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.
APPerhaps Duncan is comparing and contrasting. Let’s be honest, this year’s replacements don’t have to be world-beaters to outdo last year’s models. Consider that Suppan was 12-7 with a 4.12 ERA in 2006, Marquis was 14-16 with a 6.02 ERA, Mulder and Weaver combined for 11-13 with a 6.21 ERA and the combination of Sidney Ponson and Reyes were 9-12 with a 4.82 ERA in the No. 5 slot.
We’re not talking about the 1965 Los Angles Dodgers or 1970 Baltimore Orioles here. And the Cardinals have made this transition work in the past. During the spring of 2004, management inserted three new starters into the mix — Carpenter, Marquis and Suppan. The club won 105 games and those three went 46-21 with a 3.78 ERA.
Duncan believes, if necessary, the Cardinals can improvise behind Carpenter. “As spring goes, if we don’t feel good about the five guys we have as starters, we’ll consider some adjustments,” Duncan said.
Two things suggest this pitching potpourri will work and this edition will more closely resemble the 2006 postseason Cardinals than the regular-season Cardinals.
One, the Cardinals will play excellent defense behind whomever is pitching, with potential Gold Gloves in at least four positions. Two, the bullpen should be outstanding, particularly if the starting rotation does not gobble up Wainright. Generally speaking, Cardinals starters should not have to go deep to be successful.
The man who signs the check, club chairman Bill DeWitt, is banking on it.
“I think what we did in October reflects more on the team's potential than the 83 wins during the season,” DeWitt said. “I base that on us having all of our players in October, which we pretty much had in ‘04 and ‘05. I think the team on the field is a very strong team and is very competitive.”
Any more questions?
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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