton turned it over on three of its first four

Princeton turned it over on three of its first four, four of its first six, and five of its first seven possessions, en route to compiling a stat sheet that listed 21 field goals and 20 turnovers.
But Princeton was still the unquestioned aggressor, much to the chagrin of Penn coach Jerome Allen.
"Our defense is what bothered me, to be honest,'' he said. "From the start of the game, they really didn't have anything to play for, other than to be a spoiler. So how can a team playing for nothing play harder than the team that's playing for something? That's what blows my mind.''

Howard, who had missed Detroit’s previous eight games

Rookies Marcus Kruger and Jimmy Hayes scored from in tight and Corey Crawford came up with a big effort in goal to help the Hawks rally to a scintillating 2-1 victory over the Wings on Tuesday night at the United Center.
Howard, who had missed Detroit's previous eight games with a broken finger, repeatedly stopped open looks from the Hawks — especially during a wide-open second period — but couldn't come up with two from the crease as the Hawks skated to their fourth consecutive win.