Super Bowl XLVI
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.
Adreian Payne scored 15 points, Draymond Green added 12 and No. 11 Michigan State beat No. 3 Ohio State 58-48 Saturday night, ending the Buckeyes' 39-game home winning streak.
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.
DETROIT - Red Wings coach Mike Babcock always says timing is everything on special teams.
Well, Detroit couldn’t have picked a better game to excel on the power play and when the Pittsburgh Penguins had an extra skater.
The Red Wings killed a penalty midway through the first period to keep the game scoreless Saturday night and had three power-play goals in the second period, keying a 5-0 win over Pittsburgh that gave them a 3-2 lead in the series.
“That first kill was a big boost for us,” Detroit defenseman Brian Rafalski said. “I think it gave us a lot of confidence going forward.”
Detroit entered the pivotal game awful on special teams.
In the first four games of the series, the Red Wings were 1 for 10 on the power play and allowed the Penguins to score four times on nine power plays.
“We just couldn’t keep losing that battle,” Babcock said. “We had to compete harder and be better on both specialty teams in order to have success. Our guys have a lot of pride and we wanted to do that.”
The defending champions were much better in both situations and that’s a big reason they have a chance to hoist the Cup in Game 6 on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh just as they did last season against the Penguins.
Niklas Kronwall, Brian Rafalski and Henrik Zetterberg scored power-play goals in the second period, tying a franchise playoff record for goals in one period with an extra skater against a team that hadn’t allowed more than one power-play goal in a game this postseason.
“They were really hot,” Pittsburgh’s Bill Guerin said. “The penalties were definitely an issue for us.”
Pavel Datsyuk’s return certainly gave the Red Wings a boost in all phases of the game, helping them win their 49th straight game in the playoffs when they score at least four goals.
Datsyuk didn’t play on the penalty kill as he normally would, but the Red Wings did what they wanted to earlier in the series.
They cleared the puck each time they had a chance instead of passing to a teammate to make an aggressive play the first time Pittsburgh had a power play.
“They were aggressive and got pucks down the ice, and forced us to go back several times, which is what you do on a good penalty kill,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. “And they certainly gained momentum from the kill, and the crowd at that point.”
When Detroit had power plays, it successfully pressured Marc-Andre Fleury with shots and rebounds and ended the goaltender’s night after he gave up a third power-play goal in the second period.
“Most of the time, he’s going to make the save,” Zetterberg said. “You just have to be there for the second pucks and I think we did a better job than we did in Pittsburgh.”
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Mike Smith stopped 38 shots for his third shutout this season and the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 Saturday night.
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Stanley Cup finals on NBC |
Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Detroit Red Wings 4-3 |
Adreian Payne scored 15 points, Draymond Green added 12 and defense-minded No. 11 Michigan State beat No. 3 Ohio State 58-48 Saturday night, ending the Buckeyes' 39-game home winning streak.
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.
Trae Golden scored 17 points, Jeronne Maymon added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Tennessee upset No. 8 Florida 75-70 Saturday, ending the Gators' home-winning streak at 19.