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.
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PORTLAND, Ore. - Kobe Bryant did not speak to reporters after the Lakers’ victory over Portland, but coach Phil Jackson said it would be up to Bryant if he wanted to skip the Lakers’ final two games before the All-Star break to rest his sprained left ankle.
“I would say it is day-to-day,” Jackson said. “We have an opportunity here with two games before the All-Star break. There is some time there if he does need to take a longer time, we’re trying to give him the liberty to do that.”
If Bryant did skip Monday night vs. San Antonio and Wednesday night in Utah — and then the All-Star Game on Feb. 14 — he would get 10 full days without playing a game. The Lakers’ first game after the break is Feb. 16 vs. Golden State.
Given Bryant’s zeal in playing every possible game the past three years, it seems unlikely he would choose to miss more games. (Bryant’s streak of playing 235 consecutive games was the NBA’s fifth-longest run; Andre Miller’s 583 is tops.) Longtime teammate Derek Fisher spoke to that in noting how much better Bryant might feel after just 48 hours of rest before the Lakers play the Spurs.
“In sports, you can feel like night and day in 48 hours,” Fisher said. “But then to turn around and travel to Utah Tuesday and play Wednesday, you’re right back at it. So he may decide just to push it to the break and really get himself back to where after the All-Star break, he can be the player we need him to be and he wants to be.”
Jackson suggested that matchups with Portland played a major reason in why Andrew Bynum didn’t keep playing Saturday night on his bruised right hip.
“Andrew couldn’t run,” Jackson said. “He was struggling to run out there, and this is a (Portland) team that pushes the ball pretty quick. So we needed a quick team out there on the floor.”
San Antonio and Utah, next up, are not as fast as Portland, and Bynum would be particularly useful in matching up against San Antonio’s Tim Duncan and Utah’s Carlos Boozer.
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.
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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.