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' 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
LONDON - Chelsea won 5-0 at Middlesbrough and Liverpool twice came from behind to edge Wigan 3-2 on Saturday to keep the Blues and Reds neck and neck at the top of the Premier League title race.
Salomon Kalou scored twice and Antonio Belletti, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda also had goals for Chelsea.
Wigan’s Egyptian striker, Amr Zaki, threatened an upset at Anfield with two goals to increase his total for the season to eight in league and cup competitions. But Dirk Kuyt scored his first two league goals since April 2007 and Albert Riera also scored to make sure Liverpool stayed level with Chelsea at 20 points.
Chelsea has a goal difference of 16 to Liverpool’s seven.
“We have a long way to win the Premier League,” said Chelsea’s Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was forced into five changes because of injuries. “We work very hard in the preseason and all our players know what I want. If I put one winger or two strikers or two midfielders, they know what position to occupy on the pitch. This is good for Chelsea, for me and for the fans.”
Arsenal came from behind to beat Everton 3-1 at home after Leon Osman had given the Toffees a ninth-minute lead. Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott hit back for the Gunners in the second half and they moved up to third, still four points behind the leaders.
Wayne Rooney took his scoring streak to eight in six games — including four in two for England — and Manchester United brushed aside West Bromwich Albion 4-0 to move up to fourth with 14 points. That means the traditional top four fill the leading places, although Hull — also at 14 points from seven games — can regain third by beating West Ham on Sunday.
Aston Villa and Portsmouth tied 0-0. There was crowd trouble at Villa Park, where linesman Phil Sharp was hit on the head by an object thrown from the stands.
There were also 0-0 ties at Bolton-Blackburn and Fulham-Sunderland.
Sunday’s other game is Stoke City vs. Tottenham. On Monday, it’s Newcastle vs. Manchester City.
Hoffenheim leads Bundesliga
Promoted Hoffenheim moved atop the Bundesliga with a comeback 5-2 win over 10-man Hannover in Frankfurt, Germany, on Saturday, and Bayern Munich needed a late goal to clinch its first victory in four games.
Trailing 2-1 at Hannover, Hoffenheim scored four goals in 13 minutes from Vedad Ibisevic, Chinedu Obasi, Sejad Salihovic and Demba Ba.
Hoffenheim is tied with Hamburger SV, which would regain the top spot on Sunday by beating Schalke.
Miroslav Klose scored Bayern’s 86th-minute winner at Karlsruher, but the defending champion is still down in 11th place in the 18-team standings.
Celtic opens up 3-point lead on Rangers
Scott Brown and Glenn Loovens gave Celtic a 2-1 victory at Inverness in Glasgow on Saturday to open a three-point lead over Rangers in the Scottish league title race.
Rangers’ game against Dundee United was postponed after the death Thursday of United chairman Eddie Thompson. That means Walter Smith’s team now has a game in hand on its Glasgow rival, which has 22 points.
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.
Alex Morgan's 2 goals, including the winner in stoppage time, lift the U.S. past New Zealand 2-1.
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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.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
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.