Super Bowl XLVI
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.
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
T.J. Oshie scored the only goal in the shootout and relief goal Brian Elliott was perfect as the St. Louis Blues beat New Jersey 4-3 on Thursday night to end the Devils five-game winning streak.
PBT: On paper this was a battle of seven seeds. But once the Celtics and Lakers locked horns on Thursday night, it felt like a matchup from grander times.
Beyond the Arc: Racers no long sport an unbeaten record, but they're still capable of making an NCAA tournament run.
CFT: To address safety concerns, the NCAA is proposing that kickoffs be moved from the 30 to 35-yard line and touchbacks moved out to the 25-yard line next season.
By most standards, Tiger Woods’ 68 at the AT&T would be considered solid. But he’s not particularly pleased, which is trouble for the field.
Rafa Nadal rips a "general campaign" in France to discredit Spanish athletes by implying their success is due to the use of illegal drugs.
Manchester City will find at least three highly motivated players in its way Sunday when it tries to improve upon its flagging away form in the Premier League at Aston Villa.
All that stuff about the Olympic ideal, how it's all about taking part, not winning, can often seem like so much hot air, rendered hopelessly quaint and outdated by the ultra-competitive and mercenary world of modern sport. Until, that is, you speak to Kieran Behan.
Nick Diaz’s hopes for a UFC interim championship rematch have gone up in smoke after the welterweight star flunked a drug test on the weekend of UFC 143.
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The Illini hardly need one more.
Don't think that'll stop us.
The simple truth is Illinois was eliminated from this tournament (and possibly the bigger one) by a team that is the closest thing we've seen in more than 20 years to a reincarnation of the eternally beloved Flyin' Illini.
The 1988-89 Illinois squad remains legendary among those who've followed the college game for a while: Nick Anderson, Steve Bardo, Kendall Gill, Kenny Battle and Lowell Hamilton. Every player stood between 6-4 and 6-7. No small guys. No real big guys. Just a lot of versatile players who could do whatever was necessary to win.
It's like that with these Buckeyes, as well: 6-8 Dallas Lauderdale, 6-7 Evan Turner, 6-6 Jon Diebler, 6-5 David Lighty and 6-4 William Buford.
"You don't have a lot of height, but there are a lot of guys who do a lot of things well," said Big Ten Network analyst Jimmy Jackson, who was a senior in high school 21 years ago. "That would be the similarity."
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"I think we probably shoot the ball a little better, because the 3-point line wasn't as prominent back then," Matta said. "They were more athletic. Defensively, they could swarm you. That was a great basketball team."
Is Ohio State? We might have a clearer picture of that if Turner had not missed six games (OSU lost three) with a broken back. The Buckeyes are in the Big Ten final for the fourth time in five years, though, and are the only one of the league's tri-champions that will have a chance to claim both the league's titles.
Saturday's game demonstrated the value of having so many basketball players on the floor. Some teams have size, and some have athleticism, but Ohio State has guys who can make plays.
The Buckeyes trailed for much of the game and fell behind by 11 in the second half, but they recovered with a 20-0 run during which the breadth of their gifts was on full display. There was a nifty drive by Buford, a 3-pointer by Turner, another from Diebler after Lighty scrambled for a loose ball and swept the ball out behind the arc.
Near the start of that surge, Matta switched his team into a 1-2-2 zone press. On the first trip against it, Illinois broke through easily and got the ball to 6-9 Mike Davis in the left corner – the baseline was as open as the Illinois prairie, but Davis passed the ball back to the perimeter and the game was turned firmly in OSU's direction. Matta said there were too many great plays to recall them all.
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Illinois has played with great urgency, with the sort of desperation to be expected from a team that was fighting for its NCAA Tournament life. But Turner clearly bothered by the Illini's trash talk when the game was in their favor, suggesting they were "front-runners" and "running their mouths too much." Illinois seemed to think the problem had originated on the other side.
It wasn't an easy day for Illini. So much pain. And now, the waiting.
Beyond the Arc: Racers no long sport an unbeaten record, but they're still capable of making an NCAA tournament run.
Robert Covington had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Tennessee State to a 72-68 victory over No. 9 Murray State on Thursday night, handing the Racers their first loss of the season.
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Steve Prohm had never lost a game as a head coach. He doesn't think much of what his first loss will do for his sleeping habits.
Pau Gasol blocked Ray Allen's putback attempt at the buzzer in overtime and the Los Angeles Lakers held on to beat the Boston Celtics 88-87 on Thursday night.
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.
