Super Bowl XLVI
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.
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi scored shootout goals to give Detroit a 2-1 win over Anaheim on Friday. The victory was the Red Wings' 19th consecutive at home, one shy of the NHL record.
Jeremy Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Kobe Bryant as the New York Knicks held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night.
Arc's weekend preview: The way you beat Kentucky is by getting physical with their big guys, and the Wildcats don’t have much depth up front.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Despite an injury scare and a few missed opportunities at Monterey Peninsula CC, Tiger Woods remains in contention at the AT&T.
John Isner jolted Roger Federer with his big serve and booming groundstrokes Friday, winning 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 to give the United States a 2-0 lead against Switzerland in the first round of the Davis Cup.
Manchester City will find at least three highly motivated players in its way Sunday when it tries to improve upon its flagging away form in the Premier League at Aston Villa.
All that stuff about the Olympic ideal, how it's all about taking part, not winning, can often seem like so much hot air, rendered hopelessly quaint and outdated by the ultra-competitive and mercenary world of modern sport. Until, that is, you speak to Kieran Behan.
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
HONOLULU - Jimmy Clausen ended Notre Dame’s long bowl drought — and Hawaii’s bid for a fourth straight Hawaii Bowl victory — with a record-breaking passing night.
Clausen set Notre Dame bowl records with 401 yards passing and five touchdowns to lead the efficient Fighting Irish to their first postseason victory in 15 years, 49-21 over Hawaii on Wednesday night.
“I told the team that’s the only thing I wanted (for Christmas). I just wanted to win a bowl game,” Irish coach Charlie Weis said.
“I heard it a hundred times in the locker room after the game and they wanted to know what I was giving them for Christmas. I told them: ’a flight home.”’
Golden Tate had six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns, also Notre Dame bowl records, including a 69-yarder that sparked a 28-point outburst to help the Irish (7-6) end their NCAA-record bowl losing steak at nine.
“I’m very happy for Notre Dame. This was a great step forward for us,” Weis said. “It leads us into 2009 with a good taste in our mouth.”
With Weis calling the plays from the coaches box for the first time because of knee problems that require him to walk with crutches, the Irish were unstoppable.
The offense scored at will. The blitzing defense shutdown Hawaii’s run-and-shoot. And the special teams wasn’t too shabby, either.
“The guys came out here on a mission,” Clausen said.
After the Warriors (7-7) scored to end Notre Dame’s 28-point run, Armando Allen returned a kickoff 96 yards for a score. Allen also caught an 18-yard TD pass on the Irish’s opening drive of the second half.
Weis said he had an injection in his knee before the game, but still couldn’t walk. The last time he coached from the box was in 2001.
“It’s 10 times easier. It’s night and day easier,” Weis said. “I haven’t been up in the box since Drew Bledsoe got hurt. ... You don’t want to do that long term, but calling a game from up there is pretty sweet. As a head coach, you want to be on the sideline.”
It was evident Weis, who was all smiles after the game, and his players cherished its long-awaited bowl victory.
As Notre Dame was presented the Hawaii Bowl’s pineapple-football trophy at midfield, each player came around to put their hands on it.
Notre Dame’s victory was its first in the postseason since it beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl to end the 1993 season. The Irish also avoided consecutive losing seasons.
Clausen was confident and sharp, completing 22 of 26 passes. He racked up 300 yards passing and three TDs by halftime alone, sending the crowd home early.
The sophomore broke Brady Quinn’s postseason school record of 286 yards passing set against Ohio State in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.
Warriors coach Greg McMackin said, including his years in the NFL, Clausen was “as accurate as I’ve ever seen.”
“He was outstanding, his receivers were outstanding,” McMackin said.
With Notre Dame up 14-7, Clausen broke open the game by connecting with Tate on a 69-yard TD play, the Irish’s longest play from scrimmage of the season.
Clausen faked a handoff, turned and heaved it to Tate, who had blew past cornerback Calvin Roberts along the left sideline. With the catch, Tate became the fifth Irish receiver to break 1,000 yards receiving in a season.
The Irish made it 28-7 with a second left in the first half on an 18-yard hookup between Clausen and Tate on third-and-goal. Hawaii challenged the play, but replays showed Tate got his left foot down before stepping out.
Tate followed it up in the third quarter with a 40-yard TD reception that pushed the lead to 42-7 and gave the Warriors flashbacks of the pounding they received from Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to end last season.
Clausen and Tate shared the MVP award.
Hawaii couldn’t get much going. Quarterback Greg Alexander was kept off balance and on the run by the Irish defense, which had eight sacks and forced two turnovers.
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Alexander was 23-of-39 for 261 yards, throwing 10- and 21-yard TD passes to Aaron Bain. Bain had a career-best eight receptions for 109 yards.
Hawaii fans had little to cheer about. One of the biggest roars came when the Notre Dame leprechaun’s flagstick snapped in half as he charged out to the field.
Notes: Notre Dame was designated the home team, so Hawaii wore white jerseys and used the visiting locker room and sideline. ... The Irish had player names on their jerseys for the first time since the Cotton Bowl to end the 1987 season. It renewed a tradition from the Ara Parseghian years when Irish teams did not have names on the backs of their jerseys during the regular season, but added them for bowl games.
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.
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Jeremy Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Kobe Bryant as the New York Knicks held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night.
Chris Paul had 24 points, including the game-winning 17-footer with 3.2 seconds left, Blake Griffin added 16 points and 11 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 78-77 on Friday.
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.
