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.
Suddenly, Atlanta’s weakness would seem to be a strength.
“Some would regard this as overkill or overload,” Schuerholz said. “It’s my view that the bullpen, especially the back end of it, is as strong as it’s ever been. We have good reason to believe we won’t have to endure what we did last year.”
The veterans have tried to get across to the youngsters that anything short of playing in October will not be tolerated. Manager Bobby Cox changed up his normal speech before the first full-squad workout of spring training, putting more fire in his words while making it clear that he considers last year an aberration.
“I’ve never seen so many people focused on day one of spring training,” Francoeur said. “A lot of people have ranked us third in the NL East. That’s great. Let them do it. I love it. We’ll just kind of cruise along and sneak in there at the end.”
Although the Phillies have spent most of their time trash-talking with the Mets, they haven’t forgotten the Braves.
“You can never count that team out,” Philadelphia’s Aaron Rowand said. “They’re definitely a team to be reckoned with and certainly not to be overlooked because they have way too much talent over there.”
But can Hampton bounce back from Tommy John surgery? Can Scott Thorman and Kelly Johnson come close to matching the production of first baseman Adam LaRoche (traded to Pittsburgh) and second baseman Marcus Giles (released in a cost-cutting move)? Can Chipper Jones come anywhere close to playing a full season after being plagued by injuries the last three years? Can Tim Hudson regain the form that once made him a 20-game winner in Oakland? Can Smoltz remain one of the game’s top starters as he approaches his 40th birthday and goes through a painful divorce?
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“The law of averages was bound to catch up with us,” Chipper Jones said. “But the bank collected last year. Now, it’s time to start a new streak.”
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.
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.
