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.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Maybe the sprinklers coming on at Notre Dame Stadium during the first overtime against Pittsburgh was symbolic of how the Fighting Irish thought the game was over long before it was.
The sprinklers came on in the north end of the field at 6:07 p.m., when Pitt had the ball at the 25-yard line at the other end with the score tied at 24.
The Irish thought they had the game won long before that.
“We basically just gave them the game,” safety David Bruton said.
Notre Dame scored two touchdowns 83 seconds apart just before halftime to open a 17-3 lead, then let a Panthers squad coming off an embarrassing loss to Rutgers and playing without their starting quarterback rally for a 36-33 win in four overtimes.
“We weren’t playing the same we did in the first half,” receiver Golden Tate said. “I feel like we left some plays on the field. We let up, and the next thing you know it’s a tied ball game.”
The game came down to a field-goal kicking contest, something the Irish definitely didn’t want. Just two weeks ago, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis invited a student who kicked field goals in intramural games to come out for the team because Weis was so worried about his team’s place-kicking.
But Brandon Walker, who started the season 1-of-7 on field goals, made his first four attempts Saturday, running his streak to seven straight, before narrowly missing a 38-yard attempt.
Weis said he told Walker after the game not to blame himself for the loss, saying there were 50 plays that could have changed the game’s outcome.
One of the plays that could have changed the game came on the opening drive of the second half when on third-and-8 from the Pitt 31, the Irish held the Panthers to a 4-yard gain. But Notre Dame linebacker Harrison Smith was called for a late hit to keep the drive alive. The Panthers scored to cut the lead to 17-10.
Another potentially game-changing play came on the first play of the second overtime, when Jimmy Clausen overthrew a wide-open Michael Floyd in the end zone.
“I wish I could have that one back,” Clausen said.
The Irish now have lost three games to ranked teams, losing 23-7 to No. 18 Michigan State and 29-24 to No. 19 North Carolina. Pitt moved up to No. 25 on Sunday.
The Irish led North Carolina 17-9 at halftime, but let the Tar Heels get back into it on the first play of the second half when Quan Sturdivant returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown. A week earlier, Stanford scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to close to 28-21, but the Irish held on for the win.
Safety David Bruton said the inability to finish off opponents is a cause for concern.
“We’ve got to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said. “We’ve got to keep working and in the next game, put it away when we have the lead.”
Weis, though, said Sunday he doesn’t believe most players thought the game was won. He said the Irish just need to win a game like Saturday.
“You have to win a couple of these close games, and I think your momentum grows from there,” he said.
For the Irish, it was another squandered chance to gain some national respect.
“I think we missed a huge opportunity,” Tate said. “We would have been bowl-eligible right there, we probably would have made the Top 25 and we would have gained respect from the world. So it’s a huge missed opportunity.”
Weis is worried about how his players, many of whom looked stunned after the game, will react after such a disappointing loss when they face Boston College (5-3), which has lost consecutive games to North Carolina and Clemson.
He’s going to change the practice schedule this week to try and shake things up.
“I’m really trying to do more than anything else is shock their system, you know, get them out of a rut,” he said. “I had to come up with a plan to make sure that it wasn’t just business as usual.”
Notes: Notre Dame’s game against Boston College 8 p.m. Saturday
will be broadcast on ESPN, it was announced Sunday. ... Right guard Chris Stewart injured his knee and may need arthroscopic surgery, Weis said. If so, he’d likely be out about four weeks.
It took a while for the light bulb to go on, but when it did, Jonas Gray finally showed the talent many had expected from the blue-chip prospect from Detroit. In a recent interview, Gray, who is rehabbing an ACL injury to get ready for the NFL Scouting Combine, expressed the confidence and support he has for head coach Brian Kelly.
 | Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | Timeline |
 | Notre Dame 2011 schedule See when all the big matchups will take place with Notre Dame's 2011 schedule. NBCSports.com |
 | Slideshow |
 |
| Slideshow |
 |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Special feature |
 |
| Special feature |
 |
| Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
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.
NBC Sports TV and livestream listings