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 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.
AP
LATROBE, Pa. - One of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history apparently resulted from Steelers linebacker James Harrison’s guess work, not the Pittsburgh coaches’ game plan.
Harrison revealed while reporting to training camp on Friday that he didn’t follow his coaches’ orders on his 100-yard interception return touchdown that ended the first half against Arizona on Feb. 1 and has quickly become one of the signature plays in any Super Bowl.
Harrison’s return of Kurt Warner’s pass over the middle intended for Anquan Bolden gave the Steelers a 17-7 halftime lead. They went on to win 27-23 on Ben Roethlisberger’s last-minute touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes.
If the Cardinals had scored on the first-and-goal play from the Pittsburgh 2, they likely would have led 14-10 at the half and would have owned the momentum.
“I actually wasn’t supposed to drop on that play, I was supposed to blitz,” Harrison said Friday. “All night, we were a step late. We had an all-out blitz and I figured if I stepped (out) I could hold my tackle ... (then) I would drop off and they would have to do a quick slant.”
Harrison guessed correctly, stepped in front of Warner’s pass and took off down the sideline.
The first half clock would have expired if he had been tackled in-bounds, but Harrison shoved the ball across the goal line as Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald pulled him to the turf.
Harrison joked it “took me two weeks to catch my breath after that play.”
Harrison said Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau never questioned why he gambled.
“Technique, opportunity and all that other stuff met (on that play) — and a little bit of luck,” Harrison said. “Sometimes you just feel that might be the play that does it. I guess coach LeBeau didn’t mind it too much.”
Harrison, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year last season, often is a contrarian known for doing things his way, and he did so again Friday. While his teammates mostly piled out of large SUVs or pickup trucks, he pulled up to camp in a Smart car that was only slightly larger than Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton.
Harrison gave coach Mike Tomlin a ride in the smaller-than-subcompact vehicle that is popular in Europe, where gas prices are much higher than in the United States. And, yes, both player and coach fit in the car at the same time.
“It’s not so much the gas mileage ... I just want to do something to help the environment,” said Harrison, who said the car was lent by a dealer.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
Jeremy Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Kobe Bryant as the New York Knicks held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night.