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.
AP
LOS ANGELES - Nomar Garciaparra is moving to first base with the Los Angeles Dodgers, confident it will be a smooth transition.
And at age 32, he thinks he has several good years left no matter what position he plays.
In Boston, Garciaparra was one of baseball’s best shortstops and a five-time All-Star who won two batting titles. The Dodgers only hope he approaches that level.
“One-year deals, changing positions, I’m not worried about that,” Garciaparra said at a Dodger Stadium news conference Monday — one day after agreeing to a $6 million, one-year contract that allows him to earn an additional $4 million in performance bonuses.
He also considered the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros.
“If I had something to prove, I wouldn’t have had so many teams talking to me,” Garciaparra said. “I had opportunities to take more than one year. I could have played short for a couple teams.”
Garciaparra was strictly a shortstop after his sophomore year in high school until last season, when he played third base for the Chicago Cubs in August and September.
“As of today, he’s a first baseman,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said.
Garciaparra said he looks forward to the challenge of playing first.
“I’ll probably be working on it prior to spring training,” he said. “Breaking in a new glove, that will be a challenge. You embrace them, you welcome them.”
Despite having played in only 21 big league games in 2001, 81 in 2004 and 62 last year, Garciaparra maintained he’s not injury-prone.
“No, not at all,” he said.
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Garciaparra hit .283 with nine homers and 30 RBIs for the Cubs last season, when he earned $8.25 million. He tore his left groin running out of the batter’s box in St. Louis on April 20 and didn’t return until Aug. 5.
He missed 81 games in 2004 with three injuries — to his Achilles’ tendon, left wrist and right groin. And in 2001 with the Red Sox, he underwent surgery on his right wrist.
“I feel great,” he said. “I felt that way at the end of last year.”
Can he play 150 games next season?
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
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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.
