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.
AP
LOS ANGELES - Vitali Klitschko gave Cris Arreola such a beating that his corner finally stepped in to stop the fight. Good thing, because Arreola wasn’t about to quit by himself.
Klitschko cemented his spot alongside his brother, Wladimir, at the top of the heavyweight ranks Saturday night by battering a game but outclassed Arreola around the ring for 10 rounds. Arreola remained upright the entire fight but had taken so many punches that his corner wouldn’t let him out for the 11th round.
It was a dominating performance for Klitschko, who retained his piece of the heavyweight title and denied Arreola’s bid to become the first Mexican-American to win a heavyweight crown. Arreola was still willing to fight some more, but trainer Henry Ramirez ended things with his fighter still on his stool after the 10th round.
“He was taking too much punishment,” Ramirez said. “When I told him I was going to stop the fight he was irate.”
Arreola spent almost the entire fight moving forward in an attempt to get inside his taller opponent, but paid a heavy price as Klitschko landed punches from almost every angle to his head and midsection. By the later rounds, Arreola’s face was a bloody mess, yet he continued to plod forward in an increasingly desperate attempt to land a big punch inside.
Klitschko put on an impressive show, using both his reach advantage and his considerable ring skills to land left hooks followed by an assortment of right hands. But he was never able to put Arreola down, and never landed enough big punches to make him want to quit.
“I know I was hurting him a lot but he has a great, great chin,” Klitschko said. “I was surprised he did not come out (for the 11th round).”
One ringside judge gave Klitschko all 10 rounds while the other two gave Arreola one round. The Associated Press had Klitschko winning every round.
It was the third win for Klitschko since he returned last year from a four-year retirement he said he needed to allow his body to heal. His brother, Wladimir, also a heavyweight champion, was in the corner to give him advice but there was little that needed to be said about a performance so dominating that there seemed little chance for Arreola even after the first round.
“I’m so sorry, I really wanted to be champion,” Arreola said. “I never wanted to quit.”
Ringside punch statistics showed Klitschko threw 802 punches, a huge amount for a heavyweight, and landed 301 of them. Arreola was credited with landing 86 of 331 punches.
Klitschko was a 5-1 favorite, but Arreola thought he would have a puncher’s chance at the very least. He didn’t, largely because Klitschko not only takes a good punch but refused to allow him inside to land many.
Klitschko, who stood a half-head taller than Arreola, used his left jab when he wanted Arreola on the outside, and threw uppercuts and short hooks at him when he tried to get inside. He ran his record to 38-2 while stopping an opponent within the distance for the 37th time.
The pace of the fight was set in the first round, with Klitschko moving backward slowly, landing punches to the head, while Arreola (27-1) lunged at him, usually finding only air at the end of his punches. The fight continued in much the same fashion, with Arreola’s face reddening and blood streaming from his nose and mouth.
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It was a successful return for Klitschko to the Staples Center, where he made a name for himself in a loss to Lennox Lewis in 2003 and won the WBC title the next year. Though Klitschko has a home in Los Angeles, Arreola is a Southern California native and most in the near capacity crowd were there to cheer him on.
The cheers grew fainter, though, as the rounds added up and the crowd realized this was not going to be their man’s night.
“I couldn’t get to him,” Arreola said. “He was fighting the fight he was supposed to fight.”
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.
NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''
Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.
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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.
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.
