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.
Golf's dream pairing - Woods and Mickelson - is on the course in the final round at Pebble Beach. Jason Sobel has 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.
Getty ImagesThe Cavs went ahead 63-53 midway through the third quarter on James’ 3, leaving Prince holding his jaw. Then, the Pistons punched back, perhaps fearing elimination for the first time in the series.
A 13-3 run tied the game before Cleveland went back ahead 68-66.
The Cavs scored the first six points of the fourth, the last point coming on a free throw when Rasheed Wallace was called for a technical after his fifth foul.
McDyess — who was held to six total points in Games 3-4 in Cleveland — made three straight shots to tie the game at 77 with 5:10 left.
After the score was knotted again, Jones was fouled as he made a 3-point shot, but he missed the ensuing free throw, then had a shot blocked, leading to Billups’ layup that made it 82-81.
McDyess sat on the bench for several minutes following the game — putting his hands behind his head, staring across the court in disbelief.
The Pistons began the playoffs as the favorites to win it all after falling just short of repeating as champions last year in Game 7 at San Antonio.
The first quarter Wednesday ended 20-all, the fifth tie of the game after 10 lead changes.
Cleveland went ahead on Marshall’s 3-pointer with 8:57 left in the first half, and the Pistons didn’t have the lead the rest of the game.
The Cavs led 50-45 at halftime.
Ilgauskas gave James plenty of support in the first half. He had nine points — surpassing his point totals from the previous two games — and seven rebounds along with four blocks, which tied a Cleveland playoff record for blocked shots in a half. Ilgauskas finished with six blocks, tying a franchise postseason record.
While the Cavs were warming up at halftime with a 50-45 lead, James leaned against the scorer’s table checking out the box score.
He had to like what he saw.
The 21-year-old phenom scored 22 first-half points on 9-of-17 shooting; Ilgauskas was off to a strong start; and the Cavs’ reserves were outscoring Detroit’s 17-2.
For the third straight game, the Cavs were without starting shooting guard Larry Hughes, who has been with his family since the death of his 20-year-old brother. The entire team attended Justin Hughes’ funeral in St. Louis on Tuesday, the morning after winning Game 4, then flew to suburban Detroit without a practice between games. Cavs general manager Danny Ferry said there was still no timetable for Hughes to return.
Notes: James led the league in votes for the All-NBA team, and he called it the best achievement of his career. ... The Pistons had two All-NBA players for the first time in franchise history, with Billups and Ben Wallace earning spots on the second team. ... Saunders was called for a technical midway through the fourth, screaming for a foul to be called against James.
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
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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.
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.
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