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.
ReutersBennerman, in the starting lineup in place of the injured Tony Bethel (groin), filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. He and Evtimov combined for 12 assists against no turnovers, and freshman Andrew Brackman scored 16 points, the first time he’s been in double figures since January.
“We had eight turnovers and 19 assists,” Hodge said. “That’s playing basketball.”
At the center of the impressive display was Hodge. Booed by the Wake Forest fans every time he touched the ball early on, the reigning ACC player of the year ran the offense, took open shots and helped N.C. State win the rebound battle.
He and Bennerman both had eight boards — matching the total of Deacons center Eric Williams — and Engin Atsur contributed three steals despite foul trouble.
“We had more than enough incentive,” Hodge said. “It wasn’t about anyone else except N.C. State. That’s all we could play for, what’s on the front of the jersey.”
That team effort was more than enough to handle Wake Forest, which was playing without Paul for the first time in his two-year career.
“We had the players capable of winning the game,” Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said. “I’m not going to sit here and talk about who didn’t play.”
Williams and Justin Gray led the Deacons with 17 points apiece.
Wake Forest took its final lead at 44-41 on a 3-pointer by Gray about 2½ minutes into the second half before Bennerman started a 10-0 run with a powerful dunk on a miss by Hodge. Seconds later, Brackman rose up to slam home a lob pass by Bennerman, then put back another miss by Hodge for a three-point lead.
Finally, Bennerman finished it off with a layup after a nifty bounce pass from Evtimov, and the Wolfpack cruised from there.
“It was a real intense, emotional game,” Williams said. “In the first half, it was really emotional. It just seemed like in the second half, they outscrapped us.”
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.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
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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.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.