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.
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 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
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Hank Steinbrenner vented. Joe Girardi held a pregame team meeting. The struggling New York Yankees responded with a win.
Mike Mussina has seen it all before.
“It helps being here eight years, and knowing this stuff happens a lot,” he said after Wednesday night’s 2-1 victory stopped Tampa Bay’s six-game winning streak and lifted New York (20-21) back within one game of .500.
“There’s huge expectations here, and we have our own huge expectations,” Mussina added. “We haven’t played anywhere close to them. Sometimes you just have to get together and talk, that’s all.”
Robinson Cano went 4-for-4, raising his batting average over .200 for the first time since the season opener, and Mussina (6-3) allowed one run and five hits over 6 1-3 innings to win his fifth consecutive start.
The right-hander improved to 18-7 in 31 starts against Tampa Bay, which held on to its slender lead in the AL East.
Girardi held a 35-minute team meeting before the game, however the manager said it had nothing to do with Steinbrenner’s comments earlier in the day — the co-chairman said the team needs to play harder and smarter.
“Nobody is thinking about any words the owner says while you’re playing. We need to win games,” Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. “Whether or not he said anything, or we didn’t have a meeting, we need to win. Everybody realizes that.”
Cano, who’s batting .205, tied a career high with four hits, including a RBI single in the fourth. Bobby Abreu drove in New York’s other run off James Shields (4-3) with a two-out double in the fifth.
Joba Chamberlain struck out the side in the eighth — and didn’t pump his fist. Mariano Rivera bounced back from allowing the winning run in an 11-inning loss the previous night with a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 11 opportunities.
“We have to go out there and fight. Just don’t give it up,” Rivera said. “If you’re going to beat us, you’re going to earn it.”
Tampa Bay’s loss snapped a franchise-best 11-game home winning streak. But the first-place Rays retained a half-game lead over Boston in the division, thanks to Baltimore beating the Red Sox 6-3.
“It’s one game. Expectations are high. I like it. I like that everybody’s upset tonight,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “We played well. We lost. They beat us, but we have a chance to take the series (Thursday), so we’ve got to be ready to go at that point.”
Girardi declined to offer details about the Yankees meeting except to say it came from his “heart.”
“The effort of the club has been good,” he said. “When you don’t score runs, you don’t look good. We bring energy every day, but the bottom line is it has to translate into wins.”
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
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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Adreian Payne scored 15 points, Draymond Green added 12 and defense-minded No. 11 Michigan State beat No. 3 Ohio State 58-48 Saturday night, ending the Buckeyes' 39-game home winning streak.
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.
Trae Golden scored 17 points, Jeronne Maymon added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Tennessee upset No. 8 Florida 75-70 Saturday, ending the Gators' home-winning streak at 19.