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.
AP
MIAMI - Ted Ginn Jr.’s career in Miami began with boos, and it took 18 months for him to silence the critics.
A draft bust no more, Ginn made seven catches Sunday for a career-high 175 yards, and the Dolphins overcame a nine-point third-quarter deficit to beat Buffalo 25-16.
With Ginn’s first 100-yard game, he made by far his biggest impact since Miami’s much-mocked decision to take him with the ninth overall pick last year. Fans at a draft party booed when the selection was announced, and he has heard plenty of criticism since.
“I just let all that go past my head,” Ginn said. “As long as the people on my team love me and want me to get better, the other stuff doesn’t matter.”
Like Ginn, the Dolphins these days are all about erasing labels: They’re no longer lousy. Miami (3-4) tripled its win total from last season under the new Bill Parcells regime, and broke a four-game losing streak against Buffalo.
“We needed this win,” said Dolphins cornerback Andre Goodman, part of a defense that shut out the Bills over the final 25 minutes. “We didn’t want to go to 2-5, and the season is over before the halfway point.”
The Bills (5-2) lost for the second time in three games and fell into a tie with New England atop the AFC East. They committed four turnovers, all in the fourth quarter to squash any comeback chances.
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“It’s a game that’s very disappointing,” coach Dick Jauron said. “We just gave up too many big plays and turned the ball over. You do that in the NFL and your odds of winning are not good.”
Ginn set up Miami’s first two scores with receptions of 46 and 64 yards. Those completions were part of an efficient day for Chad Pennington, who went 22-for-30 for 314 yards with no interceptions.
“A lot of people are wondering, ’Where’s Ted? Where’s Ted?”’ Pennington said. “With young receivers it takes awhile. He just keeps getting better and better. He’s hungry, and he wants to be the guy.”
Joey Porter had two sacks, including one to force a fumble for a safety as the Bills unraveled in the final period.
“We really killed ourselves,” Buffalo receiver Lee Evans said.
Dan Carpenter kicked field goals of 43, 45 and 35 yards, all in the final 23 minutes after the Dolphins fell behind 16-7.
“We could have folded,” Pennington said. “We didn’t do that.”
The Dolphins looked to the speedy Ginn to help them come from behind, and he turned a short pass into a 64-yard gain to set up a field goal that made it 16-10.
Ricky Williams’ 3-yard touchdown run capped a 69-yard drive and put Miami ahead to stay. Will Allen’s interception of a harried pass by Trent Edwards led to another field goal and a 20-16 lead.
A punt pinned the Bills deep, and on third down Porter forced a fumble when he sacked Edwards in the end zone. Buffalo center Duke Preston recovered, giving Miami a safety.
Following the ensuing kick, the Dolphins moved 41 yards for another field goal — their fifth score in barely 19 minutes.
The Bills moved 35 yards in the final 1:38 of the first half to kick a field goal for a 9-7 lead, then began the second half with a 70-yard drive capped by Marshawn Lynch’s 8-yard run. But they were shut out the rest of the way.
Their mistakes down the stretch included a fumble on a sneak by Edwards, another after a reception by Robert Royal and a muffed punt by Roscoe Parrish.
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Ginn set the tone on the game’s first play, beating the Bills deep for a 46-yard gain. The catch came against cornerback Terrence McGee, playing with a sore knee.
“I’m not making any excuses,” McGee said. “They had a great game. He had a great game.”
Eight plays later, on third down, Pennington lobbed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano.
The Dolphins said Ginn was a big part of the game plan and, as expected, the Bills were geared to stop the run.
“I had an opportunity and I took it,” Ginn said. “I tried to run as fast as I could with it and as far as I could with it.”
Notes: Bills WR Josh Reed strained his Achilles’ tendon. ... Porter’s 10½ sacks this season tie his career high. ... QB Pennington won a roar from the crowd for blocking Donte Whitner in the backfield on a cutback run by Williams, even though the play lost 4 yards.
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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.
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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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.
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.
