The Giants’ 8-5 record and one-game division lead over the Dallas Cowboys

The Giants' 8-5 record and one-game division lead over the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins stem, in part, from their plus-16 turnover differential. Coughlin has not forgotten Wilson's early fumble or that he fumbled seven times, losing four, in his last season at VirginiaTech. He will not allow Wilson to forget, either.

"It's a constant emphasis and awareness on his part of, whatever his body position is, wherever he finds himself, whether it's on the end of a pass, or an exchange, or a toss, get that ball secured," Coughlin said. 

Vice President Joe Biden stepped into his motorcade

Touching down near Denver last week, Vice President Joe Biden stepped into his motorcade and, rather than head toward the city's Democraticneighborhoods, rode 90 minutes to a Republican county that he and President Barack Obama lost decisively in the 2008 election.

At a rally in Greeley, a city in Weld County with a sizable Latino population, he mocked Mitt Romney's call for illegal immigrants to "self-deport."

Hamilton, who admits he's not Armstrong's "biggest fan"

A former teammate of once acclaimed, now embattled former cyclist Lance  Armstrongsaid Friday that there was no question why U.S. Postal Service team members doped during big races.

"It was done by the team, but it was done for the Tour de France so I could be a good teammate for Lance Armstrong," Tyler Hamilton told CNN on Friday. "He wanted you to be riding your best in the biggest races."

Hamilton, who admits he's not Armstrong's "biggest fan," is one of 26 witnesses who testified to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency as part of its investigation into doping by Armstrong and other riders on the team.

The A’s then opened a big four-game series against Texas

Oakland managed to rebound from a 14-inning loss to the Yankeeson Saturday, when the A's blew a four-run lead in the 13th and lost on a two-out error, with a 5-4 win in the series finale at New York.

The A's then opened a big four-game series against Texas by building leads of 2-0 and 4-2. They wound up losing their third one-run game in four days.

"There have been a lot of one-run ballgames and things haven't gone our way," starter Dan Straily said.

Straily, one of 14 A's rookies, struck out eight and left with a 4-2 lead after 6 2-3 innings with Josh Hamilton due to bat and the bases empty.

Ward (26-0, 14 KOs) knocked down Dawson

Andre Ward knocked out Chad Dawson with his third knockdown punch of the night in the 10th round to defend his WBC-WBA super middleweight titles Saturday night and delight his hometown crowd.

Ward (26-0, 14 KOs) knocked down Dawson (31-2, 17 KOs) late in the third round and early in the fourth to take control of the fight and finished him off with a combination at 2:45 of the 10th.Dawson, the WBC light heavyweight champion, moved down a weight class from 175 pounds to 168 to take on Ward. Dawson was also willing to fight in Ward's hometown of Oakland, where an enthusiastic crowd had previously cheered Ward on to four wins.

But Dawson proved to be no match for Ward, who punished the challenger repeatedly with his strong left hand.

Players were incensed that his beer drinking became a topic of criticism

"The reason nobody has anything good to say about him is the media writes nothing but bad (expletive) about him for some reason," Saltalamacchia said. "Nobody understands why. He's a great teammate because he cares about every person in this clubhouse, he does the right things, he's not a prima donna who thinks he's better than the game."

Players were incensed that his beer drinking became a topic of criticism, because for one, at least half a dozen other guys were nursing Bud Lights, and more to the point, drinking in the road clubhouse is not against team rules.

Johnson won 35 races

During that stretch, Johnson won 35 races -- an average of seven a season. In 14 of those wins, he led over a third of the race's lap. Sunday's win was Johnson's third in 20 races. At Darlington, he led 134 of 368 laps. At Dover, he led 289 of 400. See where this is going? Plus, Johnson's three previous Indianapolis wins all came during championship seasons.

His teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. may be leading the points standings right now, but Johnson is the man to beat. Yeah, he's been terrible at restrictor plate tracks, but those poor performances (two crashes and an engine failure) have been the source of bad luck in the drafting lottery. In the 17 non-restrictor plate races this season, Johnson's lowest finish is an astonishing 12th.

