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.
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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.
Euro Roundup: First-place Manchester City won 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday on Joleon Lescott's goal in the 63rd minute, maintaining its two-point lead over Manchester United in the Premier League.
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.
AP
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff thinks Adam Morrison was the perfect choice for the Charlotte Bobcats’ first major move since Michael Jordan became part-owner.
“We’ve had the addition of two competitors — Michael Jordan and Adam Morrison — and that’s our profile,” Bickerstaff said Wednesday night after the team took the Gonzaga forward with the No. 3 pick in the draft.
Jordan, who has the final say on all basketball-related decisions, signed off on Morrison, one of the most prolific scorers in NCAA history.
“The thing I see most is his desire to win, you can’t teach that,” said Jordan, who was in the Bobcats’ war room after holding meetings all day with Bickerstaff and team scouts.
The Bobcats hope the 6-foot-8 Morrison, the nation’s leading scorer last season at 28.1 points per game, will be the consistent scorer missing in the Bobcats’ first two seasons.
“Looking at the team and what they desperately needed, they needed scoring in the fourth quarter,” Jordan said. “This team plays well in the first three quarters and competes and we needed somewhat of a leader going into the fourth quarter, a guy to finish ball games and take the big shots.”
Toronto selected Italian forward Andrea Bargnani No. 1 overall, and Chicago took forward LaMarcus Aldridge of Texas with the No. 2 pick. The Bobcats then wasted little time taking Morrison over Connecticut’s Rudy Gay and Washington’s Brandon Roy.
Jordan acknowledged there was debate over who to take.
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“We had a split room, some guys thought about Gay, some about Roy, some about Morrison,” Jordan said. “We weighed our options. Halfway through the day we narrowed it down and at the end we were on the same page.”
Bickerstaff said Morrison’s ability to score broke the deadlock.
“What’s important for us is his ability to score in various ways,” Bickerstaff said. “He reminds you of the Richard Hamiltons and the Reggie Millers, for how he comes off screens. He’s a very confident young man.”
Morrison, known for his long, shaggy hair and mustache, was considered a suspect defensive player in college and suffers from Type 1 diabetes. But Morrison, who routinely tests his blood-sugar level during games, believes he has the situation under control.
“Our doctors made a decision and they were very comfortable with it,” Bickerstaff said.
Morrison has no reservations about coming to Charlotte.
“I felt good about Charlotte all along,” said Morrison, who will wear No. 35. “It was my first (team) workout, my best workout and I liked the city. I’m very excited.”
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Morrison’s personality and on-court demeanor might also help jump-start interest in the team in Charlotte. Morrison is known to be emotional, and was criticized by some for crying on the court in the closing moments of Gonzaga’s NCAA tournament loss to UCLA in March.
Jordan, widely considered the biggest competitor in NBA history, doesn’t see that as a negative.
“That to me was more a showcase of passion for the game,” Jordan said. “So what, he’s emotional? He’s emotional because he pours his heart into it. That was a positive factor for me.”
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.
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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.
