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Bears great Brian Urlacher has announced his retirement after 13 years in the league. Urlacher recorded 1,353 tackles, 41.5 sacks, and 22 interceptions in his illustrious career, and though he never won a Super Bowl, he'll likely be an early entry into the Hall of Fame. The Bears have had their share of great linebackers, but where does Urlacher rank on the all-time list? Submit your rankings now!

NFL's greatest linebackers

Chuck Bednarik

Chuck Bednarik

Eagles: 1949-1962

Dick Butkus

Dick Butkus

Bears: 1965-1973

Derrick Brooks

Derrick Brooks

Buccaneers: 1995-2008

Jack Ham

Jack Ham

Steelers: 1971-1982

Jack Lambert

Jack Lambert

Steelers: 1974-1984

Willie Lanier

Willie Lanier

Chiefs: 1967-1977

Ray Lewis

Ray Lewis

Ravens: 1996-2012

Willie McGinest

Willie McGinest

Patriots: 1994-2005

Browns: 2006-2008

Ray Nitschke

Ray Nitschke

Packers: 1958-1972

Junior Seau

Junior Seau

Chargers: 1990-2002

Dolphins: 2002-2005

Patriots: 2006-2009

Mike Singletary

Mike Singletary

Bears: 1981-1992

Lawrence Taylor

Lawrence Taylor

Giants: 1981-1993

Derrick Thomas

Derrick Thomas

Chiefs: 1989-1999

Andre Tippett

Andre Tippett

Patriots: 1982-1993

Brian Urlacher

Brian Urlacher

Bears: 2000-2012

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Angels' Mike Trout hits for cycle

At 21 years, 288 days old, Mike Trout became the youngest player in AL history to hit for the cycle on Tuesday, nearly making it a natural cycle, by going single, triple, double, home run. After winning the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year and finishing second in the AL MVP voting, Trout is proving in 2013 that he is no one-year wonder.

  • The record for cycles in a career is three. Mike Trout hit his first Tuesday night at age 21. Will he hit more than three in his career?

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    Discuss (Total votes: 40,445)

  • How many MVP awards will Mike Trout win in his career?

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      6%
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      48%
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    Discuss (Total votes: 8,784)

  • Mike Trout is projected to finish the season batting .293, with 32 HR, 122 RBI, 112 R, 32 SB. How will his final stats compare?

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      34%
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      17%

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  • Which player has a better chance to win AL MVP this year?

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      75%
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      25%

    Discuss (Total votes: 8,915)

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The draft lottery has been great to the Cleveland Cavaliers -- they got LeBron James out of it one year, Kyrie Irving in another, and now they've got the No. 1 pick in this year's draft. There's no true standout star from this class (although a healthy Nerlens Noel might qualify), leading to speculation that the Cavs might end up trading the pick -- a move that hasn't been made in 20 years. The Cavs have three other picks in this draft and a lot of cap space, but the lure of picking first might be too strong for them to resist, given how well it's worked for them in the past.

More: How would you rank the top players in this year's NBA draft?


Best pick?

There's no LeBron James in this draft, but the available players all seem solid and professional -- not lightning in a bottle, exactly, but better than some No. 1 picks we could name.

SportsNation

Which of these players would be the best choice for the Cavaliers to take with the first pick of the NBA draft?

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    16%
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    13%
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    49%
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Big Two?

Nerlens Noel is currently rehabbing, but if he ends up recovering fully, he and Kyrie Irving could form the core of a pretty good team.

SportsNation

Would the Cavaliers be championship contenders with a core of Kyrie Irving and a healthy Nerlens Noel?

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A reasonable system?

The Magic didn't get the first pick despite having the worst record in the league. The top pick hasn't gone to the worst team since 2004 -- which, oddly enough, just happened to be the Magic.

SportsNation

Should the worst team in the NBA automatically get the No. 1 pick in the draft, instead of a higher chance at it under the current lottery system?

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Welcome to SportsNation! On Wednesday, ESPN NBA Insider Chad Ford will drop by to talk some hoops.

Ford covers the NBA and NBA Draft for ESPN Insider and also makes appearances on ESPN Radio and ESPNEWS.

Send your questions now and join Ford Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET!

More Chad Ford: Chats | Columns | NBA index

Go to chat »

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Leading a team to 56 wins and a Pacific Division title is usually enough to keep a coach's job secure, but that clearly wasn't the case with Vinny Del Negro and the Clippers. A first-round playoff loss to the Memphis Grizzlies likely didn't help matters, although Del Negro did have to deal with a slew of injuries to some of his best players. Assuming they keep Chris Paul, the Clippers will find out next season whether Del Negro was the reason why they couldn't get over the hump.

