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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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.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -England defender Joleon Lescott preserved Manchester City's two-point lead in the Premier League by scoring a second-half winner in a 1-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday.
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SAN JOSE, Calif. - Radek Stepanek advanced to the final of the SAP Open on Saturday, using a mix of deep groundstrokes and crafty drop shots to beat American Robby Ginepri 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1.
Top-seeded Andy Roddick faced Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the night semifinal. Roddick, ranked No. 6 in the world, squeezed past Mardy Fish in a tight three-set quarterfinal Friday, 7-6 (6), 1-6, 7-5.
Ginepri couldn’t conjure up the same combination that he used to beat fellow American James Blake a night earlier. Ginepri was frustrated by the patient Czech who often used deep slice backhands to pin Ginepri to the baseline.
“When the tiebreak slipped away from me, definitely, I wasn’t happy. But I knew that it’s only one set and if you want to win a match you have to win two,” Stepanek said.
He turned things around and held serve on a crucial early game in the second set to mount his comeback.
“I was facing two break points. That was, I think, a very important point in the match,” Stepanek said, acknowledging that Ginepri had him on the ropes.
In the final set, Ginepri put up little fight and Stepanek grew more confident as the American, ranked No. 138, appeared to tire and fade. On the final point, a ball struck by Stepanek ticked the net and floated into the court as Ginepri hung his head and walk up to shake hands.
The match began evenly, with no breaks of serve in the first set. Ginepri found himself down 1-4 in the tiebreaker, but Stepanek played a few loose points, lost focus and Ginepri regained control and won the set.
This was a rejuvenated Stepanek. Ranked No. 8 in the world in 2006 and now mired at No. 34, Stepanek gathered himself after the squandered tiebreaker, and immediately began to pressure Ginepri on his service games. Stepanek let out a shout and clenched his fist after earning a break to go up 4-3. From that point on, the Czech made few mistakes and tracked down everything Ginepri threw at him.
After Ginepri lost serve to fall behind 0-2 in the final set, he slammed his racket to the court in disgust, breaking it and getting a code violation warning from chair umpire Norm Chryst.
“At 0-3 I played a couple of flaky points, and you just can’t give guys at this level opportunity to take advantage, and they will,” Ginepri said.
Stepanek’s mix of pace and placement was a bit of a throwback in tennis style, Ginepri said, but enough of a throwback to throw the America off his game.
“He’s sneaky. You’re not sure what he’s going to throw at you next,” Ginepri said. “He’s crafty and he came up with it when he needed to today.”
Whomever squares off against Stepanek in the final will face an odd assortment of shots. Stepanek said he likes to have a backup plan as he heads into a match.
“Sometimes I have too many ideas. Some players, it’s easier for them because they have only one type of game and they are going for it. If it’s going, then it’s fine and if it’s not then they don’t have another program,” Stepanek said.
Stepanek’s plan, or plans, are working out just fine.
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.
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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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.
