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 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.
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.
TORONTO - Jalen Rose returned from a hand injury two weeks earlier than expected. Despite wearing a protective wrap, he still found his shooting touch.
Rose scored 23 points in his first game in over a month, shooting 7-for-8 in the fourth quarter to help the Toronto Raptors defeat the Atlanta Hawks 101-84 Sunday.
Rose missed 16 games with four broken bones in his left hand and had not played since undergoing surgery Feb. 10.
“One whack here and it could be a big-time setback, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take,” he said.
After going 3-for-12 from the field in the first three quarters, Rose scored 13 straight points to give Toronto an 84-70 lead. His 3-pointer and fadeaway jumper gave the Raptors an 18-point lead — their biggest of the game — with 6:42 remaining.
“I just wanted to be a part of the battle. Obviously, when you drop 13 of 15 it’s must-win territory at this point of the season,” said Rose, who also had seven assists and seven rebounds.
Vince Carter scored 32 points for the Raptors, who won for just the third time in the last 16 games. The Raptors began the day in 11th place in the Eastern Conference.
“I admire Rose for coming back two weeks early. He’s probably in a lot of pain and probably a little out of shape, but that guy came back two weeks early and played 41 minutes,” Toronto coach Kevin O’Neill said. “He wants to win and that says a lot about him as a person and a basketball player.”
Rookie Chris Bosh added 16 rebounds and 11 points for the Raptors.
Atlanta’s Jason Collier had 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Stephen Jackson and Chris Crawford each scored 18.
Carter had 17 points in the first quarter, staking Toronto to a 10-point lead. Atlanta took the lead in the second quarter as Toronto went scoreless over the first six minutes, but Toronto finished the half with a 10-4 run to take a 54-44 lead.
“They have two top players in Jalen and Vince and they’re hard to stop,” Crawford said. “They have shooters, so it’s hard to double, and that was the key to the game. We doubled, and they hit threes, and when we didn’t they were just scoring.”
Notes: The Raptors placed forward Robert Archibald on the injured list with a sore lower back. ... Corie Blount, signed by the Raptors on Friday, had five rebounds and no points in 12 minutes. ... Jackson also had 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double.
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.
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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.