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SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
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.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
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
PORTLAND, Ore. - Brandon Roy launched a rally for the Portland Trail Blazers’ final 24 games.
He told his teammates: “Let’s make a push, you guys!”
Portland responded with a 119-111 victory Friday night over the Los Angeles Lakers. Roy had 20 points and a career-high 12 assists after missing the previous two games with a sprained right ankle.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points for Portland, which snapped the Lakers’ 10-game overall winning streak and seven-game streak on the road.
“We were having fun out there,” Roy said, “and hopefully this confidence rolls over to the rest of the season.”
Portland went up 96-90 early in the fourth, but Sasha Vujacic’s 3-pointer tied it at 100 midway through the quarter. Vujacic nailed another 3-pointer to tie it at 107 with 3:05 left, but the Lakers could never grab the lead.
Roy hit a pair of free throws, and Travis Outlaw hit a jumper to make it 111-107 with 2:14 left. Aldridge added a pair of free throws to extend it.
Kobe Bryant missed a 3-pointer with less than a minute to go. Roy and Jarrett Jack hit four straight shots from the line to give Portland its biggest lead, 117-107, and seal the win.
“They made all the big shots,” Bryant said. “They shot it extremely well.”
Bryant had 33 points for the Lakers, who have lost five straight at the Rose Garden.
Jarrett Jack had 21 points and 10 assists for the Blazers, who were coming off an 82-80 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. A day earlier, Portland lost 96-83 at the Lakers at the Staples Center.
The Trail Blazers, who won a surprising 13 games in December, have since slumped and fallen out of the playoff picture.
“They did an excellent job on us defensively, and we didn’t play aggressively enough, we didn’t force turnovers,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “We still had a chance to win, but we just couldn’t finish.”
The Blazers also saw the return of 3-point specialist James Jones, who had been out since before the All-Star break with left knee soreness.
The Blazers are 23-12 when Jones plays and 8-16 when he doesn’t. Jones finished with eight points.
The Lakers led by as many as 10 points early, but the Blazers closed to 32-27 at the end of the first quarter. Joel Przybilla’s dunk pulled Portland to within 37-35, but after Przybilla fouled Bryant on the other end, the two exchanged words. Przybilla ended up with a technical.
Portland was unable to pull ahead until Steve Blake hit consecutive 3-pointers make it 60-57. Portland led 64-59 at the half.
The sellout crowd at the Rose Garden chanted “Beat L-A!” throughout game.
“This is a good win for a number of reasons,” Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. “We’ve been through some rough times. It was certainly good to have everybody back and it showed in the face that we could attack them with so many options.”
Notes: The Blazers have played on Feb. 29 six times, all at the Rose Garden. ... Among those in the crowd track was U.S. track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Anthony Kiedis, lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. ... The Lakers’ 10-game streak was their longest since then won 11 in the 2003-04 season. ... The seven-game streak on the road was the longest since a seven-game streak from March 17-April 5, 2000. ... Blake made five 3-pointers, tying his career high.
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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