Ozzie Guillen knows Carlos Lee from their time together

Ozzie Guillen knows Carlos Lee from their time together with the Chicago White Sox. Now Guillen hopes Lee can provide his typical brand of slugging on the field for the Miami Marlins, and give them some leadership off of it.

The Marlins acquired Lee from the Houston Astros in a trade on Wednesday, sending a pair of minor leaguers to Houston.

"It's a huge move, I think, the front office, showing people how much we want to win," Guillen said. "They show how much we care about winning this year, they showed the players that they're willing to do anything to help this ballclub."

Tampa Bay reliever Joel Peralta made a conspicuous appearance

Tampa Bay reliever Joel Peralta made a conspicuous appearance in the eighth inning a night after he was ejected when umpires found pine tar in his glove in his team's 5-4 victory over the same opponents.

This time, Peralta wore the glove of injured team mate Jeremy Hellickson, and got the final two outs of the inning despite being booed by the Washington crowd.

Relief for McIlroy was turning around his run of form in time for his major title

"I knew being dizzy, having headaches and everything that I couldn't keep my (tour) card, I couldn't play out here anymore, so I had to get something done," Holmes explained about deciding to have the surgery.

"It was almost a relief to find out that the surgery was something that could help the symptoms and everything."

Relief for McIlroy was turning around his run of form in time for his major title defense at the Olympic Club.

"The goal this week was obviously to see some improvement, to get some competitive rounds and get into contention and I'm right there heading into the weekend," he said.

"It's going to be a great experience and a great way to prepare for the U.S. Open next week."

Philadelphia guard Lou Williams

While Orlando is already preparing for the playoffs, the Sixers didn't help their chances in Friday's 95-89 loss to New Jersey, failing to secure a three-game winning streak with a defeat to a team already eliminated from postseason contention.

"'We're going to have to step up as a team and not fear it," said forward Elton Brand, who scored all eight of his points in the first quarter. "This is an exciting time. Let's keep playing, let's keep getting it together."

Philadelphia guard Lou Williams, the team leader with 15.0 points per game, has combined for 18 in his last two games. He's averaging 18.5 in his last six meetings with the Magic, and had 21 at Orlando in February.

Mulling how to celebrate his latest trophy

"I'm playing at the peak of my form ... the best tennis that I have played,'' Djokovic said. "I have to use that as much as I can.''
He also won the tournament in 2007 and last year. Only six-time champion Andre Agassi has more men's titles at Key Biscayne.
Mulling how to celebrate his latest trophy, Djokovic said he might violate his gluten-free diet.
"I cannot guarantee anything,'' he said with a laugh. "I think I deserve a fresh bagel.''
It was Djokovic's first championship since he won the Australian Open in January for his fifth Grand Slam title and third in a row. Now begins the clay season culminating with the French Open, the only major Djokovic has yet to win.

The Crimson did what they had to do

"Those guys stay with their system,'' said Allen. "It's unusual, with mis-directions and back doors. But at the same time, it's the same system they used when we beat them in the Palestra.''
Do not make the mistake of thinking that Harvard has "backed into'' this NCAA bid. The idea is to play a full 14-game schedule, and Harvard wound up with the best record. The Crimson did what they had to do, and they have nothing to do with an Ivy League scheduling quirk that allows travel partners Penn and Princeton to escape that final back-to-back game on the last weekend by playing Game 14 the following Tuesday. If anything, that places the other six teams at a competitive disadvantage.
So it's done. Harvard gets to enjoy its first Selection Sunday. The last time Harvard went to the tournament, the news arrived by carrier pigeon.

The Hawks claimed the victory despite the absence of captain Jonathan Toew

The Hawks claimed the victory despite the absence of captain Jonathan Toews, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The Wings were short-handed as well, as center Pavel Datsyuk is sidelined for two weeks following arthroscopic knee surgery.
"The last 10 minutes of that game they had barely anything," said Crawford, who made 31 saves. "We were down for most of it again and then we just kept playing our game, not trying to do too much to get back. We were playing a simple game, making the plays we should and eventually we tied it up. That's the way we have to continue to play."