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
INDIANAPOLIS - Northwestern’s Michael Thompson scored 11 of his 16 points during a late run Thursday, leading the Wildcats past Indiana 73-58 in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
Seventh-seeded Northwestern (20-12) clinched its first 20-win season in school history and has a date with No. 6 Purdue in Friday’s quarterfinals. The Boilermakers are the second seed after sharing the regular-season title with No. 5 Ohio State and No. 11 Michigan State.
It was the Wildcats’ first conference tourney win since March 10, 2005.
Verdell Jones scored 20 points to lead Indiana (10-21), which lost 12 of its last 13 games. The Hoosiers also have five straight losses in Big Ten tourney play.
Indiana led for the first 32 minutes, but Thompson’s flurry ignited a 20-5 run that turned a 45-39 Northwestern deficit into a 59-50 lead with 4:53 left and the Hoosiers never recovered.
Minnesota 76, Penn State 55
Devoe Joseph scored 15 points to help Minnesota beat Penn State.
Colton Iverson scored 12 points, Damian Johnson scored 11 and Lawrence Westbrook added 10 for the Golden Gophers (19-12), who advanced to play No. 11 Michigan State on Friday in a quarterfinal. Michigan State won both regular-season games against Minnesota by a combined eight points.
The sixth-seeded Golden Gophers have won five of their past seven, including a victory over now-No. 13 Wisconsin. A win over Michigan State would strengthen Minnesota’s case for an NCAA tournament bid.
Talor Battle, Chris Babb, Andrew Jones and David Jackson each scored 10 points for Penn State (11-20), the tournament’s 11th seed. Battle, a second-team all-conference pick, was held to 3-for-10 shooting.
Michigan 59, Iowa 52
Manny Harris had 22 points and nine rebounds to help Michigan.
DeShawn Sims added 14 points for the Wolverines (15-16), who advanced to play No. 5 Ohio State on Friday in the quarterfinals.
Iowa freshman Cully Payne scored a season-high 25 points and made five 3-pointers for Iowa (10-22). He had scored a combined four points his previous two games. He was 9 for 16 from the field, but the rest of the team shot 13 for 40.
Matt Gatens added 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawkeyes.
Michigan had lost four of its previous five games but won all three games against the Hawkeyes this season.
Iowa closed the season by losing six of seven.
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.
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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 | College hoops power rankings A look at the top teams in college basketball based on performance and potential. NBCSports.com |
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Five up, five down from college hoops’ huge day4 hr 26 min ago Michigan State sure shook up Big Ten by beating Buckeyes5 hr 11 min ago UNLV’s thrilling win vs. SDSU adds spice to MWC race9 hr 38 min ago |
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 Getty Images Highlights: No. 14 UNLV 65, No. 13 SDSU 63 Mike Moser scored 19 points, and UNLV forced three turnovers in the final 42 seconds to win. |
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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.
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.