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 file
ATHENS, Ga. - Like Matthew Stafford, Joe Tereshinski enrolled at Georgia before signing a scholarship with the Bulldogs.
Unlike Stafford, Tereshinski was hardly a coveted recruit when he began his college football career in 2002.
Georgia coach Mark Richt insists reputation will hold little sway when the Bulldogs open spring football practice Saturday morning.
“I really am sincere when I say that it’s wide-open,” Richt said. “We want to keep a completely open mind but be as fair as we can.”
Richt has scheduled 13 workouts over the next five weeks before spring ends with the G-Day scrimmage April 8 at Sanford Stadium.
Along with Blake Barnes and Joe Cox, Tereshinski and Stafford are seeking to earn the job D.J. Shockley vacated after leading Georgia to a 10-3 record, an SEC title and a No. 10 ranking.
Tereshinski, who’s named after a grandfather who helped Georgia win two Southeastern Conference titles in the 1940s and a father who was the starting center on coach Vince Dooley’s 1976 SEC championship team, played at Athens Academy, a small private school, before graduating early and moving across town five years ago.
With David Greene and Shockley ahead of him on the depth chart, Tereshinski never suffered an outsized ego. Playing special teams — how many quarterbacks line up on punt coverage? — assured constant reality checks.
Tereshinski has a career record of 0-1 after Shockley injured his knee and couldn’t start against Florida last year. The Bulldogs were undefeated and ranked No. 4 when the Gators sank their national championship hopes in a 14-10 loss.
That setback only hardened Tereshinski’s resolve, however, that he could deliver better results if afforded the chance.
“I feel like I know the system the best,” Tereshinski said. “I can run all of the plays effectively and have a good grasp of timing with players.”
Stafford’s blue-chip pedigree reached Texas-sized proportions after he led his Dallas school, Highland Park, to a state title for the first time since 1957.
At 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, Stafford used a considerable size advantage to complete 209 of 322 passes for 4,018 yards and 38 touchdowns as a senior. He ran 42 times for 212 yards and eight TDs.
The last Georgia quarterback to enroll early, participate in spring practice and affect his freshman season was Eric Zeier in 1991.
Quincy Carter, who gave up his minor-league baseball career after the ’97 season, was admitted to the university the following March, but restrictions on his scholarship release from Georgia Tech prohibited him from joining the team until summer.
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Mike Usry of Tallahassee, Fla., fell short in trying to move past incumbent Mike Bobo in 1996. The following year, Nate Hybl of Hazelhurst, Ga., failed to unseat Bobo, a rising senior.
Even Zeier, who became the most prolific passer in school history, had to wait until the sixth game of ’91 before coach Ray Goff benched senior Greg Talley.
Stafford’s quest is about to begin, but Richt likes the newcomer’s mental and emotional makeup.
“If he really wanted the hype, he would’ve waited till the last day to decide what to do,” Richt said. “I don’t think there would’ve been any doubt that he would’ve been named quarterback of the world.”
Running back Thomas Brown, who led Georgia with 785 yards last season, believes Tereshinski deserves the chance to be a frontrunner.
“He’s done everything they’ve asked him to do,” said Brown, a rising junior and just one of four returning offensive starters. “Joe T knows exactly what we expect the position to do.”
With Brown, Danny Ware and Kregg Lumpkin all returning next season, the Bulldogs could have such a strong ground attack that they won’t need to rely heavily on passing too early in the season.
Richt indicated that he most likely will wait until August to name a starting QB, which suits Tereshinski fine.
“I do feel like I have a step going into spring,” Tereshinski said, “but it’s not a giant step, by any means.”
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
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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.
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.
