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
CLEMSON, S.C. - Clemson coach Oliver Purnell was asked what he said to the 18th-ranked Tigers after they gave up a 23-point second-half lead at home in a loss to Illinois.
“You don’t have that much time,” he said.
Clemson (6-2), which defeated then-No. 12 Butler last Sunday, looked to have this one locked up, leading 51-28 early in the second half.
All the Illini did was pull off the biggest comeback in school history for a 76-74 victory Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
“All of a sudden, somebody told me we were down four. I was shocked,” said a giddy Illinois coach Bruce Weber.
He had plenty of reasons to be happy. Illinois came into this one off losses to Utah and Bradley at the HoopTV Las Vegas Invitational. The chat rooms filled up with critics blistering the Illini for a lack of on-court leadership from a team with four upperclassmen in the starting lineup.
It was that experience that fanned the historic comeback.
Mike Davis led Illinois with 22 points. Center Mike Tisdale hit the go-ahead basket with 41 seconds left, then blocked David Potter’s try to retake the lead on the Tigers’ next trip down.
Point guard Demetri McCamey played under control in the second half despite having four fouls.
Freshmen Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson combined for six 3-pointers to fuel the comeback.
Paul finished with 20 points in Illinois’ biggest rally since beating Seton Hall 87-79 in 2000 after trailing by 21.
“It’s a family, sticking together,” Davis said. “We read all the articles, no leadership. We stepped up tonight.”
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The Illini (5-2) looked finished when Jerai Grant’s dunk gave the Tigers the 23-point lead. That’s when they went on 35-10 run to move in front.
“We said to ourselves, we can’t get down,” Tisdale said. “Coach wanted us to play hard. We didn’t do that in the first half.”
Demontez Stitt missed a driving shot at the buzzer for Clemson as Illinois broke a three-game losing streak in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Stitt made two foul shots at the end in the Tigers’ 70-69 win over Butler last weekend. He said he had a good look at the basket, but could not finish the layup.
“We can’t let games like this slip away,” he said. “You get up by 20, you can’t relax.”
Unfortunately for the Tigers, it’s happened too often the past few seasons.
In 2007, Virginia closed with a 19-2 run to win 64-63. Then last February, Florida State went on a 23-4 second-half spurt to beat the Tigers 65-61.
Purnell said Clemson abandoned the defensive mindset that helped it build the first-half lead.
“We just kind of got away from who we have to be,” he said.
Stitt led the Tigers with 15 points. Leading scorer Trevor Booker had just three of his 12 points in the second half. He had 10 rebounds for his third double-double this season.
Illinois’ rally took everyone at Littlejohn Coliseum by surprise. It began with Tisdale’s two free throws and a jumper by Davis. Paul’s second 3-pointer of the run brought the Illini within 16.
Davis and Richardson each added three-point plays as the lead dwindled to 61-57.
Even Booker helped Illinois’ cause, tipping in McCamey’s miss a possession later. When Paul picked off a pass by Potter for a layup, the Illini were up 63-61 with its bench and a handful of fans going crazy as Purnell called time out.
Tanner Smith’s 3-pointer with 2:01 remaining put the Tigers up for the last time, 74-72.
Richardson added a foul shot before Tisdale’s winning bucket.
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When 5-foot-9 Andre Young squeezed past Tisdale, Illinois’ 7-1 center, for a layup, a loud noise that sounded like a coach’s clipboard hitting the court came from the Illini bench. Weber was quickly called for a technical foul by official Bryan Kersey.
Weber was stunned.
“I didn’t do anything. What did I do?” he shouted as Kersey moved to the other side of the court.
Moments later, Booker collected a loose ball and was yanked to the ground by Dominique Keller, who drew an intentional foul. Keller quickly helped Booker to his feet.
When Booker made his free throws, Clemson was ahead 39-25 on the way to a 47-27 halftime lead.
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.
Beyond the Arc: No. 11 Michigan State ends No. 3 Ohio State's 39-game home winning streak with a 58-48 victory.
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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.
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.
