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.
APGiven the Yankees history over the past few seasons, during which they scrambled and fought to make the playoffs then died for lack of pitching, this looked like the year to finally write them off.
And yet, here they are strutting out of Boston with a comfortable lead in the AL East and riding a surge that threatens to topple Detroit out of the top playoff spot in the league. Worst for Yankees haters, the cavalry is about to arrive in the form of Matsui and Sheffield and maybe reliever Octavio Dotel. This isn’t a team that has hit a peak and can be expected to come down off it. It’s a team that is still getting better at the time it counts most.
There remain some 40 games to be played, including four more against Boston in the Bronx in mid-September. But the outcome isn’t in much doubt. The Red Sox couldn’t help themselves substantially at the trade deadline and their injury-riddled pitching staff has been exposed for the junior-varsity affair that it is. Losing Jason Varitek, the team captain and catcher, put them in a hole they won’t be able to climb out of.
I don’t expect the Red Sox to quit. They’re not that kind of team. But I don’t expect the Yankees to put it in cruise control, either. The Bombers were built to be the best team in the business, and they’re finally looking like it, not just for the first time this year, but for the first time in three or four years.
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Jason Giambi has become a stud again. Jorge Posada is 35 and supposedly worn out, but he drove in a pile of clutch runs against Boston. Jeter is having a year that should make him a top MVP candidate, although Boston’s Papi Ortiz should get that hardware; without him, the Red Sox aren’t even in the picture.
Bernie Williams has responded well when pressed into service because of injuries. Melky Cabrera, one of the kids called up from the minors to fill in for injured outfielders, is playing beyond expectations and got the double that led to the tying run Sunday. Mariano Rivera is still sucking the hope out of opponents in the final inning.
The starting pitching still isn’t what Yankee fans would like. Randy Johnson is looking his age, but he’s also winning games because of all the run support he gets. Mike Mussina has been very good. Chien-Ming Wang is a solid No. 3 starter who is being treated as if he’s a No. 2. Jaret Wright is good — or bad — for five innings. Lidle is there to soak up innings.
But with the Yankees offense, they’re more than good enough to win the regular season.
And maybe the World Series, too.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
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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.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
