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. 11 Michigan State ends No. 3 Ohio State's 39-game home winning streak with a 58-48 victory.
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.
Getty Images Contributor
RENO, Nev. - Ben Roethlisberger is seeking unspecified counter damages from a woman he says falsely accused him of rape in what his lawyer describes as a plan she hatched to seduce the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback in his Lake Tahoe casino-hotel room.
The woman alleged in a civil suit filed in Washoe District Court in July that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her at Harrah’s in July 2008 after he lured her there under the false pretense of needing his television repaired.
Roethlisberger’s lawyer, John Echeverria, said in a response to the lawsuit filed this week that the woman made up the story because she knew it was against Harrah’s policy for employees to visit a guest’s room without a work-related purpose.
Her violation of the policy “was a deliberate step in her plan to seduce Mr. Roethlisberger,” Echeverria wrote.
“At all times while she was in Mr. Roethlisberger’s room, (the woman) acted voluntarily. Mr. Roethlisberger did not sexually assault, assault, batter, falsely imprison or otherwise commit any crime.”
The response to the lawsuit includes counterclaims against the two-time Super Bowl winner’s accuser for “extortion, abuse of process and defamation.”
He seeks unspecified damages in excess of $10,000 to compensate for “lost opportunity for endorsement deals and other revenues, damage to his reputation, emotional distress and legal fees and costs.”
The woman “willfully, intentionally and maliciously made and published unprivileged defamatory statements including that Mr. Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her,” Echeverria said.
Cal Dunlap, the woman’s lawyer, said Friday he had no comment on the new filing.
The woman’s lawsuit alleges hotel officials for Harrah’s Lake Tahoe went to great lengths to cover up the incident. It seeks a minimum of $440,000 in damages from the quarterback, at least $50,000 in damages from the Harrah’s officials and an unspecified amount of punitive damages “sufficient to deter” Roethlisberger and the others “from engaging in such conduct in the future.”
The woman’s lawsuit says she didn’t file a criminal complaint because she feared Harrah’s would side with Roethlisberger and she would be fired.
The woman said once she went to Roethlisberger’s room, she determined the TV was functioning properly but as she turned to leave, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound NFL star blocked her exit. She claims he grabbed her and started to kiss her, and she was “shocked and stunned that this previously friendly man, that appeared to be a gentleman in her previous contacts with him was suddenly preventing her from leaving, was assaulting her and battering her.”
|
Echeverria said in the new filing the woman “has a history of using sex and lies to get what she wants.”
He said the woman and her lawyer have engaged in a “conspiracy to wave a tangled web of lies, deceit and misdirection in the hopes of leveraging a quick and extortionate payoff from a celebrity known for his good character, athletic talent and generosity to his community.
“The resulting complaint is based on the fantastical imaginings of a desperate woman with significant credibility issues.”
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.
 | Slideshow |
 | Super Bowl XLVI shots See the best moments before, during and after the Giants' win over the Patriots more photos |
 | Video: Football from NBC Sports |
 Getty Images |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
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.
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.
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.
