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.
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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
NEW YORK - Blake Griffin missed three free throws late in the game that might have allowed No. 11 Oklahoma to beat Purdue in regulation.
The way the Sooners were parading to the foul line, one had to figure the stellar 6-foot-10 sophomore would get a chance at redemption.
Griffin hit the go-ahead foul shot with just over a minute left in overtime, finishing with 18 points and matching a career high with 21 rebounds in an 87-82 victory over the No. 10 Boilermakers on Friday in the championship of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Sooners ended up shooting 46 free throws, while the Boilermakers shot just five.
“He did a really good job of attacking and getting to the free-throw line,” Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. “Our team has to know that Blake is going to get double-teamed, he’s going to get triple-teamed, they’re going to get physical with him. You can’t force it. Other guys have to step up.”
They certainly did.
Willie Warren added a career-high 22 points and Taylor Griffin had 19 for the Sooners (6-0), who are off to their best start since winning their first 10 games in 2003. Austin Johnson finished with 11 points and six assists, and Cade Davis had 10 points.
“Everybody did a great job,” Blake Griffin said. “This was a team win.”
E’Twaun Moore scored 22 for Purdue (5-1), which jumped ahead 80-76 in overtime before Warren scored in the lane and Tony Crocker made a free throw. Blake Griffin got the ball inside with 1:05 left and was hacked across the arm, then made both foul shots for an 81-80 lead.
Moore turned it over on Purdue’s next possession, but the Sooners nearly did as well — at least, until referee Michael Stephens blew his whistle and appeared to give Oklahoma a timeout during a loose ball. It wound up being an “inadvertent whistle,” according to Purdue coach Matt Painter, who was livid when the jump ball was awarded to Oklahoma.
Purdue was forced to foul and Davis made two more free throws with 16.4 seconds left. After the Boilermakers turned it over again, Oklahoma sealed it from the foul line.
“I talked to our guys afterward about how games are called. It’s like injuries. You can’t control it,” Painter said. “When he (Stephens) came back with the inadvertent whistle, I couldn’t believe it. The game doesn’t have to end that way.”
Nemanja Calasan added 20 points and Lewis Jackson and Robbie Hummel had 10 each for Purdue, which was enjoying its highest ranking in nearly 10 years. Hummel also had nine rebounds, but the all-Big Ten forward only played 24 minutes because of foul problems.
“This stinks,” Painter said. “We felt we had the game and it slipped out of our hands.”
Blake Griffin also had 32 points and 15 rebounds in a semifinal win over Alabama-Birmingham, helping him earn the tournament MVP award.
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Moore scored and Calasan added a three-point play moments later to regain the lead for Purdue, but Blake Griffin made a terrific play at the other end to keep alive a loose ball — throwing it off Moore’s head and out of bounds as he tumbled over a table along the baseline.
Griffin ended up at the foul line moments later, hitting the second of two free throws to tie it at 74, and Purdue couldn’t get a decent look before the game went to overtime.
“We were just trying to limit his touches,” Hummel said, “block him out.”
Indeed, Griffin posed a big matchup problem for the Boilermakers, a guard-heavy team whose best inside player — 6-foot-10 forward JaJuan Johnson — was giving up 35 pounds.
Purdue did a good job on Griffin in the first half, fronting him on defense and dropping a guard down to double team. After giving Oklahoma a 13-6 lead with 15:17 left, Griffin didn’t record another field goal until his tip-in got the Sooners within four just before the break.
Griffin did other things, though. He showed a deft passing touch for a big man, blocked a pair of shots and forced two turnovers.
And he was there when the Sooners needed him in overtime.
“At halftime I asked if I could step out, catch and face up, and Coach said absolutely. But I didn’t really have to,” Griffin said. “I just kind of played a role.”
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.
Herb Pope scored 19 points, including four free throws in final 10 seconds, and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Seton Hall to a 73-66 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday.
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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.
