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.
PBT: Jeremy Lin wasn't his hot self on Saturday, but he still led the Knicks to victory.
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.
Golf's dream pairing - Woods and Mickelson - is on the course in the final round at Pebble Beach. Jason Sobel has 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.
Euro Roundup: First-place Manchester City won 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday on Joleon Lescott's goal in the 63rd minute, maintaining its two-point lead over Manchester United in the Premier League.
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.
APThe merits of those fouls will be discussed over many pints of beer for the next couple of decades in Illinois. Did Augustine question them?
"My opinion really doesn’t matter," he said. "But yeah, I guess so. It’s different in a national championship game, little ticky-tack (fouls), than in the first or second round."
He was asked about how tough it was to defend May. That was like asking Right Said Fred about the burdens of a life atop the charts.
"I was in for nine minutes," Augustine said. "There wasn’t much defense being played by me."
Illinois has had many successful seasons, but this one was unique. The Illini were the talk of college basketball. And close to home, they fascinated people who normally had a casual rooting interest.
In an era where many teams struggle to find a decent point guard, Illinois basically had two of the nation’s best: Deron Williams and Dee Brown. Those two set an unselfish tone that made this one of the best passing teams in history. And Coach Bruce Weber, a coaching lifer, had an aw-shucks quality that endeared him to Chicagoans and Downstaters alike.
Long-time North Carolina fans should understand. The 1957 Tar Heels had the same kind of appeal. That team, like this Illinois team, faced an imposing center in the final game. His name was Wilt Chamberlain. UNC won in triple-overtime.
That was a game for the ages, the kind that every special team needs. Illinois already checked off "Game for the Ages" on its Season of Wonder worksheet. It came nine days earlier against Arizona: down 15 with less than five minutes remaining, the Illini won in overtime. The Chicago crowd seemed like it would blow the roof off the place.
And yet Illinois almost matched it Monday. Down 15 in the second half Monday night, the Illini tied the game. The crowd believed, right until the end.
"Unbelievable," Weber said of the fans in recent weeks. "Unbelievable. You know, just can’t beat it. I hope they appreciate the journey."
They sure did. And so did Weber.
"If you’re not happy with this, I feel sorry for you," he said, "because life ain’t getting much better."
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.
Herb Pope scored 19 points, including four free throws in final 10 seconds, and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Seton Hall to a 73-66 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday.
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 | College hoops power rankings A look at the top teams in college basketball based on performance and potential. NBCSports.com |
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Five up, five down from college hoops’ huge day15 hr 25 min ago Michigan State sure shook up Big Ten by beating Buckeyes16 hr 10 min ago UNLV’s thrilling win vs. SDSU adds spice to MWC race20 hr 38 min ago |
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 Getty Images Highlights: No. 14 UNLV 65, No. 13 SDSU 63 Mike Moser scored 19 points, and UNLV forced three turnovers in the final 42 seconds to win. |
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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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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.