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 three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
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
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Allen Iverson kept the ball this time.
A week after passing up a chance at a winning shot against the Utah Jazz, Iverson hit an off-balance runner with 0.2 seconds left to give the Detroit Pistons a 90-88 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
“The play was for me to run the clock down and try to get to the basket,” he said. “There wasn’t much time for me to create anything else.”
Last Friday, Iverson passed the ball to Rodney Stuckey, who missed a 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime, and Utah went on to win.
Having already scored a dozen points in the fourth quarter on Friday, Iverson took things in his own hands.
“That was a great play by Allen,” Pistons coach Michael Curry said. “He hadn’t had much going for him in the first three quarters, but then he took over the game.”
Detroit have taken eight straight against the Thunder, and haven’t lost to the franchise at home since the former Seattle SuperSonics won 93-72 on Dec. 12, 2003. The Pistons didn’t have an easy time Friday, though, as they struggled to beat Oklahoma City (3-27).
“We’re a young team that is still learning how to finish games, and they are a great team that knows how to do that,” Chris Wilcox said. “A.I. had a terrific fourth quarter, and we just didn’t have an answer for him.”
That’s been the story of the Pistons season. They have wins over the Lakers and Cavaliers, but have lost to the hapless Wizards and Timberwolves.
“We keep having lapses,” Iverson said. “This team only has three wins, so they are going to be hungry, but we have beaten two of the best teams in the league and lost to two of the worst.”
It almost happened again Friday, even after Iverson’s off-balance jumper. Jeff Green nearly tipped in a halfcourt alley-oop, but the ball bounced twice off the rim before falling harmlessly away.
“It was a good look, and Jeff is one of our better leapers,” Oklahoma city coach Scott Brooks said. “It just slipped out of his hands. It’s unfortunate, because it would have been a great overtime.”
Iverson led the Pistons with 22 points, and Tayshaun Prince added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant had 26 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder.
The Pistons looked sluggish for most of the first three quarters. Oklahoma City shot 39 percent through three periods, but trailed only 66-63 heading into the fourth.
Detroit took advantage of two turnovers by the Thunder in the first minute of the final period to expand its lead to 70-63.
The Pistons were up 14 midway through the fourth, but an 11-0 run pulled Oklahoma City to 84-81 with 2 minutes left.
Iverson then threw the ball away, and Durant’s jumper made it a one-point game with 1:33 left. Rodney Stuckey answered with a driving layup, but Iverson fouled Russell Westbrook, and the rookie split the free throws to make it 86-84.
Stuckey then shot an airball, and the Thunder called timeout with 54 seconds left. Durant beat Prince for the tying layup, but Stuckey found Antonio McDyess for an open layup with 27.2 seconds to go.
Joe Smith made it 88-all with a 20-footer — the eighth straight shot made by Oklahoma City. Iverson ran the clock down to 5 seconds before heading for the basket and throwing in a runner while surrounded by defenders.
“The best feeling is when you are having a quiet game, and you aren’t doing much on the offensive end, and then your coach and teammates still trust you with that last shot,” he said. “It’s easy when you’ve already scored 30 or 40 points.”
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
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.