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.
AP
LAS VEGAS - After Brigham Young’s defense allowed UCLA to drive 87 yards in the final 2 minutes, Eathyn Manumaleuna saved the Cougars with his fingertip.
Manumaleuna got his right hand on Kai Forbath’s field goal attempt as time expired, giving the No. 19 Cougars a 17-16 win over the Bruins in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday night.
“I don’t know how I jumped. I don’t really have a high vertical,” said Manumaleuna, a 280-pound lineman who led the surge that kept UCLA from completing an amazing comeback.
The Bruins held BYU to a season-low 265 yards of offense and rallied behind their fourth-string quarterback and 124 yards of field goals by Forbath. Forbath had made kicks of 22, 52 and 50 yards to keep the Bruins close, but his 28-yarder at the end wasn’t quite high enough to clear the defensive line.
BYU (11-2) won its 10th straight, getting another magic play at the end. The Cougars converted a fourth-and-18 on their winning drive against rival Utah on Nov. 24. This time it was the defense that came up with the improbable save.
“It was a fitting play that shows the resolve of this team,” BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said.
UCLA was playing for interim coach DeWayne Walker, the defensive coordinator who took over after Karl Dorrell was fired at the end of the regular season. If it was Walker’s only game as UCLA’s coach, it was a memorable one.
The Bruins’ top two quarterbacks were on the sideline with injuries, but Walker’s defense swarmed the Cougars all game and kept the BYU offense in check more than anyone else had this season.
“No coach was worried about jobs. Players, they didn’t worry about the new head coach,” Walker said. “All we wanted to do was just work and play a respectable game. We wanted to win the game. We fell a little short.”
UCLA forced BYU to punt with about 2 minutes left and started the final drive on its own 2-yard line. Walk-on quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson and running back Chris Markey led the Bruins 87 yards, getting a 36-yard completion from Bethel-Thompson to Logan Paulsen on a third-and-8 play with 30 seconds left.
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The Bruins ran one play, then called timeout with the ball at the 11 and only 3 seconds left. Forbath, who was 3-for-3, kicked it low enough for Manumaleuna to get a piece of it and keep the ball from getting through the uprights, although there was some confusion on who actually got the block.
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“What I saw was an incredible surge,” Mendenhall said. “We sent all 11, which is a desperation block.”
BYU improved to 2-7 against UCLA, beating the Bruins for the first time since 1983. The Cougars also avenged a 27-17 loss to UCLA in the second week of the season, one of just two losses this year for BYU.
The Bruins were just inches away from salvaging the season with a winning record.
“I don’t think we could have gone out on a better play,” said Hall, who completed 21 of 35 for 231 yards.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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Bowlnanza: Day 1 Dec. 22: John Walters goes to the Las Vegas Bowl on his first stop of this year's Bowlnanza. |
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 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
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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.
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.
