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.
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.
Reuters file
SAN FRANCISCO - True to form, Barry Zito had a little fun when quizzed about how he might alter his style now that he has the richest contract for a pitcher in baseball history.
“I’m just thinking of canning the curveball. Other than that, nothing major,” Zito joked Friday, when his $126 million, seven-year contract with the San Francisco Giants became official.
The former AL Cy Young Award winner passed his physical Friday, the last step in the process for the star left-hander to make the move across San Francisco Bay to the Giants. He is scheduled to be formally introduced at the team’s waterfront ballpark Wednesday.
He’s keeping his nasty curveball, along with the No. 75 he’s been wearing.
“I’d say this is the most important signing we’ve had since we first signed Barry Bonds back in late 1992,” owner Peter Magowan said Friday. “It means that much to the franchise and the future of the franchise. We don’t make this kind of deal every year or every five years. It takes a very special player.”
A player the Giants are convinced will stay healthy — he has never missed a start — lead their young pitching staff and help turn around a team that has missed the playoffs the past three seasons. The Giants are serious about winning a World Series after falling six outs short of the title in 2002.
That’s the same year Zito won 23 games for the Oakland Athletics on his way to the Cy Young Award.
While Zito had prepared himself for a potential move out of the Bay Area and California, he had a good feeling after his first meeting with San Francisco. He appreciated the honesty he sensed from the Giants’ top brass when they met for a long dinner after Thanksgiving in Beverly Hills.
“I know I made the right decision for how it sits in my gut here,” Zito said. “There’s really no adjustment period. ... I think it was primarily the honesty and my instincts were telling me I was getting some standup guys who were being up front. There weren’t a lot of games being played, no mind games. This is my first run at this.”
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The fact he didn’t have to travel far in free agency was attractive, too — just across the Bay Bridge to the city where he lived for most of his first seven big league seasons with the A’s.
Zito said that if he’d been weighing identical offers from the Giants, New York Mets, Texas and Seattle, he still likely would have chosen San Francisco based primarily on his comfort level with the area. The Mets, thought for some time to be the leader in the chase for Zito, wouldn’t budge on a five-year offer.
Zito has some serious job security.
“It’s a lot of years,” he said. “I’m just so thankful that there’s such a commitment there — thankful they would go out on a limb and trust my work ethic. I guarantee I’ll do all the things to stay healthy. That kind of commitment is not something that a lot of people get.”
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His deal includes an $18 million option for 2014 with a $7 million buyout that could increase the value of his deal to $137 million. The option would become guaranteed if Zito pitches 200 innings in 2013, 400 combined over 2012 and 2013 or 600 combined from 2011-13. He also has a full no-trade clause.
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.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
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.
