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.
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.
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BATON ROUGE, La. - LSU’s offense needed to be at its best against No. 1 Florida’s veteran defense.
Instead, the fourth-ranked Tigers sputtered worse than they had all season — worse than they had in years.
“Tiger faithful, I apologize. We will work harder,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “We know we have to do better. I’ll take the discredit for this one.”
LSU had 162 yards in total offense and often went nowhere, or backward, when they really needed to make a play to sustain a drive. They were plagued by false-start penalties and quarterback Jordan Jefferson was sacked five times.
Jefferson struggled through the worst outing of his young career, never getting the Tigers in the end zone in a 13-3 loss.
Much of that had to do with the speed and ability of a Florida defense that has all starters and top reserves back from last season’s national championship squad. The Gators entered the game having allowed only two touchdowns and 29 points through their first four games. After five games, make that only 32 points, an average of fewer than seven points.
Jefferson completed only one pass for more than 20 yards and never found his rhythm. He was 11 of 17 for 96 yards and one interception. Though he had trouble avoiding the Florida pass rush, he managed to elude the media after the game.
LSU’s biggest downfield threats, wide receivers Brandon LaFell and Terrance Toliver, combined for 58 yards on six catches.
“We knew they had two big receivers that we had to stop,” Florida safety Will Hill said. “If we could shut those guys down then we could win.”
With its running game also struggling for only 66 yards, LSU had a 13-minute deficit in time of possession and never gave its weary defense a break.
“I was actually surprised how close it was,” Miles said of LSU’s difference in time with the ball. Florida “played keep-away really well.”
LSU’s point total had not been that low since a 7-3 loss at Auburn in 2006. It was the least the Tigers had scored at home since a 31-0 loss to Alabama in 2002, which also was the last time LSU lost a Saturday night home game. They had won 32 in a row since, but that streak is over now.
“Too many mistakes,” LaFell said. “You play a team with that good a defense, you cannot give them any advantages.”
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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 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
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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.