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 three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
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
BOSTON - Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester was shocked when he heard the diagnosis.
“It was one of those feelings you can’t describe,” he said. “You’re 22 years old. You go in for back pain, and you find out you have cancer.”
Lester spoke publicly Wednesday for the first time since he was told last week that he has a treatable form of lymphoma. He is to begin chemotherapy Friday and hopes to be back with the team by the start of spring training.
Lester has anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a type of cancer that forms in the body’s lymph system. He said the first round of chemotherapy will begin at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and then he will travel to his home state of Washington for additional treatment at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research in Seattle.
The rookie pitcher originally was sidelined for back pain from an auto accident in mid-August. “Something stuck out” during a test in Tacoma, Wash., he said.
“I thought I was in the best shape of my life, coming in here pitching, pitching in Fenway Park,” he said. “Obviously, there’s that denial. Why me? But right now there’s no time for that.”
Fellow rookies Jonathan Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen were just glad to see him before the game.
“I just told him, ‘Hey man, you know, we’re praying for you. We got your back,”’ Papelbon said. “I’m sure he knew that already, but I think it’s good for us to reinforce that.”
Delcarmen spent most of the spring at Triple-A Pawtucket with Lester before they were called up.
“Got to see him and say hello, wish him the best,” Delcarman said. “We’re all in prayer for him. Looks good, he’s real confident. We all just wish the best for him right now.”
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Enlarged lymph nodes were identified when Lester was tested to determine the cause of back pain that sent him to the disabled list on Aug. 28. The Red Sox confirmed Lester had cancer last Friday.
“Baseball, right now, is secondary,” he said before Wednesday’s game against Chicago at Fenway Park. “We’ve got to fight this as a family and we’ve got to stick together. God willing, I’ll be back and I’ll see the guys on Feb. 18th.”
Lester has been one of Boston’s top prospects since he was drafted in 2002. He reached the major leagues for the first time on June 10, won his first five decisions and was 7-2 with a 4.76 ERA when he went on the disabled list.
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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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
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.
