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.
Reuters
LOS ANGELES - LeBron James plans to watch the NBA’s dunk contest — for now.
James was not among the four players the league announced Tuesday will take part in the event during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. But the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star rookie has been hinting at a possible surprise appearance.
Citing a sprained right ankle that sidelined him for three games, James recently turned down the NBA’s invitation to be in the dunk contest. James could reconsider, however.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll think about it. There are a lot of people who want me to do it.”
If James does decide to participate, the league would probably welcome him.
Golden State’s Jason Richardson will try for a third straight dunking crown against Boston’s Ricky Davis, Denver’s Chris Andersen and Indiana’s Fred Jones. No player has won three slam-dunk contests since the competition began in 1984.
While James remains noncommittal, there are signs that he might be ready to show his stuff.
Near the end of warmups before Monday night’s game against Boston, James twice practiced a twisting, two-handed dunk that teammate Kedrick Brown couldn’t match.
Also, this year’s event is sponsored by Sprite, which signed James to a six-year marketing and endorsement deal in August.
James said he’ll decide whether he participates.
“Ain’t no pressure on me,” he said. “I don’t feel pressure. There are a lot of people who want me to be in it, but it’s no pressure like it’s a life or death situation.”
James, 19, is scheduled to play in Friday’s Rookie Challenge, and the dunk contest would be yet another appointment on a busy itinerary for the No. 1 draft pick, who Monday night became the youngest player in league history to score 1,000 points.
In addition to fulfilling league obligations, James has commitments with Nike, which signed him to a six-year, $90 million deal in May.
“He’s got a lot on his plate,” said his agent, Aaron Goodwin. “But the dunk contest will be LeBron’s decision. He said no before, but if he’s healthy enough, he could change his mind.”
James had several big dunks in Monday night’s game before straining his left calf muscle late in the third quarter. He returned in the fourth period and scored five of his 24 points in Cleveland’s 97-89 win.
James was limited in practice Tuesday, but he expects to play Wednesday night against New Jersey.
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
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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.
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