Here's your wakeup call -- a combination of newsworthy andor interesting tidbits -- for Tuesday, February 12:
BASEBALL
You may sit unsigned until the beginning of spring training, as Michael Bourn did, but Scott Boras usually always comes through for his clients . . . as long as you don't mind playing in Cleveland. (AP)
Bourn is certainly in the Braves' rear-view mirror, judging by how enthusiastic they are at the start of camp. (AP)
Chris Carpenter is hoping against hope that, somehow, he'll pitch again. (AP)
That elbow flareup that's prevented Ryan Madson from throwing since Feb. 1? Nothing to worry about, insists Mike Scioscia. (AP)
The A's players are letting bygones by bygones with Bartolo Colon, whose 50-game suspension for PED use last August left them in the lurch a bit during their hunt for a playoff spot. (CSN Bay Area)
Carlos Marmol defends himself -- passionately -- against sexual-assault allegations leveled against him in the Dominican Republic. (CSN Chicago)
New England Patriots
Cavan Biggio? Kacy Clemens? Josh Pettitte? Yep, they're all the sons of who you think they're the sons of, and they're all playing high school baseball in the Houston area. (CSN Houston)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Whaddya know? Indiana remains No. 1 despite its loss to Illinois last week. (AP)
Colorado State cracks the national rankings for the first time since the days of President Eisenhower and I Love Lucy. (AP)
Things return to normal in what's been a mixed-up Jayhawks Nation, as Kansas routs arch-rival Kansas State. (AP)
It's not how you start, it's how you finish. Georgetown -- suddenly holding the inside track for the regular-season Big East championship after its 63-55 win over No. 18 Marquette -- is proving that. (NBC's College Basketball Talk)
If Myck Kabongo knew then what he knows now, he'd have cooperated with the NCAA way back when. But he didn't, he got suspended, and now, finally, he's back on the court at Texas. (CSN Houston)
Off the court, and perhaps for a long time, is UConn's Enosch Wolf. (AP)
It should just be two games for Butler's Andrew Smith, though. (AP)
Albany? Eighth-best in women's basketball? So says the UPS Team Performance Index -- though not the voters in the AP poll, who don't even have the Great Danes in the top 25 -- but coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson says she isn't surprised her team ranks so high. (AP)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
And here we thought no one would believe the Paterno family's report. (AP)
It looks like Penn State's getting its checkbook out. (AP)
The NCAA's loosening of recruiting rules has the Big Ten coaches all nervous. (AP)
Tyler Gaffney's decided baseball's not for him, after all, and he's returning to the Stanford backfield. (CSN Bay Area)
Dennis Erickson's decided retirement's not for him. after all, and he's returning to college football as co-offensive coordinator at Utah. (AP)
Charlie Weis gives Dave Campo a promotion. (AP)
HOCKEY
Mikhail Grabovski's little nip at Max Pacioretty -- sorry, alleged nip -- apparently wasn't caught on camera, so he's going to get away with it. Oh, to be listening to the Montreal talk stations today . . . (AP)
Remember when the Sharks were sailing along as one of the NHL's elite? Yeah, me neither. (CSN Bay Area)
San Jose was "outworked, out-executed, out-detailed, out-goaltended, out- a lot of things" in last night's embarrassing 6-2 loss to the Blue Jackets, according to coach Todd McLellan. Um, Todd? Take a page from the Belichick book and throw "out-coached" in there, too. Just to keep it egalitarian. (NBC's Pro Hockey Talk)
The "home stand from hell"? That's not good, is it, Blues? (Pro Hockey Talk)
If misery loves company, St. Louis will be hanging with the Islanders these days. (AP)
In the injury department, the Maple Leafs may be without starting goalie James Reimer for a while after he got hurt in Toronto's 5-2 win over the Flyers . . . (AP)
. . . and the Avalanche may have lost defenseman Erik Johnson for a spell in their overtime loss to the Coyotes. (Pro Hockey Talk)
And here you thought baseball had the market cornered on obscure records. (Pro Hockey Talk)
PRO BASKETBALL
Tim Duncan? Tony Parker? Manu Ginobili? Who needs 'em? Certainly not the Spurs. (AP)
And this is why Tom Thibodeau thinks San Antonio is the gold standard of the NBA. (CSN Chicago)
Once the Clippers got their stars back, they got back to having fun . . . like last night in Philadelphia. (AP)
No, Andrew Bynum's not playing. No, he's not practicing. But, honest, any day now. (CSN Philly)
James Harden is day-to-day with a sore knee. Uh oh, isn't that what they said about Bynum in, like, October? (CSN Houston)
In more mundane injury news, Danny Granger is about to return. Jealous, Sixers Nation? (AP)
I thought basketball uniforms with sleeves went out with the peach baskets, but the Warriors are bringing 'em back. (NBC's Pro Basketball Talk)
PRO FOOTBALL
The Richard Seymour Era is over in Oakland. (CSN Bay Area)
Did you wonder over the weekend what would happen if a storm like Nemo hit the New York area during next year's Super Bowl? Well, so did the NFL . . . and it started drawing up contingency plans. (NBC's Pro Football Talk)
Bill Polian thinks he has the answer to make the game safer: Widen the field. (Pro Football Talk)
In one of the first surprises of the Chip Kelly regime, the Eagles bring back Michael Vick. (CSN Philly)
The NFLPA still wants the Chargers' team doctor to go, even though an independent panel "totally exonerated" him. (AP)
The Giants give the oft-injured Terrell Thomas another shot. (AP)
The Bills, however, are through with Nick Barnett and George Wilson. (AP)
He's baaaccck . . . or so he hopes. (CSN Bay Area)