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.
Getty ImagesThe Yankees made his debut easier with three runs in the bottom half. Derek Jeter hit a one-out single off Shaun Marcum to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, tying his season high. Alex Rodriguez walked and Giambi hit Marcum’s first pitch into the bleachers in right-center for his 31st homer.
“If there’s guys on, it definitely helps me out hitting-wise so they can’t play the extreme shift on me,” Giambi said, “and I was ready to hit that first pitch and didn’t miss it.”
Marcum (1-1) lasted just 2 2-3 innings, allowing three runs and four hits in his fourth career start.
Brian Tallet relieved Marcum with two runners on in the third and walked Giambi on four pitches before Wilson flied out to right to end the inning. That temporarily stopped New York, which went on to score two in the fifth and three in the sixth to break it open.
“We’re a bunch of pretty tired guys right now,” Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun said. “We need to go home and regroup.”
Lidle worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second and retired seven in a row before Roberts homered with two outs in the fifth. Yankees manager Joe Torre lifted him after six innings and 80 pitches in the balmy conditions and relievers Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth and Sidney Ponson combined to throw three scoreless innings
“We’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Torre said. “The effort that we’re getting from everybody, the personality of this club, I couldn’t be more pleased.”
The gametime temperature was 97 degrees as much of the East and Midwest continued to deal with a stifling heat wave. The Yankees offered free water at various points throughout the stadium, opened some air-conditioned suites to use as cooling rooms and aired public address announcements from Torre and pitcher Mike Mussina urging fans to stay hydrated.
Some fans used umbrellas to shield themselves from the heat while others wore light-colored hats or towels around their neck. Misting fans blew cool, wet air on the players in each dugout.
Notes: Farnsworth took a grounder off his right hand in the eighth and left the game. Torre said he thinks he’s going to be fine. ... Neither team took batting practice on the field because of the heat. ... It was the first time the Blue Jays have been swept in a series of three games or more at Yankee Stadium since April 23-25, 1999. ... Yankees 2B Robinson Cano singled twice and had an RBI grounder in his first minor league game since being sidelined by a strained left hamstring in late June. Cano is scheduled to play three games for Double-A Trenton starting Friday and rejoin the Yankees next Tuesday.
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.
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