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.
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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.
PBT: Jeremy Lin wasn't his hot self on Saturday, but he still led the Knicks to victory.
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.
AP
ONTARIO, Calif. - Kobe Bryant, coming back from a knee injury, made a brief appearance at the start of Los Angeles’ final preseason game Friday night and appeared to be moving fine in the Lakers’ 105-94 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Just making sure my rhythm was good, making sure my knee was good,” Bryant said. “This way I wouldn’t have to go out on Tuesday and experiment with it. It felt fine and I’ll be ready to go.”
The Lakers open the season at home Tuesday night against Portland.
Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said before the game against the Thunder that Bryant would play only as much time as he wanted.
He played the first 7:55, went 2-of-3 from the floor and had one rebound and one assist before taking the rest of the night off.
Los Angeles’ Andrew Bynum had 23 points, eight rebounds and three blocks while playing 29 minutes in the final tuneup for both the Lakers (5-2) and the Thunder (1-6).
Bynum was 10-of-15 from the floor. Jordan Farmar had 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting for Los Angeles.
“I thought we played reasonably well,” Jackson said. “There are still some things we need to do individually, and to do as a team.”
Rookie Russell Westbrook scored 23 for Oklahoma City, and Kevin Durant added 15.
Bryant, the NBA’s reigning MVP, was back after missing the last game because of a hyper-extended right knee. He was hurt in a collision with teammate Josh Powell on Tuesday night against Charlotte in San Diego.
Slight swelling in his knee led him to sit out Los Angeles’ 88-77 victory over the Bobcats on Thursday night in Anaheim.
Bryant was sharp in his brief stint against Oklahoma City, figuring in the Lakers’ first eight points as he hit 3-pointers on his first two shots, then fed Pau Gasol under the basket for a layup.
The Thunder-Lakers game in the Los Angeles suburb of Ontario was the first sports event at a new arena that will house a minor league hockey team, and drew a sellout crowd of 10,316.
Thunder coach P.J. Carlesimo said his team didn’t shoot that well, but for a reason.
“A lot of our guys were missing shots, but a lot of people miss shots against the Lakers,” Carlesimo said. “They don’t get enough credit for what they do defensively. They’re tough on defense.”
Bynum had 15 points by halftime, including several dunks off lobs from his teammates, to help Los Angeles to a 63-53 lead at the break. Westbrook scored 11 first-half points for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder, the former Seattle SuperSonics who moved during the offseason, open in Oklahoma City against Milwaukee on Wednesday.
The Thunder have had a string of injuries, including forward Chris Wilcox (hamstring), center Mouhamed Sene (knee surgery) and guard Kyle Weaver (groin). Forward Joe Smith, who had missed time with a fractured nose, wore a clear protective mask and scored seven points against the Lakers.
PBT: Jeremy Lin wasn't his hot self on Saturday, but he still led the Knicks to victory.
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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.