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.
APCincinnati (18-11, 8-8, RPI: 53)
The Bearcats are in big trouble after an embarrassing 87-63 loss at Syracuse on Sunday. That essentially negated the victory over West Virginia earlier in the week.
This one is simple: Cincinnati absolutely must win its last two regular-season games (at South Florida and home against Seton Hall). Even then, the Bearcats might need a win or two at Madison Square Garden.
Penn State (20-9, 9-7, RPI: 64)
It’s been a nice season for the Nittany Lions, but win No. 20 came at home Saturday when Penn State barely got past lowly Indiana 61-58. Penn State does have those road victories at Michigan State and Illinois. The Nittany Lions were outstanding in Big Ten play, but a nonconference schedule that ranks almost last nationally will work against them.
Penn State finishes at home against Illinois Thursday and at Iowa on Saturday. It wouldn’t hurt to win both.
Minnesota (20-8, 8-8, RPI: 36)
The Gophers have lost five of their last seven and the selection committee doesn’t not look favorably upon teams that close out the season that way. Minnesota managed only 41 points at Illinois.
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Virginia Tech (17-11, 7-7, RPI: 59)
Back-to-back wins over Clemson and Duke probably would have gotten the Hokies off the bubble, but Tech couldn’t finish off Duke on Saturday. Now the Hokies have lost three of their last four.
There’s a lot to like about the Hokies. Tech recorded wins at Clemson, at Wake Forest and at Miami. The season ends with a couple of tough ones, home against North Carolina on Wednesday and at Florida State on Sunday. A split would leave them at 8-8 in league play. That should be enough, as long as those mid-major upsets are kept to a minimum.
Miami (17-10, 6-8, RPI: 44)
The Hurricanes carried themselves like a tournament team most of the season. Home victories over Wake Forest and Florida State, and a sweep of Boston College, will score Miami some major points. Miami’s best nonconference win was against Kentucky on Dec. 6 and that doesn’t carry much weight any more. One interesting stat: six of Miami’s 10 losses came against top-25 RPI opponents. Not sure if that will help or hurt.
Miami needs to finish 8-8 in the ACC. To do that, Miami must win at Georgia Tech on Wednesday and at home against North Carolina State on Saturday. If the Canes can’t do that, they really don’t deserve a bid.
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.
Beyond the Arc: No. 11 Michigan State ends No. 3 Ohio State's 39-game home winning streak with a 58-48 victory.
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 | College hoops power rankings A look at the top teams in college basketball based on performance and potential. NBCSports.com |
Latest from Beyond the Arc |
Five up, five down from college hoops’ huge day11 hr 8 min ago Michigan State sure shook up Big Ten by beating Buckeyes11 hr 53 min ago UNLV’s thrilling win vs. SDSU adds spice to MWC race16 hr 20 min ago |
 | College basketball videos |
 Getty Images Highlights: No. 14 UNLV 65, No. 13 SDSU 63 Mike Moser scored 19 points, and UNLV forced three turnovers in the final 42 seconds to win. |
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 | NBCSports.com |
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.
