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?
LIVE VIDEO: NBCSports.com shows Washington-New York, with alternate camera angles, HD views and more.
PBT: Jeremy Lin wasn't his hot self on Saturday, but he still led the Knicks to victory.
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.
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.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -England defender Joleon Lescott preserved Manchester City's two-point lead in the Premier League by scoring a second-half winner in a 1-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday.
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.
APWith so much focus on Matsuzaka, players who could be in the spotlight are overshadowed.
Schilling’s request for a contract extension was rejected. Quirky left fielder Manny Ramirez reported late to camp. Dominant closer Jonathan Papelbon became a starter. Monday night’s visit of the New York Yankees in their over-hyped rivalry with the Red Sox also took a backseat.
“Guys are kind of flying under the radar, which is OK,” Francona said. “I also think the way Dice-K has handled it has also made it easier. He’s endeared himself to his teammates. He’s handled his responsibilities, which go way above and beyond the call of duty, and it doesn’t seem like it irritates him. He’s got a smile for everybody.”
Before Monday’s game, Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui posed with Matsuzaka and another Red Sox pitcher from Japan, Hideki Okajima, near home plate. They bowed repeatedly with at least 30 cameras capturing the event.
“I couldn’t see it,” Francona said. “There were too many people in the way.”
Players aren’t shocked by all that attention for one player.
“I understand the hype,” Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts said after going hitless against Matsuzaka on Sunday. “Anytime you have somebody that’s as big as he is, from what I hear, in Japan, it’s going to be a big deal.”
Francona takes it in stride but sometimes shakes his head in amazement. He was in a similar situation in 1994 when he managed a pro basketball player who wanted to try baseball in the Chicago White Sox minor league system.
“Remember, I had Michael Jordan, and this guy can’t dunk,” he said of Matsuzaka.
Besides, Francona has bigger concerns — leading a championship contender with a charismatic pitcher who changed spring training from a low-key exercise in a small Florida city to the talk of two continents.
“It’s not like I’m trying to get his autograph or anything,” he said. “I just want him to get outs.”
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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It's Dice-K fever among Red Sox fans March 13: NBC's Kerry Sanders checks out the Dice-K fan craze taking hold among Boston Red Sox fans. |
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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.
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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