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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The St. Louis Blues finally can relax with their playoff streak extended for one more year.
Brian Savage scored the tiebreaking goal at 2:43 of the third period, and the Blues beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 Saturday, clinching their 25th consecutive playoff berth.
The Predators also secured a playoff spot when Vancouver beat Edmonton 5-2 later Saturday. It is Nashville’s first playoff berth in the franchise’s six-year history.
The Blues’ run, which started in 1980, remains the longest such streak in major league sports, and it marks a remarkable turnaround for a team that won only six of 27 games from late December into February.
St. Louis, assured of the Western Conference’s seventh seed, rebounded with a late-season surge to extend that streak. The Blues’ first victory in Nashville this season gave them their 10th win in 15 games.
“We put ourselves in a pretty deep hole here, but we’ve gotten ourselves out of it and I’m proud of that,” Blues forward Doug Weight said. “Our guys, we couldn’t be playing better going into the playoffs. We believe, and we had our destiny in our own hands and we took advantage of it.”
Now interim Blues coach Mike Kitchen has the option of resting some people like goalie Chris Osgood, who has played in seven straight, on Sunday at Minnesota.
“The team has battled hard for a long time here,” Kitchen said.
St. Louis scored a pair of empty-net goals in the final 90 seconds. Dallas Drake scored first at 18:41, and Chris Pronger added one at 19:10. Petr Cajanek also had a goal.
Fans, who comprised the Predators’ sixth home sellout this season, made the game feel like a playoff opener instead of the final home game as they kept chanting and blowing air horns. The teams played like it, too, looking more like they were killing off penalties in a physical, low-shooting game.
“It was a playoff game. There’s no question about it,” Blues defenseman Bryce Salvador said. “It was a tight checking, hard-hitting. ... What more can you ask for? The fans were in here for them. It was really loud, and it was a great atmosphere.”
The Predators lost for the third time in six games because the Blues outshot them 25-17. Osgood, the NHL defensive player of the month in March, smothered almost everything that came near him. He is 5-1 in his last six starts.
Savage broke the tie with his 16th goal, scored at the left front edge off a pass from Weight behind the net.
The Predators went up 1-0 on their first shot as Scott Hartnell scored his 17th at 1:11 of the first under Osgood’s stick from the left corner of the crease off a drop pass from Greg Johnson.
St. Louis answered at 10:09 of the first as Cajanek got his 12th off a deflection with assists to Pascal Rheaume and Pavol Demitra.
The officials acted as if it were a playoff game as well, holding off calling penalties until forced to by a fight after the first-period horn sounded. Nashville forward Jeremy Stevenson took St. Louis right wing Jamal Mayers to the ice after a few punches.
Osgood sprawled to stop the Predators’ best scoring chances on Hartnell’s backhander at 12:56, and he also smothered a shot by Adam Hall in the final minutes of the period following a beautiful spinning pass by Mark Eaton.
Notes: The 1968-1996 Boston Bruins hold the NHL record for most consecutive playoff appearances at 29 years. The Chicago Blackhawks made it 28 straight years from 1970-1997. ... Nashville dropped to 25-6-7-3 when scoring first, while St. Louis improved to 13-19-6-1 when falling behind 1-0. ... Hartnell’s first-period goal was only the 50th allowed by the Blues this season in the opening period. ... Approximately 360 fans bused down for the game from St. Louis, giving the Blues some vocal support. ... Weight’s assist extended his point streak to five straight (one goal, five assists).
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
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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.