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.
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.
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.
AP
LAS VEGAS - The news conference afterward was filled with the usual congratulations for the winners and talk about bigger things to come. Oscar De La Hoya was the promoter and he answered questions in two languages, thanked all for coming and declared the night a success.
Outside, HBO was hosting a poolside party at the MGM Grand hotel-casino for those lucky enough to get an invite. There was plenty of food, drink and laughter for the fight crowd.
Spirits weren’t so high in a hospital not far from the glittering Las Vegas Strip. There, Leavander Johnson lay in the intensive care unit, his doctor unsure he would survive the night.
This was the dark side of boxing, the one that fans who pay $500 to sit ringside never see.
Johnson had hoped to end the biggest night of his boxing life with the IBF lightweight title belt still around his waist. He might have even enjoyed himself at the HBO party afterward.
Instead, he was in a deep coma that doctors induced to try to save his life.
“He was fighting for a world title, then a few minutes later here he is fighting for his life,” said Johnson’s father, Bill, who also is his trainer.
Johnson said his son knew the risks. He had been fighting for money for 16 years, and understood that taking punches to the head could be dangerous.
Unfortunately, as Mike Tyson likes to say, boxing is a hurt business.
But it shouldn’t hurt this bad.
Johnson left the ring upright, not knowing that a blood clot was beginning to form, eventually swelling so much it moved his brain from the right side of his skull to the left. When his left leg began dragging on the way to the dressing room, though, it was clear something was terribly wrong.
The doctors of the Nevada Athletic Commission acted quickly. In the space of 40 minutes, they got him to the hospital and then into surgery. A surgeon took out a piece of his skull, and left it open so his brain would have room to swell.
The problem is, his injury is not an isolated one.
Four times in the last four months in Las Vegas, boxers have left the ring bleeding in the brain. One is dead; two others survived.
It’s scary, but also puzzling. It might be a statistical anomaly, but doctors can’t say. They just don’t know enough about why some fighters are injured while others can spend a career getting hit in the head and show no ill effects.
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 (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''
Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.
 | Slide show |
 | The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
| Slideshow |
 | Who's hot on Twitter? Check out which of your favorite athletes have the best pages and most followers! NBCSports.com |
 | Special feature |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | Presidential candidates and sports How do President Obama and his Republican rivals stack up when it comes to their sports backgrounds? |
Inside NBCSports.com |
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.
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.