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.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
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.
CLEVELAND - On one of the biggest days of his life, LeBron James took the long way home.
Once inside his hometown’s city limits, James pulled his high-powered Ferrari off I-77 and drove the back roads to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, his alma mater.
Turning on Maple Street, he went past his first house on Hickory. Then, it was past the one on Silver Street, where his mother, Gloria, began raising him by herself. James visited The Boondocks, where he and his friends first dribbled on the playgrounds.
James retraced the steps on Monday. His path to NBA superstardom.
An unstoppable offensive force who became an elite defender this season, James claimed the league MVP, receiving the award in the gym where he first became a star.
“This is a place where all my dreams started and where I thought they could become real,” James said. “There’s really not a better place.”
The Ohio kid anointed King James as a teenager has a new crown.
An MVP vote some expected to be close was another slam dunk by James. He received 109 of a possible 121 first-place votes to easily outdistance Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. James totaled 1,172 points in balloting by media members in the U.S. and Canada.
Bryant, last year’s winner, got two first-place votes and finished with 698 points. Miami guard Dwyane Wade was third with 680 points and was named first on seven ballots. Orlando center Dwight Howard (328) was fourth followed by New Orleans guard Chris Paul (192).
The race was never in doubt. It was James all along.
“I’m 24 years old and I’m receiving this award, I never thought it would happen this fast,” he said, standing under three state title banners he helped win for the Fighting Irish. “I never dreamed about being MVP, but if I said I didn’t enjoy this award I’d be lying. Hard work pays off and dreams do come true.”
James is the first Cavaliers player to win the award. He averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists this season, his sixth as a pro. He also finished second in voting for defensive player of the year, making him perhaps the league’s most dominant two-way player since Michael Jordan.
Along with a trophy, James was given a new car, which he donated to a local charity.
After learning he won, James knew he wanted to share it with family and friends. He knew there was only one place to do it: At his beloved St. V., the school where he was a high school phenom.
As James — who got a police escort for the final miles — drove up about an hour before the ceremony in his metallic gray $225,000 car with W1TNES vanity license plates, a crowd chanting “M-V-P” rushed into the street outside the school.
The scene was more civil later when James took the stage and was serenaded by hundreds of students sitting in the same bleachers he used to.
The setting was fitting for James, who earlier this year had the words “Loyalty” and “Family” tattooed vertically along his rib cage.
In the past, the MVP trophy has been presented at team practice facilities or arenas. But James wanted a special location.
League spokesman Brian McIntyre said the intimate ceremony was unlike any before.
“When he heard what LeBron wanted to do, we gave it about a second’s thought, and said that’s a great idea,” he said. “This was wonderful.”
James credited his Cavaliers teammates, who attended the ceremony along with coach Mike Brown, for raising their games in Cleveland’s best season ever. The Cavs went 66-16, 39-2 at home and earned the top seed in the playoffs — a franchise first.
“Individual accolades come when team success happens,” James said. “You look at those 14 guys over there, I got the award because of them. They put in the work.”
James invited his teammates to the podium and presented each with an expensive camera.
“This award is going to be like the both of ours, but I’m going to keep it at my house,” he cracked.
At 24 years, 106 days on the final day of the regular season, James is the youngest player to win the award since Moses Malone (24 years, 16 days) in 1978-79. Wes Unseld was 23 when he won it in 1968-69.
James vied all season for MVP honors with Bryant and Wade, his teammates on the U.S. gold medalist Olympic team last summer.
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.