Super Bowl XLVI
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.
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi scored shootout goals to give Detroit a 2-1 win over Anaheim on Friday. The victory was the Red Wings' 19th consecutive at home, one shy of the NHL record.
Jeremy Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Kobe Bryant as the New York Knicks held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night.
Arc's weekend preview: The way you beat Kentucky is by getting physical with their big guys, and the Wildcats don’t have much depth up front.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Despite an injury scare and a few missed opportunities at Monterey Peninsula CC, Tiger Woods remains in contention at the AT&T.
John Isner jolted Roger Federer with his big serve and booming groundstrokes Friday, winning 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 to give the United States a 2-0 lead against Switzerland in the first round of the Davis Cup.
Manchester City will find at least three highly motivated players in its way Sunday when it tries to improve upon its flagging away form in the Premier League at Aston Villa.
All that stuff about the Olympic ideal, how it's all about taking part, not winning, can often seem like so much hot air, rendered hopelessly quaint and outdated by the ultra-competitive and mercenary world of modern sport. Until, that is, you speak to Kieran Behan.
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.
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OAKLAND, Calif. - Maybe the next time a Boston pitcher takes a no-hit bid into the ninth inning, he’ll listen to catcher Jason Varitek.
Curt Schilling came within one out of his first career no-hitter Thursday, losing his bid when Shannon Stewart lined a clean single to right field after Schilling shook off his catcher. Schilling finished with a one-hitter as the Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 1-0.
“We get two outs, and I was sure, and I had a plan, and I shook Tek off,” Schilling said. “And I get a big ‘What if?’ for the rest of my life.”
It was not the first time a Boston pitcher shook off Varitek in the ninth inning only to see a no-hitter get broken up. Pedro Martinez did it Aug. 29, 2000, against Tampa Bay, giving up a single to John Flaherty on a fastball instead of the curve that Varitek called for.
Schilling said he called off Varitek between five and 10 times, saying it “was one time too many.”
“Hindsight is always 20-20,” Varitek said. “It wasn’t the first time he shook off all game. We had like a half-dozen. It doesn’t really matter. He made a quality pitch. If he didn’t make a quality pitch then you can second guess.”
Schilling (6-2) looked on his way to making history when he retired Mark Kotsay and Jason Kendall on grounders to shortstop for the first two outs of the ninth.
Having called fastballs to the first two batters, Varitek called for a first-pitch slider to Stewart. Schilling wanted to throw a fastball.
“I was sure he was taking, and Tek was sure he was swinging,” Schilling said. “And I was wrong.”
With a strong contingent of Red Sox fans cheering on at the Coliseum, Stewart lined the first pitch through the hole between first and second for Oakland’s only hit.
Stewart said he was expecting the take sign when he came up, but when he was given the go-ahead to swing away, he did just that.
“You never want to get no-hit,” Stewart said. “The bottom line is we lost the game. Nobody is happy about that.”
Schilling’s teammates in the dugout and many of the fans gave him a standing ovation after the hit, and he paced behind the mound for a short time, trying to gather his composure and not lose more than a no-hitter. Schilling retired Mark Ellis on a foul popout to end the third one-hitter of his career.
He also accomplished the feat in 1992 against the New York Mets and 10 years later against Milwaukee. He lost those bids early — in the third inning against the Brewers, the fifth against the Mets.
The 40-year-old would have been the third-oldest pitcher pitch a no-hitter. Nolan Ryan did it as a 43- and 44-year old, and Cy Young was 41 when he pitched a no-hitter for the Red Sox in 1908.
Schilling had twice before taken no-hit bids into the eighth inning, losing one famously when San Diego’s Ben Davis bunted for a hit with one out in the eighth inning to break up a perfect game in 2001. Schilling warned his teammates to look out for a bunt in the late innings of this game.
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
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Jeremy Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Kobe Bryant as the New York Knicks held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night.
Plenty of people are telling the Jeremy Lin story, because it's just a good story. The underdog, the unexpected and the first player since LeBron James nearly a decade ago to put up at least 20 points and eight assists in his first two NBA starts.
Chris Paul had 24 points, including the game-winning 17-footer with 3.2 seconds left, Blake Griffin added 16 points and 11 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 78-77 on Friday.