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 for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
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.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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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My rival
Don't expect Duke (19-4 overall, 7-2 ACC) to take North Carolina (13-10, 2-6) lightly in Wednesday's edition of the greatest rivalry in American sports. After all, it's the greatest rivalry in American sports. And, there's this: Duke's players have faced the Tar Heels too many times.
"My reaction is, 'What's going on?' " Duke guard Nolan Smith told The News & Observer of Raleigh. "They have guys that are probably going to be lottery picks. It's very surprising to me. But they're a very talented team."
Devils forward Kyle Singler told the paper "they're just young," which certainly is part of what has caused UNC problems. It's more involved than that, however, because the Heels were younger when winning pre-conference games against Ohio State and Michigan State.
The weight
On the writers' panel for the Courtside with Seth Davis show on CBS College Sports, Jim O'Connell of the Associated Press criticized those who placed such high expectations on the Tar Heels given the severity of their personnel losses.
O'Connell is a Hall of Famer, but his logic is flawed. If talent lost is so important, why is Syracuse an NCAA title contender after losing the three leading scorers from a Sweet 16 team?
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Days of future passed
We've grown accustomed to North Carolina-Duke games between ranked teams contending for the ACC title. It seems the rivalry never before has seen a game like this. In fact, it hasn't been all that long.
In 2002-03, North Carolina stood 11-9 when sent on the road to 14-3 Duke. The Blue Devils won, 83-74.
It was a typically feisty game in which Tar Heels coach Matt Doherty and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski exchanged words near midcourt after Devils wing Dahntay Jones nailed a jumper and accidentally bumped into Doherty.
"This is the way the game should be played," Krzyzewski said that night. "It was so hard and so clean … It was a great night for ACC basketball."
So maybe it will be again.
Fast fact
Since the AP poll began in the 1948-49 season, one of the teams in this series has been ranked when they met 147 of a possible 163 times, including 128 consecutive games since Feb. 27, 1960. One of the teams has been in the top 10 in 115 of those games. North Carolina leads the series, 130-97.
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.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
