Peyton Manning joins Denver Broncos

(CNN) -- Free agent quarterback Peyton Manning will play for the Denver Broncos, the team announced Tuesday.

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Illinois 'must-win' state for Romney

Wheaton, Illinois (CNN) -- Here we go again -- another Tuesday, another "must-win" primary state for Mitt Romney.

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Ian Thomsen: Even without their MVP, the Bulls look like contenders in Magic rout

ORLANDO -- Derrick Rose is turning out to be more valuable on the bench than Dwight Howard and other NBA stars have been on the floor. With their defense setting a franchise record in an 85-59 win over the Magic on Monday, the Bulls improved to 10-4 this year in the absence of Rose, the injured MVP. Their winning rate of 71.4 percent without him is better than all but two teams -- Oklahoma City and Miami -- in the everyday standings.

In a league ruled by the most talented individuals, Chicago is transcendent. Howard (18 points, 12 rebounds and four turnovers) was easily the biggest talent on the floor, yet he was outplayed by Carlos Boozer, who finished with 24 points on 12-for-18 shooting to go with 13 rebounds and four steals. The Bulls have overcome the absence of Rose, All-Star Luol Deng (who has missed nine games) and shooting guard Richard Hamilton (31 absences) to enable second-year coach Tom Thibodeau (100-30) to win his 100th game faster than any coach in league history. It's worthwhile to point out that Phil Jackson started out 100-42 with Michael Jordan -- who, by the way, was rarely injured.

"He's the hardest-working guy I've ever been around and he deserves it," said Bulls center Joakim Noah of his coach. The coach, in turn, would say the same kinds of things about his team, and no one in the league would argue with either one of them.

The other day Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy was mentioning to his assistants that the Bulls might be able to win games even if they were missing all five of their starters. "To me, they're the best team in the league as far as a team collectively playing together, being unselfish, being committed -- doing all of those things it takes to win," said Van Gundy before this game. "They're the best team.''

Then, without having to worry about Rose, Van Gundy watched the Bulls nonetheless control the pace and hold the full-strength Magic to 59 points, which is the fewest Chicago has ever allowed in a regular-season game. The Magic made 4 of 20 threes, provided Chicago with 25 points on 19 turnovers and shot no better from the free throw line than the Bulls did from the three-point line, as each went 7 of 18, respectively. When he wasn't acknowledging the superior teamwork of the Bulls, Van Gundy was criticizing himself. "Our offense was pathetic, and that's something that I have got to take a look at because we've got better players than that," he said. "I don't want to lay it on one or two guys, and I also don't want to absolve anybody. This is a team-wide thing."

A night like this raises intriguing questions for May and June. Might the Bulls be able to win a championship while overcoming the superior star power of the Heat, Thunder and other contenders? In the last week alone the Rose-less Bulls have beaten Miami, Orlando and Philadelphia, the other top seeds in the East. Rose should be in no hurry to push himself back from his latest groin injury because his absence generates opportunities for his teammates to grow more confident at the expense of their rivals. "Right now they're the No. 2 offensive team in the league and the No. 2 defensive team in the league," said Van Gundy. "You see those numbers, you're saying (they're a) championship contender."

The normal NBA thinking is to give a hard-driving team like these Bulls credit for their work in the regular season while asking whether they can raise their level of play in the postseason, which is something the stars of Miami should be able to do. But couldn't it also be true that the Bulls won't need to play any better or more efficiently than they have at their best this season? Or how about this one: If they can win as impressively as they have in recent days without Rose, then maybe they can yet elevate their overall game when he's at full strength when the real season starts in six weeks?

A team known for its point-guard play earned a clobbering victory on a night when its starting point guard, C.J. Watson, went 0 for 8 from the field with three assists and two turnovers. The Bulls are malleable and resilient. They pulled away at the end of the opening quarter on a trio of threes by aptly-named third-string point guard John Lucas III. He finished with 20 points in 21 minutes off the bench to outscore anyone in a Magic uniform, and each time Lucas made a shot the Chicago fans made the arena sound like it belonged to them.

"We've got a deep team," said Thibodeau, who is not one to exaggerate.

Someday soon enough, when Rose is healthy, we're going to find out if they have a championship team. There's no sense in saying they don't, because if they've shown a talent for anything, it's for creating splendid surprises.

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Marshall recovering from surgery

The father of North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall said Monday his son is recovering from surgery on his broken right wrist and it's unclear if he'll return for the NCAA regional games in St. Louis.

Dennis Marshall said the procedure done in Chapel Hill, N.C., to insert a screw into his son's wrist lasted about 35 minutes. He said when Kendall plays again would be based on "what would be best for Kendall in the long term" and that he didn't know whether the sophomore would be ready to play in the round of 16 against Ohio on Friday.

"I don't know because Kendall's just coming out of his anesthesia, we haven't talked and I don't know how he'll feel four days from now," Dennis Marshall said. "We just don't know.

"Is it impossible he plays this weekend? No, it's not. Is it likely he plays next weekend? It definitely is. It's something we just don't know."

The school also said Marshall's status was unclear for Friday's game in an update Monday afternoon. The Tar Heels (31-5) are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional.

The left-handed point guard fractured the scaphoid bone - located near the thumb - when he was fouled driving to the basket during the second half of Sunday's win against Creighton at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Marshall popped right up, then came out of the media timeout and hit 1 of 2 free throws. He left briefly, then returned again and played about 7 minutes before leaving the game late with the victory secured.

"I didn't want my team to worry about me," Marshall said Sunday night. "So I tried to pop up as quick as possible and get to the free-throw line. I didn't want to make a big deal about it. I just want to keep playing and find a way to win."

