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.
AP
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - For Charlie Weis, it was a hopeful day.
Notre Dame ’s offense scored three touchdowns in 13 possessions, the defense scored a touchdown — returning an interception thrown by Jimmy Clausen for a score — and the Fighting Irish finished spring practice with their intrasquad game Saturday.
After only winning only games the past two seasons, coach Weis and the Irish are hoping a good spring leads to a fabulous fall.
“I think we improved in a lot of areas. We have a long way to go to be a really good football team. But at least potentially, potentially, you could see that elements are in place to be a really good football team,” he said. “But we have a lot of work to do.”
The offense beat the defense 68-33 under an improvised scoring system. Robert Blanton intercepted Clausen’s pass and returned it 48 yards for a score. The defense also managed to hold Notre Dame’s two best receivers, Michael Floyd and Golden Tate, to one catch each, and neither Clausen nor backup quarterback Dayne Crist managed any big plays.
Clausen was 8-of-17 passing for 70 yards, while Crist, who redshirted last season, was 4-of-10 for 40 with no interceptions.
Nate Montana, son of former Irish great Joe Montana, had the game’s longest pass, a 34-yard throw to tight end Mike Ragone that helped to set up a touchdown.
“It was nice for Nate to get those couple of passes and of completions. I think it was good for him to get those under his belt,” Weis said. “There’s a lot of pressure being a legacy.”
Montana’s father was at the game, as was his brother, Nick, a highly recruited junior who attends the same California high school, Oaks Christian, as Clausen did.
One of the main goals for Notre Dame during the spring was to improve its running game. Weis said last year’s Bowl Championship Series teams averaged 4.6 yards per run, while the Irish averaged 3.3, and 109.7 yards a game.
Weis said he was pleased with the Irish running game Saturday, especially inside. The Irish rushed for 247 yards on 59 carries, an average of 4.2 yards a run.
“Let’s face it, if you can run the ball, everything else is easier,” Weis said.
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One of the biggest cheers went up when Brandon Walker, who was 1-of-7 on field goals through the first five games last season, kicked a 48-yard field goal.
The Irish managed to have some fun in the game, with Weis calling a reverse on the 8-yard line and later a flea flicker. The Irish players also had some staged touchdown celebrations, including playing duck, duck goose in the end zone following Blanton’s interception return.
“I hope they got it on video so they could see how stupid they really looked,” Weis joked.
Blanton, the game’s defensive MVP, wasn’t worried.
“You only live once,” he said. “You’ve got to have some fun.”
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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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.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
