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.
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.
AP
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Olympic Committee banned Justin Gatlin’s track coach from its training facilities Thursday, making him the first target in a newly amplified effort to quash doping in sports.
Trevor Graham, who trains the 100 meter co-world record holder accused of drug cheating, was barred indefinitely from all Olympic training centers and sites in the U.S., committee chairman Peter Ueberroth said.
Graham became the first coach to receive such a penalty, “based on the unusual number of athletes he has coached who have been convicted of doping offenses,” Ueberroth said in a conference call.
At least six athletes under Graham have received drug suspensions, and Gatlin recently disclosed a positive test in April for testosterone or other steroids. He faces a lifetime ban for what would be a second drug violation.
The ban is mostly symbolic because Graham’s athletes don’t train at the USOC’s three training centers and 12 training sites across the country. Still, it sets a new tone and could signal bigger things to come.
Graham, who answered the door Thursday at his house in Raleigh, N.C., refused to comment.
But he did speak with WRAL-TV, saying the ban was unfair.
“They’re just trying to get rid of me,” Graham said. “There are a number of people just out to get me. I’m not trusting no one right now, at this point.”
Ueberroth also announced the USOC will be issuing next week a “call to action, in capital letters,” asking for greater support and research on doping issues from the federal government and U.S. sports entities.
“This is a national issue,” Ueberroth said. “Nothing less than this will be needed, a collaborative effort. If we stand still, we run the risk of losing an entire generation of sports participants and sports fans.”
Ueberroth and USOC CEO Jim Scherr acknowledged a shift in focus for the federation. In the wake of scandal and reorganization, the USOC spent recent years reallocating resources to improve the performance of U.S. athletes.
Now, they say, the emphasis can’t be solely on winning.
“If we don’t participate with honor and dignity, then what we do means nothing,” Scherr said. “If there’s cheating, then it’s cheating other athletes, the American public and cheating the world of the legitimacy of sports.”
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The cornerstone of the USOC’s drug strategy was set in 2000, when the federation created the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Since then, USADA has become widely recognized as one of the world’s best doping agencies.
Although the association can’t comment specifically on Graham, CEO Terry Madden applauded the USOC announcements and said USADA’s efforts continue on many fronts, including those looking into criminal activity.
“USADA continues to cooperate with the federal government in its ongoing investigation into the BALCO doping scandal,” Madden said.
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.
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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.
