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By using multiple high draft picks on the defensive tackle position this offseason, the Carolina Panthers are operating with the belief that a solid front line of the defense will be able to make up for issues in the defensive backfield. As of now, there are a lot of questions back there.

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The addition of Tarik Black means many things to Kansas. It makes them deeper up front. More experienced. Bigger. And maybe most importantly, coming after last week's commitment from Andrew Wiggins, it puts the Jayhawks in even stronger position to contend for the national championship in 2013-14.

What can't be overlooked, though, is the impact it could have on highly touted freshman center Joel Embiid.

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Anthony Rizzo, who began the season with less than a year of big-league service time, received a long-term contract from the Chicago Cubs last week, reported Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. Clubs are flocking to the negotiating table to lock up their young players these days, so despite such a deal being unique, perhaps Rizzo's deal is just the start.

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The Miami Marlins do have talent. Most of it is either on the disabled list in the form of Giancarlo Stanton, or in the minors and goes by the name Christian Yelich. Yelich began the year on the disabled list himself, but Southern League pitchers wish he was still there.

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After a prolonged period of no action on the Charles Woodson front, it appeared last week that a deal for the former Packer could be sealed in the near future. That hasn't happened yet, and we continue to hear additional buzz as to where he'll finally land for 2013.

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The departure of Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams will require new Minnesota coach Richard Pitino to rely on little-used players like junior bigs Elliott Eliason and Maurice Walker next season.

Walker, Pitino says, has shown a commitment to improving, which could be a sign that he's up for the challenge after averaging only 6.6 minutes as a sophomore.

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With the Kansas City Chiefs going through their OTAs this week, one of the interesting competitions on which we're keeping an eye is at ILB. One of the starters will be Derrick Johnson, but the other slot is open right now.

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The First-Year Players Draft is less than three weeks away and the Houston Astros have the No. 1 pick for the second straight year after the Pittsburgh Pirates chose first in 2011. Let's check in on the progress of those two picks.

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It's almost been a week since 6-foot-4 shooting guard Joe Coleman was granted his release from Minnesota, and since then a number of schools have come up as possible landing spots.

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If everyone is healthy and not suspended, the Seattle Seahawks should have a pretty fearsome pass rush in 2013. However, Chris Clemons is still recovering from tearing his ACL in the playoff game against Washington, Bruce Irvin will miss the first four weeks due to a league suspension, and now there's word that Cliff Avril is dealing with health troubles of his own.

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The Minnesota Twins could call on prospect Kyle Gibson to make his big-league debut Friday against the Tigers, writes Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The club options Pedro Hernandez to Triple-A, opening a spot in the rotation.

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Maryland and Virginia Tech won't meet past this season after the Terrapins officially move from the ACC to the Big Ten Conference. The vacated contest will leave a major hole among Maryland's marquee games.

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ESPN 100 center Dominic Woodson (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington Prep) was granted a release from his Letter of Intent by Baylor on Monday, and now the attention turns to where the promising big man will go from here.

Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford told ESPN's Dave Telep that Woodson's intention is to keep his list short, with Marshall and Memphis in the mix. Do any other schools have a chance?

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With OTAs kicking off this week for the Washington Redskins, the primary question on everyone's mind is the health status of franchise QB Robert Griffin III (and his wedding registry). But there are other issues that need to be sorted out, such as the identity of their starting safeties this fall. As long as he's healthy, veteran Brandon Meriweather will man one of those turrets, but that leaves the other one open.

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