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.
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
CLEVELAND - The Cavaliers clinched their second straight outright Central Division championship Wednesday night — and Mo Williams went home disappointed.
LeBron James had 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in Cleveland’s 99-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers. With the win, Cleveland (54-15) became the first team this season to clinch a division title.
Williams spent last summer and the early part of this season trying to cherish the little things along Cleveland’s bid to win an NBA championship. The first milestone passed by Wednesday without him realizing it.
“We have to cherish these moments and celebrate these moments,” Williams said. “Our goal (last year) was so focused on a championship, we looked past clinching the division, clinching the playoffs and clinching home-court advantage. All that makes the main goal that much sweeter.
“That’s kind of funny that we didn’t come in here and acknowledge it. I’m kind of disappointed in that.”
James made sure that was the only reason to go home disappointed, taking over late after Indiana cut an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter to one. James had six points, two blocks, two steals and an assist in the final 4 minutes, including a nifty dunk behind his head after catching an alley-oop pass from Anderson Varejao. James fell a rebound and an assist shy of his second triple-double in two nights.
“That’s all phases of my game in a couple possessions,” James said. “That solidifies who I am on both sides of the floor.”
Troy Murphy had 19 points and 15 rebounds — but just four points and five rebounds in the second half for the last-place Pacers, who were trying to win consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 2-5. Roy Hibbert added 20 points for Indiana, which was without leading scorer Danny Granger.
Granger, averaging 23.1 points a game, did not make the trip after spending the night in an Indianapolis hospital Tuesday. He took an inadvertent elbow to his upper right cheek in the final minute Tuesday night against Charlotte. CT scans on his head and neck found no problems.
Coach Jim O’Brien is hopeful Granger can return quickly, particularly because Indiana’s injury list is growing. T.J. Ford has missed the last three games with a sore groin, Tyler Hansbrough has missed two months with an inner ear infection and Jeff Foster is out for the season following back surgery.
The Pacers have lost 13 of their last 17, including nine straight on the road. They have played Cleveland and Milwaukee, the top two teams in the division, down to the final minutes this week before falling.
“The last two road games, we’ve given ourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter and came up short against good teams,” O’Brien said. “We’ve won our last three home games, so things are starting to pick up for us.”
James had 14 points and seven rebounds in the third quarter as Cleveland used a 16-2 run to start the second half and open a 66-50 lead. But the Pacers fought back, pulling within a point on a basket by Earl Watson with 4:52 left.
James refused to let the Pacers take the lead, blocking Brandon Rush’s shot off the backboard on Indiana’s next possession.
“It was goaltending. I swear to God it was goaltending,” Rush said, laughing. “I didn’t hear anybody say that he was behind me, but I knew he was coming.”
The Cavaliers converted on a basket in transition by Varejao and James scored on Cleveland’s next two possessions — the dunk behind his head and a fadeway jumper to put Cleveland up 94-87. Then James got A.J. Price with another block off the backboard in the final minute and Cleveland leading, 99-93, to seal the victory.
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NOTES: James moved into fourth place on the Cavs’ all-time rebounding list and reached the 2,000 point mark for the sixth straight season. ... James wore gold shoes on St. Patrick’s Day in honor of his high school, the St. Vincent St. Mary Irish. ... Delonte West returned after missing a game with a sprained left knee. ... Indiana’s Dahntay Jones started in place of Granger. ... Cleveland has won 16 of the last 18 meetings against the Pacers, who haven’t won in Cleveland since a double-overtime victory on Nov. 3, 2004.
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.
Jeremy Lin came with an intriguing story even before he escaped the New York Knicks' bench.
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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.
Adreian Payne scored 15 points, Draymond Green added 12 and defense-minded No. 11 Michigan State beat No. 3 Ohio State 58-48 Saturday night, ending the Buckeyes' 39-game home winning streak.
