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.
“I got to give her a quick hug,” she said Friday. “She looked amazing, vibrant. I figured we would hook up again, but we didn’t. That’s what makes it so impossible to believe.”
Army assistant coach Dave Magarity had noticed a nagging cough recently. When he heard Dixon had fainted earlier this week, “My first reaction, she’s been running around like crazy with the season, the tournament, the Final Four.
“She had to be exhausted, that’s what I thought,” he said.
Magarity coached at Marist for 20 years before he took his first job coaching women last fall. He knew Jaime, having played against his team.
“With the Cadets, there are so many demands on them. It was almost like their time to have fun. I’m not sure they had fun before. She put a whole lot into these six months. She had a great run,” he said.
After Dixon walked into Bruno’s life in 2000, she rose from camp counselor to top assistant and recruiter in five years. In that span, the Blue Demons had three consecutive 20-win seasons and earned three straight trips to the NCAA tournament.
Bruno and Dixon talked every day since. They last saw each other at the Final Four, where she helped close down the hospitality suite, he said.
“She and (Connecticut coach) Geno Auriemma were the last two people there,” Bruno said.
Bruno visited Dixon at her bedside Thursday. He flew back to Chicago, learned she had died and told the DePaul players that evening.
“We cried, we laughed, told stories,” Bruno said. “We walked away reflected. She was a bubbly, fun-loving personality.”
Dixon was from North Hollywood, Calif., and her parents were both in the entertainment industry. At 6-foot-1, she had hopes of playing in the WNBA, but got cut by the Los Angeles Sparks after a tryout.
She then turned to coaching. Kathy Marpe wasn’t surprised by the immediate impact she made in her first year at Army, which finished 20-11 this season.
“The sky was the limit, she was a young and energetic coach that felt she could accomplish anything, and she did,” Marpe said. “Some players have a feel for the game. Plus, she had Jamie to model herself after. He really was her guiding light.”
Jamie was an assistant at Pitt under Ben Howland, and succeeded him. Howland, now at UCLA, fondly remembered Maggie.
“Words cannot express the sorrow and sympathy I feel for the loss of Maggie and for the Dixon family,” Howland said. “Maggie was an unbelievable person — young, vibrant, energetic and full of love. All of us are going to miss her dearly.
“Maggie was always a caring and giving person, willing to help anybody at any time. We should celebrate her life, which was much too short.”
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.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
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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.
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.