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.
NEW YORK - Attendance is up but revenues are down, commissioner David Stern said Thursday at an NBA Board of Governors meeting.
Stern declined to give specific figures but said many of the teams reported a drop in revenue.
“We’re still in a negative position, but obviously that’s not true of every team,” he said after two days of meetings with the league’s 30 franchise holders. “Overall, the league remains in a negative position, in a negative cash position.”
Attendance, however, was its highest level since the 1997-98 season — the final one before the 1998-99 lockout. Arenas were at 89 percent of capacity, and the NBA averaged 17,050 fans a game — fourth-highest in league history.
Also on Thursday, the league broke four ties for positioning in the draft lottery May 26. The Los Angeles Clippers edged Atlanta for the fifth position, improving their odds for a higher pick. The three remaining tiebreakers were Toronto over Philadelphia, Golden State over Seattle and Milwaukee over New Orleans. Atlanta gets Milwaukee’s pick via the Rasheed Wallace trade.
The 13 teams that miss the playoffs will participate in the lottery. Orlando, Chicago and Washington have the worst records this season. The expansion Charlotte Bobcats will automatically pick fourth in the draft June 24.
Other issues discussed were the collective bargaining agreement that expires after the 2004-05 season, the pending sale of the New Jersey Nets and the expiration of the referees’ contract this spring.
The sale of the Nets has not been finalized, but deputy commissioner Russ Granik said the league hopes to approve real estate developer Bruce Ratner’s $300 million bid by the end of June. Ratner plans to move the team to Brooklyn.
“It’s not ready for action yet,” Stern said. “But the board was generally up on the transaction.”
In all, Stern said the lack of major news was a sign of progress. Even the mood was light, as owners discussed a game-winning shot Wednesday night by Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Every so often in the middle of a meeting someone would stop and say, ’Boy, did you really believe that second shot last night?’ “ Stern said.
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.