Franklin gets ready to walk down high school aisle

Missy Franklin is starting to feel like a grown-up.

PAUL NEWBERRY: Time for sports to help us heal again

In so many ways, sports can bring out the worst in us.

Day leads at Masters; 14-year-old makes cut

AUGUSTA, Ga. | Jason Day is out front midway through the Masters.

Par 3 Contest: A chance to unwind at the Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. | Lee Westwood's mum walked away from the ninth hole, waving her hand in front of her face on a balmy spring day.

Wolverines fall in national title game despite career performance from C.P. native

ATLANTA | Rick Pitino capped the greatest week of his life with the prize he wanted most of all.

Louisville, Michigan escape shadows at Final Four

ATLANTA | The hoops teams at Louisville and Michigan are used to being overlooked.

Chesterton's McGary leads Wolverines to NCAA title game

ATLANTA | Michigan is more than just five fabulous players.

Contrasting styles on display in Syracuse-Michigan matchup

ATLANTA | Syracuse is brimming with confidence, largely because of its suffocating style when the other team has the ball.

Emmert defends record during contentious briefing

ATLANTA | NCAA President Mark Emmert spent 15 minutes documenting the progress that the organization has made under his leadership, from making sure students go to class to fighting corruption.

Louisville top overall seed in NCAA tournament

Louisville is the top seed in the NCAA tournament after a topsy-turvy season in college basketball, capped by another round of upsets over the weekend.

Up to 7 teams may be in running for NCAA top seeds

Up to seven teams could be in the running for No. 1 seeds in the NCAA men's tournament, the chairman of the selection committee said Wednesday, providing a lot more uncertainty than a year ago.

Power outage stops Super Bowl for 34 minutes

NEW ORLEANS | The Super Bowl was halted for 34 minutes because of a power outage Sunday, plunging parts of the Superdome into darkness in the biggest game of the year.

40 years ago, Irish-Tide played game for the ages

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. | Ara Parseghian still remembers every little detail of that dreary night in New Orleans nearly four decades ago, when two titans of college football met for the first time.

Tide, Irish go old school on way to title game

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. | The BCS championship is going old school.

Phelps goes out in style, rallying in 100 fly

LONDON | Michael Phelps is turning his final Olympics into quite a victory lap, and don't fret about American swimming after he's gone.

Phelps back on top, beats Lochte in 200 IM

LONDON | Michael Phelps spent the day thinking about all the things he's doing for the final time at the pool. It turns out that included one last win over Ryan Lochte.

Americans dole out heartache to Aussies in the pool

LONDON | Nathan Adrian took out the Missile by a fingertip. Then Allison Schmitt dealt more heartache to the team from Down Under.

Phelps swims into history with 19th Olympic medal

LONDON | Michael Phelps lingered on the blocks, not wanting to make another shocking blunder. The 19th medal was his. All he had to do was avoid a DQ, then set off on what amounted to four victory laps.

Franklin, Grevers shimmer gold in pool, Lochte fails to medal

LONDON | Missy Franklin stared out on the horde of reporters, suddenly sounding very much like a high school senior-to-be. "I don't like being up here alone," she said nervously.

Vollmer 'flys' to gold; French get revenge for 2008 relay loss to US

LONDON | Ryan Lochte grabbed at the edge of the pool, head down, staring at the water. Michael Phelps glared at the scoreboard, trying to digest the first silver medal of his Olympic career.

What a race on the 1st night of Olympic swimming

LONDON | The retiring star with more gold medals than anyone. The friendly rival who intends to be the biggest star in London.

With painful meltdown, Scott joins infamous list

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England | Adam Scott, meet Jean Van de Velde.

English faves, defending champ struggle at Open

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England | Lee Westwood looked glumly at his ball lodged up against the side of a pot bunker and considered his options. Unfortunately, none of them involved a normal swing in the direction of the hole.

Phelps locks up another 8-race program in London

OMAHA, Neb. | Michael Phelps' Olympic program is set. He'll be going for another eight gold medals in London.

