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With the Yankees paying about half his salary, A.J. Burnett has become an ace for the Pirates. Excuse us, the first-place Pirates.

Mad Men returns for a sixth season this weekend on AMC, and even those of us who haven't seen a frame of the two-hour premiere are nonetheless ready to talk our heads off about what for years now has been a top contender for Best Show on Television. ...

Martin Perez might be out until May with a broken left forearm, while Rafael Furcal has been shut down with lingering pain in his elbow, raising further questions about two of the biggest weak spots for two wannabe contenders. Two years ago, Texas...

The Toronto Blue Jays are poised to bring a winner back to a city that desperately needs one.

As Thursday's NBA trade deadline inches closer, plenty of big names — from Dwight Howard to Josh Smith — are dominating the rumor mills. It's easy to get caught stargazing, hoping against hope your team acquires an elite talent, but even ...

Can the Rocky Mountain runners make a bid for the title? Plus Gerald Wallace, motorcycle revs, and screeching hawks.

The A's and Astros pulled off a five-player trade yesterday, one that strengthens Oakland's status as a contender and upgrades Houston's already vastly improved farm system. Heading to Oakland are infielder Jed Lowrie and right-handed reliever F...

A lot has changed since the Grizzlies started the season scoring at a top-10 rate and looking like a legitimate title contender. Their offense has stalled out, falling to 19th in points per 100 possessions, and three other Western Conference contende...

The modern NFL is a game of matchups. Since the salary cap and the spread of strategic concepts throughout the league prevent a team from dominating the way that the 1980s Niners or the early-'90s Cowboys did, just about every team in football has on...

First off, I want to thank everyone who made nominations to the All-BeefyBulky Team on Friday. There were so many great contenders, but in the end there can only be five. The winners: 1. Andre Almeida, Nebraska 2. Matt Stainbrook, Xavier 3. Regg...

Monday night's Patriots-Texans game is exciting for a number of reasons. You can spin it as a possible matchup between the league's best offense and its best defense. Prototypical passing game versus resplendent running game. Perennial contender vers...

It's too early to draw meaningful conclusions about teams or players, but after just a week, we can say this: One of the league's glamour teams looks surprisingly comfortable in its own skin, while a would-be contender fresh off a massive long-term r...

Last week, we looked at the Dangerous Outsiders, the Royal Blues, and the Title Snipers. This week, we turn to four legitimate championship contenders. So far we've examined NC State, Ohio State, and Louisville. See the box below for those links. Now...

Last week, we looked at the Dangerous Outsiders, the Royal Blues, and the Title Snipers. See the box below for those links. This week, we turn to four legitimate championship contenders. So far we've examined NC State and Ohio State; today, it's the ...

Last week, we looked at the Dangerous Outsiders, the Royal Blues, and the Title Snipers. See the box below for those links. This week, we turn to four legitimate championship contenders, starting with the Wolfpack of NC State yesterday and continuing...

Last week, we looked at the Dangerous Outsiders, the Royal Blues, and the Title Snipers. See the box below for those links. This week, we turn to four legitimate championship contenders, starting with the Wolfpack of NC State. Today marks my onl...