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.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had 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.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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.
APNEW YORK - Why not Louisville?
If what matters in the NCAA Tournament is the present and not the past, if a bad November loss to Western Kentucky and mildly disturbing December losses to Minnesota and UNLV do not disqualify a team, if a puzzling blowout at Notre Dame in February can be explained away as just one of those nights, then why aren't Rick Pitino's Cardinals the consensus choice to win the national championship?
That was the question on everyone's mind Friday night at Madison Square Garden after top-seeded Louisville dismantled No. 4 seed Villanova 69-55, using an incredible 43-21 second half that earned the Cardinals their first berth in the Big East tournament championship game, which they went on to win Saturday night. The fifth-ranked Cardinals knocked off Syracuse 76-66.
It seems nearly all season, ever since Louisville's November/December losses, the talk of the mighty Big East has centered on Pitt and UConn, UConn and Pitt. Louisville emerged as the regular-season champion on the last night of the regular-season, but even then, the spotlight went to Pitt's win over UConn earlier that day.
Perhaps visions of those early-season losses still stick in too many minds. Those ugly memories re-emerged in the first half Friday night.
Louisville fell behind Villanova 34-26 with a lackluster effort on both ends of the floor, prompting a scolding from Pitino.
"Coach could see that wasn't Louisville basketball he was watching," senior point guard Andre McGee said. "He said he didn't know who we were. ... We weren't causing turnovers, pressuring on defense. We were taking quick, forced shots. That's just not how we play."
That was how Louisville played early this season, however, as those embarrassing early losses attest.
"We started off ranked third or fourth in the country and we really fell as we should have losing to those caliber of teams," McGee said.
But the Cards didn't stand still.
"We understood that to get back to where we wanted to be, where we are right now, we would really have to work," McGee said. "We dug ourselves a hole and have climbed the last couple of months to get out of it."
Count Villanova coach Jay Wright among the believers.
"They are the best defensive team in the country," he said. "And what makes them the best is the pressure those four guards, the pressure they're able to put on the ball for 40 minutes, full court, it never stops."
Pitino hopes his team learned a lesson with its Jekyll-and-Hyde performance against Villanova — "not to impersonate another basketball team."
Just being themselves should be more than enough for any opponent to handle.
"There are not a lot of teams in the country that could be down eight at halftime against a team as good as Villanova and come back and win," said senior forward Terrence Williams, the only Cardinal on the All-Big East first team. "But we're not happy where we're at, we still have other things we want to accomplish."
At the top of that list is a national championship. But Williams said he doesn't want the tag of consensus favorite, even if it now is deserved.
"Teams that get that either lose by a lot or get upset," he said. "We just want to be known as a team that plays hard."
Consider that mission accomplished.
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.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
 | Slideshow |
 |
more photos |
| Slideshow |
 | 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 |
Here’s a shot you just can’t defend3 hr 54 min ago Five up, five down from college hoops’ huge day20 hr 24 min ago Michigan State sure shook up Big Ten by beating Buckeyes21 hr 9 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. |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | Special feature |
 | Big Dance hopefuls Highlights which teams are in good shape for the NCAA tournament — and which are starting to sweat NBCSports.com |
 | Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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.
NBC Sports TV and livestream listings
