| The Bonus: Bold, flashy uniforms the latest craze to attract recruits and Red Sox acquire Bailey from A's in 5-player deal |
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Fresh and fly. Those words turn college football coaches downright giddy as they hit the recruiting trail. And to elicit those words, trendy new uniforms help do the trick.Programs across the country use uniforms to sell an image of bold and hip -- wooing recruits with the point of a threaded needle -- creating excitement and buzz. Case in point: Arizona State. When was the last time the Sun Devils came up in casual conversation about college football? But now Arizona State has recruits talking, athletes jazzed up and athletic department officials grinning. As one of the latest schools to update their threads like Oregon, the Sun Devils have grabbed their inner pitchfork and turned bold -- and very black -- uniforms into the freshest recruiting tool in the desert."I've always said if Oregon would have offered me (a scholarship), it would have been a tough thing to turn them down just for the uniforms," ASU defensive back Omar Bolden says. [Read the full article] ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Rafael Nadal plans to take several weeks off after the Australian Open to recover from a nagging shoulder injury.The second-ranked Nadal said Thursday the injury surfaced before the ATP World Tour Finals in November and that he was still "not 100 percent." He only decided three days ago to defend his title at the World Tennis Championships, a two-day exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi."I had a problem before London with my shoulder and I had to stop for about 10 days before the (ATP) finals," Nadal said Thursday in Abu Dhabi. "It felt better but again it resurfaced. In December, I did not have enough time to practice because of that."Nadal will play the winner of a match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer in the semifinals on Friday. [Read the full article] We're coming to the end of a fascinating year of baseball, with tremendous comebacks, a surprise World Series winner, one of the great single days in the game's history and the news that we'll have labor peace for years to come. Can 2012 top that? Perhaps. Here are 10 things I think I think about the upcoming year:1. The Marlins won't get a playoff spot for their money. The Marlins committed $191 million over six years to Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell, then fell short in their pitches to C.J. Wilson and Albert Pujols. That may be costly. The Marlins are certainly better for adding the three; however, they currently project to win about 84-85 games, making them no better than the third-best team in the NL East. As in 2011, their 2012 fate may be decided by the health and effectiveness of Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez -- as well as whether the latter embraces his new position. All things considered, the Phillies and Braves are still a bit better than the Marlins.2. [Read the full article] 
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