Marshall, from Dumfries, Va., is a second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference pick who has 351 assists in 36 games, the best season total in league history and fourth most in NCAA history.

The pass-first point guard is averaging about eight points and 10 assists, though he has stepped up his offense recently and scored in double figures the past six games. He had 18 points and 11 assists in the 87-73 win against the Bluejays, his fifth double-double in that span.

Marshall has been the Tar Heels' most irreplaceable player, leading the fast-paced offense with his see-everything court vision and perfect pitch-ahead passes in transition.

The Tar Heels lost No. 2 ballhandler Dexter Strickland to a season-ending knee injury in January. If Marshall can't go, the job would fall to freshman Stilman White and versatile senior Justin Watts.

Dennis Marshall said he and his wife planned to stay in a hotel to take care of Kendall - who is wearing a splint - on Monday night. He said the family and Williams would likely wait a couple of days before talking about the point guard's status for the regionals.

"I would just tell everybody not to get their hopes up and just pray and hope for the best," Dennis Marshall said. "That's about all we can do at this point."

Kendall Marshall's scheduled surgery was first reported by CBS.com late Sunday.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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How to fake a good night's sleep

(Health.com) -- No matter how dedicated you are to getting your shut-eye, sometimes a less-than-stellar night's sleep is inevitable. The good news: "One bad night's sleep isn't going to hurt you long term," says Joyce Walsleben, Ph.D., coauthor of "A Woman's Guide to Sleep."

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Xavier storms back on Lehigh

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- Xavier is making a habit of reaching the round of 16.

Senior center Kenny Frease scored a career-high 25 points to go with 12 rebounds, and the Musketeers knocked off upset-minded Lehigh 70-58 Sunday night to advance to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in five years.

Xavier was ranked as high as eighth in the country earlier this season, but a midseason bench-clearing brawl that resulted in player suspensions seemed to turn the season on a sour note. They lost their edge and had to battle to make the tournament.

But they seem to have rekindled their momentum.

"We ultimately knew we had talent, but for whatever reason things just weren't clicking," Frease said. "We're coming together at the right time. It feels real good to get back to the Sweet 16."

Lehigh, which stunned No. 2 seed Duke on Friday, was looking to become the first 15 seed to make it to the tournament's second weekend.

But the 7-foot Frease stood in the way.

He dominated in the paint, hitting 11 of 13 shots, and Tu Holloway was his normal productive self with 21 points as 10th-seeded Xavier (22-12) moved on to play No. 3 seed Baylor on Friday in the South Regional at Atlanta.

"Lehigh is a very good team, but they're also small," said Xavier coach Chris Mack. "I'm sure they don't face the type of size that Kenny presents. We just wanted to be able to get the ball to Kenny, and fortunately he was able to finish."

Frease was quick to turn the praise to his teammates after what Mack called his best game as a Musketeer.

"My guards put me in great position," Frease said. "I wouldn't have been able to score if it wasn't for those guys putting me in good positions and finding me at the right time. It made my job pretty easy. All I had to do was turn and finish."

Lehigh center Gabe Knutson, who gave up three inches and 55 pounds to Frease, said he tried the best he could to defend Xavier's burly big man.

"I didn't do as good of a job as I could have defending him, but he's a tremendous player and he had a tremendous night," Knutson said.

Lehigh's shooting, on the other hand, wasn't so tremendous - particularly in the second half with two separate stretches in which the team didn't make a basket for more than 6 minutes.

The Mountain Hawks shot 5 of 34 (14.7 percent) from the field in the second half.

The Musketeers held C.J. McCollum, the nation's fifth-leading scorer, to 14 points on 5-of-22 shooting and overcame a 15-point first-half deficit. He came in averaging 21.9 points per game and scored 30 in the win over Duke.

"I just wasn't making shots," McCollum said. "I just missed some shots tonight, and offense is going to come and go. We still have to get stops on defense, and we didn't do that tonight."

Mackey McKnight had 20 points for Lehigh (27-7), which tied a Patriot League record for wins in a season.

The Musketeers won despite playing most of the game without their third-leading scorer, Dezmine Wells. He injured his right toe in the first half and did not return.

Mack said he will be reevaluated this week but is hopeful he can play against Baylor.

The Mountain Hawks started strong, opening a 35-20 lead behind 53 percent shooting and 14 first-half points from McKnight. But after McCollum picked up his second foul Xavier clawed back to cut the lead to 37-33 at halftime behind a 3-point buzzer-beater by Holloway.

The Mountain Hawks went more than 7 minutes without a field goal to start the second half - missing their first 10 shots from the field - and the Musketeers took advantage by going on a 14-3 spurt to take a 47-40 lead.

The Mountain Hawks fought back again, however, tying the game at 52. That's when Xavier took over for good, closing with an 18-6 run.

Holloway, who had to change his jersey number in the second half from 52 to 24 after getting blood on it, led the charge.

He hit a 3-pointer with 6:58 remaining to give the Musketeers a 55-52 lead they never relinquished.

He scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half. That came two nights after he scored 17 of his 25 after halftime in a win over Notre Dame.

Holloway said getting back to the round of 16 showed Xavier's resolve.

"Coach Mack was talking to us about how everyone's taking shots at us around the country," Holloway said. "After going through so much, we're still standing today in the last 16 teams. And it showed. It just shows the character."

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'Whisperer': Adopting the right dog

Atlanta (CNN) -- Cesar Millan has been showcasing his talents as "The Dog Whisperer" since 2004, teaching dog owners how to train their energetic and oftentimes misbehaving canines.

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