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' national 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 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.
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.
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.
BUDAPEST, Hungary - Maybe Michelle Kwan will have an easy time at the world championships.
She came out of figure skating’s U.S. championships as a solid favorite to keep her world title in Dortmund, Germany on March 22-29. After the European championships, there is no reason to think differently.
Hungary’s Julia Sebestyen, helped by a home crowd, won with just four triples. She was only 14th at the worlds last year.
Elena Sokolova of Russia, who was second to Kwan last season in the worlds, has been erratic and finished third after a poor showing in the short program.
Sokolova thinks she can be ready for the worlds.
“I have one more event this season,” she said. “I hope I’ll prepare for it much better than here.”
Sebestyen wanted to just think of her victory.
“This is a time for happiness. I am not thinking about anything else,” she said. “We still have time for the worlds.”
Irina Slutskaya beat Kwan the last five times they met in major competitions in 2001-02, but the Russian has not skated competitively this season because of health problems.
The defending men’s champ at the worlds is Evgeni Plushenko, who raised doubts after his showing in Budapest.
He was brilliant at his national championships — earning 16 perfect 6.0s including, a string of nine 6.0s for presentation in his free skating.
Yet, he has lost his last two international events. He was beaten at the Europeans by France’s Brian Joubert and at the Grand Prix final in December by Canada’s Emanuel Sandhu.
Plushenko lost in the Grand Prix on a technicality in the new judging system — something not in effect in Budapest.
Yet, he looked vulnerable in Budapest, missing three jumps while Joubert was doing two quads.
“I still look forward to going to the world championships. I will skate better,” Plushenko said.
He was not that worried about his loss in the Europeans.
“Things like this happen,” he said. “It is not the end of life. I am already a three-time European and two-time world champion. I have many titles.”
He faces a threat from Joubert, who was helped by Plushenko’s former rival, Alexei Yagudin.
“Alexei helped me before the French championship,” Joubert said. “Now we keep contact by Internet and he gives advice. He gives me tips on jumps and mental preparation.”
Johnny Weir, the new U.S. champion, will be making his first trip to the senior worlds.
Weir was flawless in winning the U.S. championships, but he didn’t show a quad jump. All three European medalists — Joubert, Plushenko and Russia’s Ilya Klimkin — had quads in combination.
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 YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''
Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.
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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.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
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.