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.
Beyond the Arc: No. 14 UNLV's 65-63 victory over No. 13 San Diego State adds spice to the Mountain West Conference race.
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
CLEVELAND - Edwin Jackson wouldn’t allow the AL Central to get any tighter. Now is definitely not the time.
Detroit’s steady starter pitched seven shutout innings and remained unbeaten against Cleveland this season, and the first-place Tigers kept their slender lead over Minnesota with a 3-1 win over the staggering Indians, who dropped their ninth straight on Tuesday night.
“Edwin was just what the doctor ordered,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “We needed a big outing from him and we got it.”
In losing nine of nine of 13, the Tigers had let a season-high, seven-game lead on Sept. 6 slip to two over the Twins last weekend. But thanks to Jackson, Detroit won its second straight and stayed 2½ games ahead of Minnesota, which beat the Chicago White Sox 8-6.
Jackson knows that with the season winding down, the onus is on the starters to come through.
“It’s imperative right now,” the right-hander said. “Every start we make is going to be a clutch start. Right now you have to leave it all on the field. It’s that time of the year where every game is not necessarily a must win, but it’s important to get as many as we can.”
Ryan Raburn homered in the third off Aaron Laffey (7-7) and threw out a runner at the plate from left field an inning earlier.
Jackson (13-7) improved to 4-0 in five starts against Cleveland. He gave up seven hits and got out of jams in the fifth and sixth with inning-ending double plays. Jackson also got a big assist from Raburn, who gunned down Matt LaPorta at home to end the second. Raburn has eight assists in 79 games in the outfield.
Jackson hasn’t gotten much run support all season and the Tigers weren’t able to do much with Laffey, who allowed one run and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings but lost his fourth straight start. It was the 16th time in 31 starts that Jackson has gone at least seven innings.
The Indians closed within 3-1 in the eighth off Detroit relievers Bobby Seay and Brandon Lyon, who gave up a bases-loaded walk to pinch-hitter Jamey Carroll before striking out Luis Valbuena to crush the threat. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 34th save in 35 tries.
Leading 1-0 on Raburn’s homer, Detroit tacked on two big runs in the eighth. After Chris Perez walked two to open the inning, Miguel Cabrera hit an RBI double and Marcus Thames delivered a sacrifice fly.
The Indians fell to 3-17 in September.
“It’s not like we’re trying to lose,” Laffey said. “And it doesn’t matter, at least to me, who we are playing. You have to give 100 percent focus on every pitch. No matter who you face, you want to win.”
Cleveland opened its final homestand amid uncertainty about manager Eric Wedge’s job for next season.
Owners Paul and Larry Dolan and general manager Mark Shapiro are reviewing all aspects of the organization, including Wedge. They are expected to announce a decision on Wedge, who is signed through next season, around the Oct. 4 season finale.
“Nobody likes to lose,” Indians DH Travis Hafner said. “We came in with high expectations and it hasn’t happened for us.”
Wedge has led the Indians to the postseason just once in his seven seasons, but has earned respect from his peers.
“He was a pretty smart manager when they won the division two years ago,” Leyland said. “He’s no different now. You talk about managers, we’re pretty much all the same. When we have good players we usually do all right. There are no tricks. You get good players and you win, everything is OK.
“You don’t win and you usually go.”
Notes: Raburn has three homers in his last six games. ... Indians 2B Valbuena started a gorgeous double play in the second with a diving stop before flipping the ball with his glove backhanded to second for the forceout. ... Tigers OF Magglio Ordonez went 3-for-3 and is batting 417 (25-for-60) in 18 games this month. ... When they hit the road for the final time this season next week, the Indians will be lugging an 11-game losing streak outside Cleveland. ... Detroit is 12-4 vs. Cleveland. ... LaPorta was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fourth with inflammation in his left hip. He hurt it while running home on the play where he was thrown out.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
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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.
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.
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.