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.
Euro Roundup: First-place Manchester City won 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday on Joleon Lescott's goal in the 63rd minute, maintaining its two-point lead over Manchester United in the Premier League.
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.
EPAThe Lakers will be playing in the finals for the 23rd time since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1961 and the 29th time overall. They have won 14 championships — nine in Los Angeles and five in Minneapolis.
The Lakers and the Celtics have met 10 times in the finals, with Boston winning the first eight matchups and Los Angeles the last two — in 1985 and 1987. That’s the last time the Celtics advanced to the championship round.
The Lakers and Pistons have met three times in the finals, most recently in 2004, when Detroit won in five games. Shaquille O’Neal, who teamed with Bryant to lead the Lakers to three straight championships starting in 2000, was traded a month later, and the Lakers hadn’t won a postseason series since until last month.
San Antonio’s elimination might signal the end of its era of dominance. With Duncan leading the way, the Spurs won championships in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007, but with a rotation made up solely of 30-something players except for the 26-year-old Parker, the future seems uncertain.
Meanwhile, starting guard Derek Fisher and seldom-used reserve Ira Newble are the only players on the Los Angeles roster over 30.
“I really expected to be here, even with all the questions at the beginning of the season,” Fisher said.
Ultimately, it was the Lakers’ youth, quickness and athleticism that determined this series. The turning point occurred in Game 1, when the Spurs took a 20-point third-quarter lead before the Lakers outscored them 44-20 for an 89-85 victory.
San Antonio had a shot in Game 4, but the Lakers held on for a 93-91 victory that put the Spurs on the brink of elimination. And that came Thursday night.
A 3-pointer by Luke Walton and baskets by Farmar and Bryant gave the Lakers a 74-68 lead with 8½ minutes remaining, and they were on top the rest of the way.
The Spurs led by as many as 10 points early in the third quarter, but the Lakers turned up their defensive intensity during a 19-8 run that gave them a 61-60 lead — their first since the opening minute. Bryant scored nine points during the spurt. Los Angeles led 64-63 entering the final period.
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The Spurs got 3-pointers from Finley, Ginobili and Barry during a 15-1 run that gave them a 33-16 lead early in the second quarter. The Lakers went nearly 7½ minutes without a field goal until Farmar scored three straight baskets to trim San Antonio’s lead to 11.
It was 46-31 before the Lakers went on an 11-2 run to finish the second quarter, cutting the Spurs’ lead to 48-42.
Notes: Only eight teams in NBA history have rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. The Spurs are now 0-7 in such situations. ... Phoenix was the last NBA team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series, accomplishing the feat against the Lakers two years ago in the first round. ... Bryant attempted only 11 free throws in this series after attempting 96 against Utah.
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
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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.
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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.
