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.
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
DENVER - The Denver Nuggets’ starters were looking forward to resting in the fourth quarter. Instead, they needed Carmelo Anthony’s last-minute shot.
Anthony scored 22 points, including a layup with 56.5 seconds left, and the Nuggets blew a 26-point third quarter lead before recovering to beat the New Orleans Hornets 105-100 on Saturday night.
J.R. Smith scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Denver.
“Those last 4, 5 minutes it took a lot of courage to win that game,” Nuggets coach George Karl said
Chris Paul had 30 points and 11 assists, and David West had 21 points for the Hornets, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
It was the second straight game Anthony hit the deciding shot. Friday night, his 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left beat Oklahoma City.
“Another day at the office,” Anthony said. “We blew a lead tonight, but we won. I’ll take that any day.”
The Nuggets led 77-51 midway through the third quarter before New Orleans rallied. The Hornets outscored the Nuggets 20-6 to end the third, then scored the first nine points of the fourth to cut it 83-80 with 9:31 left.
“The team was fed up with the way it played in the first half,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “We get to the point where we’re not playing real well, things aren’t going our way and we just buckle down.”
Smith gave the Nuggets breathing room with a fast-break layup and a 3-pointer that made it 88-80 with 8:08 left, but Peja Stojakovic’s fourth 3-pointer of the night tied it at 94 with 4:11 left. Chauncey Billups’ two free throws gave the Nuggets a 96-94 lead, but Paul’s 13-foot jumper with 2:42 left tied it at 97.
“Chris Paul did a great job coming down the stretch, but thankfully he didn’t get it done tonight,” Smith said.
Smith hit two free throws to give Denver a two-point lead, but James Posey hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining to give the Hornets a 100-99 lead, their only advantage of the game. Anthony followed with a driving layup and, after a loose-ball foul on Paul, Billups hit two foul shots to give the Nuggets a 103-100 lead with 38.7 seconds left.
“I didn’t want to shoot a jump shot,” Anthony said of his finger roll. “I wanted to take it to the hole and either get fouled or make something happen.”
Billups hit two more free throws with 22 seconds left to seal the win.
“We showed a lot of fight, but we lost,” said Paul, who recorded his 24th double-double of the season. “There aren’t any morale victories in this game.”
Six players scored in double figures for the Nuggets, who have won five of their last six.
The Hornets played without center Tyson Chandler, suspended for one game for an altercation with Portland’s Joel Pryzbilla on Friday night. Hilton Armstrong started in place of Chandler and had 17 points.
“We played fine,” West said. “You have to play with what you have. Hilton played fine.”
Billups scored five quick points to give Denver a 65-42 lead early in the third quarter, and Martin’s layup gave the Nuggets their biggest lead at 77-51 with 5:52 left in the third.
The Nuggets, who were playing their fourth game and five nights, started a seven-game homestand after completing a four-game road trip. Karl said the homestand will give them a chance to get a stronghold on the Northwest Division title.
“It allows the opportunity to establish ourselves as contenders for the division,” Karl said.
Notes: Hornets F Melvin Ely sat out with a sore right ankle. ... West has scored 20 or more points in four of his last five games. ... Both teams shot 50 percent from the field. ... The Nuggets are 22-9 since acquiring Billups from Detroit on Nov. 3.
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
 | Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
ProBasketballTalk tweets |
|
Source: Twitter. For more, follow @basketballtalk. |
 | Video: NBA from NBC Sports |
 Lin on on 'Linsanity' Knicks guard Jeremy Lin discusses the hype surrounding his recent rise in New York. |
 | Slideshow |
 |
more photos |
Ask the NBA expert: Ira Winderman |
Do you have a burning NBA question? Submit it now, and then check back for our reader mailbag. |  |
 | Special feature |
 |
Who will be MVP? Interactive: Rank each player on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 = best player, 0 = barely worthy of consideration). NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 |
more photos |
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.
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.
NBC Sports TV and livestream listings