Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
ReutersPARIS - Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo knocked out defending champion Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-2 Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Gaz de France.
Mauresmo, the Australian Open champion and world No. 2, will face Tatiana Golovin, an unseeded Frenchwoman who outlasted third-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 in a 2½-hour match.
“I had been longing for revenge for the match last year,” said Mauresmo, who lost to Safina in a three-set final in 2005. “I showed deep concentration and a lot of rigor in today’s match, and some calm.
“It was a bit more difficult than what the scoreboard shows. She didn’t play badly, but I countered her in almost every area.”
Mauresmo broke Safina twice, and fought off three break points at 3-2 to win the first set 6-2. Safina sent a forehand out on match point.
“I think I played well today,” Safina said. “I just missed some really important shots.”
Mary Pierce needed two tiebreakers to defeat Emilie Loit of France 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4). She will face fourth-seeded Patty Schnyder, who cruised into the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-3 victory in less than an hour over fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva.
Pierce battled through a tight first set, failing to capitalize on five break points. In the tiebreaker, she converted first set point with a crosscourt forehand.
The second set was almost a repeat of the first, with Loit forcing another tiebreaker. This time, Pierce broke for a 4-0 lead. Pierce won when Loit sent a forehand into the net.
|
The Schnyder-Dementieva match stayed close in the early games, with the Russian finding the lines while Schnyder stretched the angles with her heavy topspin.
“I really dominated. I stuck with my tactics and kept my concentration,” Schnyder said. “I tried to change speeds on her backhand. I served well. That helps a lot in exchanges.”
At 3-3 and 15-30, a double fault by Dementieva gave Schnyder a break point that she converted with a spectacular backhand lob to lead 4-3. Schnyder again broke Dementieva at 5-3 and 15-40 with a passing shot down the line to seal the first set.
In the second set, Schnyder gained a decisive break in the fourth game at 30-40 when Dementieva sent a backhand out for a lead 3-1.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
 | Slide show |
 |
 | Slideshow |
 |
NBCSports.com |
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
