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.
NEW ORLEANS - As Carleton Scott’s 3-pointer sailed toward the hoop and rattled around the rim, Old Dominion’s Keyon Carter was already bracing for the possibility of a tie game.
Then the shot popped out, giving the Monarchs the NCAA tournament’s first upset.
“I said, ’Here we go again.’ Those guys made a lot of clutch 3s,” Carter said. “I was kind of thinking overtime, but gratefully, it rimmed out.”
Scott’s 3-pointer didn’t fall, and Luke Harangody’s putback wasn’t enough for sixth-seeded Notre Dame on Thursday. Old Dominion held on for a 51-50 victory in the first round of the South Regional, its first NCAA tournament win since beating Villanova in triple overtime in 1995.
“I think it reflects the magic of March, the way the two teams battled,” Old Dominion coach Blaine Taylor said. “One of the officials turns to me at the two-minute mark and said, ’It’s been a heck of a game,’ and I really think it was.”
Old Dominion will try for another upset in the second round against third-seeded Baylor.
In a game that was as slow-paced as advertised, Notre Dame (23-12) led 30-22 early in the second half before the Monarchs (27-8) used a 9-0 run to take the lead.
It was close the rest of the way.
Frank Hassell’s three-point play for Old Dominion with 5:51 remaining tied it at 43, and neither team scored for the next 3 minutes. Old Dominion’s Darius James traded 3-pointers with Scott, and Gerald Lee put the Monarchs ahead with a shot from the perimeter. After Harangody missed inside, Lee made a free throw to make it 49-46 with 56.2 seconds left.
Tory Jackson missed a potential tying 3, but James missed the front end of a one-and-one from the foul line for Old Dominion. Harangody finally scored his first points of the game with 12.6 seconds left to make it 49-48, but Carter made both free throws with 9.6 seconds remaining.
Scott was well defended on Notre Dame’s final possession, but he was able to get a shot off that didn’t miss by much. Taylor said he wasn’t about to have his team foul to prevent the chance at a tying 3-pointer.
“I guess I’m kind of old school. I think we can guard people and stop them,” Taylor said. “I discussed it with our players and our coaches. I said, ’Hey, what do you all think?’ The kids are kind of like me. We’re kind of stubborn and hard-headed.”
|
“I was trying to draw a foul,” Harangody said. “There was only one second left.”
After the buzzer sounded, the Old Dominion fans began chanting “C-A-A” — a reference to the Colonial Athletic Association, the Monarchs’ league. Old Dominion wasn’t the least bit intimidated by its Big East opponent, having already beaten Georgetown earlier this season.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” said Scott, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Irish. “They’re a great team.”
Notre Dame entered the game having won six of its last seven with a more deliberate offense installed after Harangody hurt his knee. The 6-foot-8 senior went down Feb. 11 and missed five games, and had been coming off the bench.
He didn’t start Thursday either, and when he did play, he was shackled by some early foul trouble and a tough Old Dominion zone.
“They played a good game and I played a bad game,” he said. “When you don’t hit a shot early and you’re coming off the bench, it’s just very hard to get in a rhythm. I tried to let it come to me, and it just didn’t come today. Obviously this is not the way I wanted to go out.”
Ben Hansbrough, whose brother Tyler won the national title at North Carolina last year, scored 17 points for Notre Dame. Hassell scored 15 points for Old Dominion.
Notre Dame shot 36 percent from the field for the game.
“We defended like heck to keep giving ourselves a chance to win,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “We couldn’t get two offensive possessions in a row to kind of give us a little bit of confidence.”
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.
 | Slideshow |
 |
more photos |
| Slideshow |
 | College hoops power rankings A look at the top teams in college basketball based on performance and potential. NBCSports.com |
Latest from Beyond the Arc |
Would Rick Pitino’s white suit work its magic vs. Syracuse?1 hr 22 min ago Here’s a shot you just can’t defend4 hr 29 min ago Five up, five down from college hoops’ huge day20 hr 59 min ago Michigan State sure shook up Big Ten by beating Buckeyes21 hr 44 min ago |
 | College basketball videos |
 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. |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
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.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