Weltz upsets Hansen, Shanteau in 200 breast

OMAHA, Neb. | Brendan Hansen and Eric Shanteau were the favorites.

Hansen caps comeback with return to Olympics

OMAHA, Neb. | Brendan Hansen was done with swimming after two doses of Olympic heartache.

Lochte beats Phelps in 1st showdown at trials

OMAHA, Neb. | Ryan Lochte still has Michael Phelps' number.

Phelps coy about showdown with Lochte in 400 IM

OMAHA, Neb. | The first Nebraska showdown between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte came at the edge of a curtained-off interview room, not far from the temporary pool where the U.S. Olympic swimming team will be decided.

Wade, James lead Heat past Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS | Miami's Big Two was more than enough to finish off the Pacers.

Seau suicide turns up focus on brain injuries

Dave Duerson made it easy to understand why he was ending his tortured life.

No doubt about it: ’Bama is the best after BCS rout

NEW ORLEANS | As required, Alabama's players whooped it up amid the confetti and fireworks, yet there was something muted about this championship celebration.

Look for 'big boy' football in BCS title game

NEW ORLEANS | Les Miles squeezed out a smile, clenched his left hand nervously and extended his right hand toward Nick Saban. The coaches got in an awkward grasp, forced a bit of small talk, and then posed for the cameras behind the crystal trophy that only one of them can hoist toward the S…

Stricker shoots 63 at PGA, while Woods staggers to 77

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. | Steve Stricker had a shot at history and Tiger Woods made some of his own.

McIlroy right in the mix for another major title

SANDWICH, England | On a sunny day when the old-timers shined, the kid made sure he was right in the thick of things at the British Open.

Tom Lewis shines in front of namesake to lead British Open

SANDWICH, England | His parents named him after Tom Watson, so Tom Lewis was thrilled when the pairings for the British Open came out.

Indy celebrates 100 years, hopes for better future

INDIANAPOLIS | When Alex Tagliani leads the 33-car field into the first turn of the Indianapolis 500, he'll be tugging along a century's worth of triumphs, thrills and tragedy.

From wheelchair, Schmidt inspires others at Indy

INDIANAPOLIS | Sam Schmidt's blue eyes never stop moving. They dart from one side to the other: checking out what's going on over in that corner of the garage, keeping a lookout for those who might not see him coming, and always -- always -- searching for the next opportunity.

McIlroy leads Masters, saying cool on hot day

AUGUSTA, Ga. | On a sweltering day at Augusta National, the kid stayed cool. And now, Rory McIlroy has a comfortable lead heading into the final round of a major.

Mickelson wins Masters after trying year

AUGUSTA, Ga. | Phil Mickelson has won his third Masters title, shooting a 5-under 67 to pull away for a three-stroke win over Lee Westwood.

Lefty electrifies crowd with eagle-eagle-birdie

AUGUSTA, Ga. | Lee Westwood appeared to be pulling away, the only player on the Masters leaderboard heading in the right direction Saturday.

Poulter leads at Augusta but Woods in hot pursuit

AUGUSTA, Ga. | Tiger Woods plodded along Friday, making one par after another, mixing in the occasional birdie, avoiding any major mistakes.

Woods shoots career-best opening round at Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. | Tiger Woods shot a 4-under-par 68 in the opening round of the Masters, his best score ever on the tournament's first day.

Tiger says he expects to win the Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. | While acknowledging he made some "incredibly poor decisions" in his personal life, Tiger Woods still thinks he can win the Masters -- even coming back from a five-month layoff.

It's 8: Phelps passes Spitz with another gold

BEIJING | Cheering from the pool deck, Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games on Sunday to become the grandest of Olympic champions.

Phelps wins 7th gold by 0.01 seconds

BEIJING | With history hanging in the balance, Michael Phelps decided to take one more stroke. His long arms soared above the water, windmilled past his ears and slammed into the wall.