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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.
WASHINGTON - Rep. Joe Barton had a plane to catch, but he wanted to give college football officials a warning before leaving the highly publicized hearing.
Peering down from the podium, the Republican said in his Texas twang that unless the officials took action toward a playoff system in two months, Congress probably would move on his legislation aimed at forcing their hand.
More than three months have passed, and Barton's bill hasn't moved. Such is the way with college football and Congress.
For years, lawmakers have railed against the Bowl Championship Series, calling it an unfair way to select a national champion. A lot of righteous thundering, however, has not yielded anything on the legislative front.
President Barack Obama joined the fray last year, saying shortly after his election that there should be a playoff system.
"I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit," he said. "I think it's the right thing to do."
But now that he's in office, the recession, two wars and health care reform have taken him away from football, at least so far.
It seems unlikely Congress will take the initiative. To figure out why, just look at a map of the United States.
The current college bowl system features a championship game between the two top teams in the BCS standings, based on two polls and six computer rankings. After the title game, eight other schools fill in the remaining slots for Orange, Sugar, Fiesta and Rose bowls.
Under the BCS, six conferences get automatic bids — the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC, in states from Massachusetts to Florida to California to Washington to Illinois. Those conference receive far more money than the conferences that don't get automatic bids.
"There are just too many senators and congressmen who represent districts where major BCS schools have a very dominant influence," said Gary Roberts, dean of the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and an expert on sports law.
"So you're not going to get any senators from Louisiana or Alabama or Florida or Georgia or Tennessee or Ohio — those are all states with major state universities that are major BCS powerhouses."
There's been no bill introduced in the Senate this year to revamp the BCS, although GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said he's looking into it. Mountain West Conference champion Utah was bypassed for last season's national championship despite going undefeated.
Barton, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is one of several House members who has authored legislation aimed at forcing a playoff. His bill, which has four co-sponsors, would ban the promotion of a postseason NCAA Division I football game as a national championship unless it's the outcome of a playoff.
California Republican Gary Miller has three co-sponsors for his bill that would deny federal funds to schools in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision unless the championship resulted from a playoff system. And Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat from Hawaii, has a nonbinding resolution calling for a playoff system and for a Justice Department investigation. He's got five co-sponsors.
Roberts says it's not enough.
"Sure, you've got Orrin Hatch from Utah who's unhappy," he said. "There are a handful of congressmen and senators from districts or states that feel like the BCS disadvantages them and their constituents, but they're a small minority of the overall Congress."
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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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.
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.