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 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
PITTSBURGH - Evgeni Malkin had his fourth career hat trick, Bill Guerin added two goals and two assists, and the Pittsburgh Penguins headed into the holiday break tied atop the league standings after routing the Ottawa Senators 8-2 Wednesday night.
Guerin and Chris Kunitz tied a club record with four points apiece during Pittsburgh’s five-goal second period, when Ruslan Fedotenko also scored.
Sergei Gonchar added a goal and two assists and Sidney Crosby three assists for the Penguins (26-11-1), who tied a season high for goals and matched New Jersey’s 53 points in first place of the Atlantic Division.
The game couldn’t have gone worse for the Senators, who lost captain Daniel Alfredsson early to injury on a night Ottawa welcomed back three regulars to the lineup after extended absences. Goalie Pascal Leclaire (fractured cheekbone, out 15 games), winger Chris Neil (left knee, 14 games) and winger Shean Donovan (right knee, 17 games) all had been out for roughly a month.
The Penguins’ Craig Adams hit Alfredsson while his head was down and he was battling for the puck with a Penguin in the left-wing corner, causing Alfredsson’s helmet to fly off and him to lay on the ice for a short time. Adams was not penalized.
Anton Volchenkov and Chris Kelly scored for Ottawa, which has lost four of six.
Playing in front of Russian Olympic team general manager Vladislav Tretiak — the great former Soviet goalie — Malkin had his first multiple-goal regular-season game since March 17 against Atlanta.
Malkin scored once in each period, the first and last off nice setups by Crosby. He had only two goals in his previous 10 games and the reigning NHL scoring champion was held off the score sheet in each of his past two.
The Penguins, on a 9-2-1 run, entered the game with the league’s worst power play, but went 3 for 8 with an extra man, scoring three power-play goals for the second time this season.
Guerin had two of them in the second period and assisted on tallies by Malkin and Kunitz during that period.
Senators general manager Bryan Murray called league director of officiating Terry Gregson on Tuesday to complain about calls going against his team. Monday, the team did not have a power play during a game for the third time this season.
Ottawa was given six opportunities Wednesday — not converting any — but the Penguins still had more. Still, the Senators sent 46 shots at goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. It was the third time this season they had at least that many shots, but they have only a combined four goals in those contests and lost each.
Notes: Leclaire was pulled during the second intermission after allowing six goals on 24 shots. ... Ottawa had 24 shots during the first period, one shy of the record for a visiting team against the Penguins. ... The previous high for most shots allowed by the Penguins under coach Dan Bylsma was 45. ... There were 22 previous occurrences of a Penguins player having four points in a period.
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
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.
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.
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.