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.
APQ: The Yankees have made deals garnering four pitchers. Is it possible that they are getting enough of a deal together to get Roy Oswalt from Houston?
— Paul, Portsmouth, Va.
A: I don’t think so, Paul. The Astros can’t afford to part with Oswalt, not with both Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte considering retirement. Right now, there are only young and unproven arms behind Oswalt in the rotation, as Brandon Backe will miss the entire 2007 season after undergoing surgery. And even if Clemens and Pettitte do return to the Astros for one more season, I don’t see the club getting rid of Oswalt, who they have signed to a five-year deal and envision as their ace throughout the length of that contract. The Astros are looking to add at least one starting pitcher this off-season, and possibly two. As for the Yankees, after losing out in the Daisuke Matsuzaka bidding, they will try to sign Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt, Gil Meche and other free-agent pitchers. They also expect top prospect Phil Hughes to be their fifth starter at some point next season. They are adding the minor-league prospects for organizational depth that had been stripped away by so many deals in previous years.
Q: Can you explan why J.D. Drew would opt out of a guaranteed $33-million deal with the Dodgers? Does he really think a team is going to pay him more than $11 million per year, particularly for a guy who never has played a full season, and is well know to have a lack of passion?
— Tom, Sudbury, Ontario
A: Welcome to the game’s new Monopoly money economics, Tom. With new revenue sources on the Internet and internationally, plus increased television contracts, the game is swimming in money — revenues are about $5 billion per year — and that has left teams with more money to spend. This is going to be a winter like the one we saw in 2000-01, when Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Derek Jeter got their mega-deals. We’ve already seen which way the market is heading — straight up — with the $51.1-million bid just to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka, who will cost close to $100 million in all, as well as the $75-million deal Aramis Ramirez received from the Cubs. Getting back to Drew, yes, somebody will pay him more than $11 million a year, and they will do it over a four- or five-year deal, which I estimate will be at least $60 million — questions about his health and passion notwithstanding. So he’s going to more than double his money — a smart move to say the least. His possibilities include the Red Sox (a bad fit, in my opinion), Astros, Cubs, Padres and Angels, and possible a few teams we don’t know about yet.
Q: It appears that people across the country are making a big issue of the strife between Tony La Russa and Scott Rolen. Since I’m a great Rolen fan, I would be hugely disappointed if he was traded. What’s the scoop? Is the tension between them so bad that the Cardinals might actually entertain offers for Rolen?
— Steven Ayles, Houston
A: This is an issue that has been swept under the rug in the wake of the Cardinals winning the World Series, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out this winter. The rift was over Rolen being taken out of the lineup for one of the playoff games. He had been struggling offensively and complained about pain in his shoulder, but didn’t take kindly to the fact that La Russa didn’t tell him he wouldn’t be starting. Rolen did rebound and hit well throughout the rest of the playoffs, and I think the issue will blow over. Rolen loves playing for the Cardinals, and everybody knows he is one of the top third basemen in the game, so he’s not somebody they want to get rid of. But the Cardinals do need to remake their starting rotation and are operating on a budget that will restrict them in terms of signing big-money free agents, leaving Rolen as far and away their best bargaining chip. I say he stays put, but we’ll see what happens.
Q: Can you tell me what the actual jobs of the bench, first base, third base and bullpen coaches?
— Ernie Chang, Taiwan
A: The bench coach is the manager’s right-hand man/top lieutenant/sounding board. He gives the manager advice and strategy options to consider. If the manager is on the young side, he often has an older bench coach who has more experience in a major-league dugout. One recent example of this was Boston in 2004, with Terry Francona and Don Zimmer. The first-base coach helps base runners with leadoffs, signs, etc. Often, he also serves as the team’s base-running instructor and infield or outfield instructor. The third-base coach has the tough task of picking up signs from the manager, relaying them to hitters and base-runners, and also making decisions on sending runners home. He also often is the team’s infield or outfield instructor. The bullpen coach’s job is to help get relievers ready to come into games. He monitors their warm-ups, tells relievers who they likely are to face when they enter the game, and offers scouting reports on how to pitch to those hitters. Every staff also has a hitting instructor and a pitching coach.
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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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.
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.
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