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.
Buried on the bench a little more than a week ago, the Knicks' Jeremy Lin is now the toast of New York.
Arc: After heartbreaking loss, Tyler Zeller and No. 5 North Carolina made an impressive statement with a 70-52 win over No. 19 Virginia.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Tiger Woods moved within four shots of the lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Saturday with a 5-under 67.
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
SAN JOSE, Calif. - When Shelvin Mack made a steal and quickly hit a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second half, he had a good feeling Butler could shake its opening-game jitters.
By the time Mack sank his career-best seventh 3-pointer in the final seconds, he had made sure the Bulldogs were on their way in an NCAA tournament they hope will end with a hometown Final Four.
Mack scored 18 of his career high-tying 25 points after halftime Thursday, leading fifth-seeded Butler’s second-half surge in a 77-59 victory over UTEP in the first round of the West Regional.
Gordon Hayward added 13 points and Matt Howard 11 as the Bulldogs (29-4) won their 21st straight game to extend the sport’s longest active winning streak — but only after a dynamic rally from a six-point halftime deficit.
They were led by Mack, the sophomore guard who hit six 3-pointers on seven shots in the second half. Butler expertly spaced the floor and made patient passes with usual disciplined style, leaving even the talented Miners unable to keep up.
“It’s a great opportunity to do it on this stage,” Mack said. “You’ve got to knock it down like it’s open gym. ... My teammates did a good job giving me the ball. My job is to knock down shots when I’m open. That’s what I did.”
Butler advanced to face 13th-seeded Murray State, which surprised Vanderbilt 66-65 on a buzzer-beater by Danero Thomas.
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Although the Final Four is still two weeks away, the players from this Indianapolis school already have considered how cool it would be to play in front of their hometown fans. The Shark Tank crowd, still hopping with energy from the Racers’ upset, also gave the small-school Bulldogs most of its cheers.
Derrick Caracter had 20 points and nine rebounds for UTEP, which won 16 straight games and a regular-season league title before a tournament loss to Houston last Saturday. The Miners (26-7) were a popular NCAA upset pick after the Conference USA power received a surprisingly low seed in the tournament.
“I’m not going to let these guys hang their heads,” UTEP coach Tony Barbee said. “I told them to be proud of the year they had. They’ve all gotten better. We had an outstanding year. Butler got hot at the right time, and we went cold at the wrong time.”
UTEP led 33-27 at halftime before the Bulldogs made a 22-4 run led by Mack, who hit five 3-pointers in the first 11 minutes while the defense harassed Caracter into ineffectiveness. Mack added his last 3-pointer with 32 seconds left, boosting the Bulldogs’ lead to a game-high 21 points.
“I think it’s deflating for any team when a team is suffocating you defensively and then going down and making almost every shot,” Howard said. “When you’re rolling like that, it has to get frustrating for the other team.”
Randy Culpepper added 16 points while absorbing two brutal hits in the second half, but the Miners’ defense couldn’t stop the patient outside shooting of the Bulldogs, who advanced in the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years.
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“For us to lose in the first round is devastating, but every game is a lesson learned,” UTEP forward Jeremy Williams said. “They came out executing their plays, and we were sort of relaxed on defense. The second half, they just came out ready to play. We had them in the first half. We did everything we were supposed to do. They just came out a different team in the second half.”
Arc: After heartbreaking loss, Tyler Zeller and No. 5 North Carolina made an impressive statement with a 70-52 win over No. 19 Virginia.
Trae Golden had 17 points and eight assists to lead Tennessee to a 75-70 upset of No. 8 Florida on Saturday.
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Phil Pressey's first 3-point attempt went in off the glass. The sophomore guard, known more for flashy, no-look passes than his outside touch, took that sketchy success and ran with it.
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.
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.
