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.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had 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.
Getty Images
|
Brackets have been busted. Hearts have been broken. Tears have been shed. Ready for more NCAA tourney action?
Here's a breakdown of Thursday night's Sweet 16 games, with a little prognostication to go with it ...
WEST
U.S. Airways Arena, Phoenix
Tipoff: 7:10 p.m. ET
No. 3 Xavier (27-5) vs. No. 7 West Virginia (26-10)
Three Musketeers? Try six, as a half dozen Xavier 'ballers average between 9.8 and 12.1 points per game. Is it possible to be too balanced?
The Mountaineers are more balanced than anyone who watched the Big East tourney might assume. They offer more than just Joe Alexander, as they demonstrated in wins over Arizona and Duke. Bob Huggins' team has good outside shooters, guards who can penetrate and a patient offense that finds the open man late in the shot-clock. Sounds a little bit like … Xavier.
We'll take Bob Huggins and the most potent player on the court, Alexander, in a nip-tuck affair.
West Virginia 73, Xavier 72
No. 1 UCLA (33-3) vs. No. 12 Western Kentucky (28-6)
The power of love, as Huey Lewis once mused, is a curious thing. This week, a father who saw a photo in Sports Illustrated of his Oregon-student son double-flipping the bird at UCLA's 6-foot-10 freshman center Kevin Love (an Oregon native) wrote the magazine to say that he'd taken away his son's car.
"Karma is … and you can fill in the blank with that one," Love said on Wednesday.
You can fill in the blank as well on what it will be like for the Hilltoppers to stop the All-American center with little interior presence of their own. NBA-bound swingman Courtney Lee and backcourt buddies Tyrone Brazelton and Ty Rogers will attempt to keep WKU in this one from beyond the arc, but the Bruin backcourt of Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook will be too quick defensively.
The Love train moves on to the next round.
UCLA 68, Western Kentucky 55
ALSO ON THIS STORY |
EAST
Bobcats Arena, Charlotte, Tip-off 7:27 p.m.
No. 1 North Carolina (34-2) vs. No. 4 Washington State (25-8)
Let's see. Tyler Hansbrough and the Tar Heels playing in North Carolina vs. a West coast team with little pedigree whose center is from Australia. Why do I suspect that Aron Baynes picked up two fouls just as I was writing that previous sentence? If the Cougars can keep Baynes out of foul trouble and harass Hansbrough as they did Luke Harangody last weekend, this could be a contest.
Wazzu has allowed just 40.5 points per game in the tourney thus far, while the Heels have scored 110.5 per game. Which side will prevail? Check out the address of that arena.
North Carolina 81, Washington State 66
No. 2 Tennessee (31-4) vs. No. 3 Louisville (26-8)
Look at some of the coaches who are still around on the second weekend: Williams, Calipari, Howland, Izzo and Pitino. All have been to Final Fours and some have even won it all. And is there a more polished coach in that group than the Cardinals' Rick Pitino?
No team looked more hellish than the Cards last weekend, while none who survived looked more sluggish over the two-game stretch than the Vols. Louisville and Pitino have, independent of one another, won national championships in the past. Tennessee has never advanced beyond the Sweet 16. Knoxville is playing down leading scorer Chris Lofton's injury, but the three-point specialist did not practice Monday or Tuesday.
Louisville 77, Tennessee 71
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.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
 | March Madness |
 | NCAA men's tournament bracket Get game stories, scores, stats, rosters, more from our special feature. NBCSports.com |
 | Slideshow |
 | College hoops power rankings A look at the top teams in college basketball based on performance and potential. NBCSports.com |
Latest from Beyond the Arc |
Here’s a shot you just can’t defend1 hr 55 min ago Five up, five down from college hoops’ huge day18 hr 25 min ago Michigan State sure shook up Big Ten by beating Buckeyes19 hr 10 min ago |
 | College basketball videos |
 Getty Images Highlights: No. 14 UNLV 65, No. 13 SDSU 63 Mike Moser scored 19 points, and UNLV forced three turnovers in the final 42 seconds to win. |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Slide show |
 |
March Madness moments Highlights of men’s NCAA Tournament’s first two rounds, including upset wins by Davidson, West Virginia and more. more photos |
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.