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

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When you pay a baseball team $214.8 million, you expect certain things in return for your investment. Wins would be nice. Scoring some runs would be great, too. Both have been scarce for the Dodgers, 18-25 entering Tuesday's games and 29th in the majors in runs scored. Consider this: Only the Marlins have scored fewer runs. And Miami's payroll is substantially less than the Dodgers' $214.8 million.

So should we interpret general manager Ned Colletti's endorsement of manager Don Mattingly as the dreaded vote of confidence -- the kind often followed by a firing? Mattingly isn't to blame for the Dodgers' near-comic rash of early season injuries. And Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier haven't exactly hit the cover off the ball. But fairly or unfairly, it's the manager who pays with his job when things go wrong. Will Mattingly survive the season?

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

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It seems that every time the modern Lakers try to assemble a collection of superstars, it doesn't quite work out as planned -- just ask Karl Malone and Gary Payton. Dwight Howard is just the latest representation of this -- he didn't have a bad season, but it wasn't up to his usual standards, and the Lakers as a whole limped to a swift playoff exit. Now, details are emerging from Howard's exit interview with the team -- namely, that he wasn't happy with the way coach Mike D'Antoni utilized him during the season. Howard is a free agent this season, and it sounds as if D'Antoni's continued employment by the team might be a sticking point in any attempt to re-sign the star center.


Will Howard return?

Mitch Kupchak said he was optimistic about re-signing Howard, but the normally verbose center has been noticeably silent regarding his future in the past few weeks.

SportsNation

Which team will Dwight Howard be playing for next season?

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Howard on your team?

Howard, at his best, is a dominating defensive force who can occasionally take over games on offense, but has he worn out his welcome?

SportsNation

Would you want your favorite team to sign Dwight Howard this offseason?

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    43%
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    57%

Discuss (Total votes: 53,070)


Who would you keep?

Mike D'Antoni was able to just barely turn the Lakers' season around, but it might not be worth keeping him around if it means losing out on a few more years of Howard.

SportsNation

Mike D'Antoni's presence as Lakers head coach is reportedly an obstacle to Dwight Howard's return. If you could only have one, who would you rather keep?

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    28%
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    72%

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At 4:02 p.m. ET (3:02 CT) Monday, the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla., warned the residents of Moore, a suburb just south of Oklahoma City, that their lives were in peril.

The devastation that followed the next 45 minutes was felt throughout the sports world. Many simply offered the hashtag #PrayForOklahoma. Others offered instructions on how they could use their mobile devices to donate to relief efforts.

Those with personal connections to Oklahoma City and its surrounding communities were among the first to react on Twitter. Thunder star Kevin Durant, who on Tuesday pledged $1 million for relief efforts, was among them.

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, a native of nearby Midwest City, said he would let his bat do the talking:

The first tweet from Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, an Oklahoma City native, came at 5:09 ET, little more than an hour after the tornado touched down. He asked followers for prayers and assistance. (While McCoy called it an "F5" tornado, the storm has been classified an F4, at least for now.)

Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker is also a native of Oklahoma City. He used Twitter to offer a means for followers to donate to relief efforts.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders, who played college football at Oklahoma State, had been in the region until Sunday.

For former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, the news struck a personal chord of a different kind. Wife Brenda's parents were killed in 1996 when a tornado struck their Arkansas home.

Other athletes offered prayers for the victims as they reflected on the devastation the storm caused.

Join the conversation and follow us on Twitter @ESPN.

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Golf isn't exactly a strenuous sport, it can be argued, so you'd think that an innovation that would allow players to somehow put in less effort would be welcomed. That hasn't been the case with the style of anchoring a putter to the body, however, which the sport's governing body has decided to ban beginning in 2016. Several golfers who use this style are upset, but a number of golf's big names have spoken in favor of the ban -- Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Arnold Palmer, just to name a few. Fortunately for golfers opposed to the ban, they'll have a few years to work out the yips as they go back to basics.

What do you think? Leave your comments below.


A ripple effect?

Four of the past six major championship winners have used belly putters, with Masters winner Adam Scott being perhaps the most visible beneficiary of anchoring.

SportsNation

How big of an impact will banning anchored putters have on the golfers who currently use them?

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    58%
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    42%

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NHL Playoffs: Disallowed goal

Two goals in a quick 31 seconds proved to be the difference in the Detroit Red Wings' 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of their second round series. However, a disallowed Blackhawks goal could have tied the game at 2, possibly changing the final outcome. Did the refs get the call right? And who wins Game 4?

Did officials make the right call in disallowing a Blackhawks goal due to interference of the goaltender in Game 3 of the Blackhawks-Red Wings series?

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    57%
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Discuss (Total votes: 7,332)

  • Which team will win Game 4 of the Blackhawks-Red Wings series in Detroit?

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      58%

    Discuss (Total votes: 6,379)

  • Which team will win the Blackhawks-Red Wings second-round playoff series? (Red Wings lead 2-1)

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