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.
AP
WASHINGTON - Any time he honors a championship team, President Bush looks for a chance to bring up the underdog theme.
If he can link it to his own presidency, that’s even better.
So welcome to the White House, Florida Gators. You fit right in.
In a chilly South Lawn ceremony, Bush lauded the University of Florida’s football team on Monday for its 2006 championship season. The Gators routed Ohio State, 41-14, in January despite being given little chance to win by oddsmakers and millions of college football fans.
“Like you might remember, all the pre-game polls said you couldn’t win,” Bush told the team. “So much for polls.”
Florida became the first school in NCAA history to hold national titles in basketball and football in the same season. These are heady times in Gainesville, Fla.; the basketball team is the midst of defending its title and has already won twice in this month’s NCAA tournament.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Bush said. “The basketball team, and now the football team. What are you doing down there?”
Under coach Urban Meyer’s game plan, Florida won by using two quarterbacks — senior Chris Leak and freshman Tim Tebow. Leak stood next to Meyer at the ceremony, directly behind the president. Tebow, the hulking underclassman, was a row behind them.
Turning to find them both, Bush said: “That’s what we call teammates, people playing together for the common good.”
Florida played plenty of defense, too. In one memorable play in the championship game, linebacker Earl Everett lost his helmet but kept running and chased down Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith for a tackle.
“I’ve seen that face before,” Bush told a smiling Everett. “So has the whole country. You might remember, Everett lost his headgear. He didn’t lose his head, but he lost his headgear and he went on to make a great tackle in a key moment. That’s called tough defense.”
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Bush thanked players for being community volunteers. He went on to praise just about everyone he could, from the coaches to the people who sell the team’s tickets to “those who pick up the towels and make the program run.”
Meyer gave Bush an orange-and-blue Gator jersey, emblazoned with the number 43, marking Bush’s place in the presidential lineage. Leak gave Bush a championship football. In a crowd of hundreds of Florida supporters, someone occasionally shouted, “Go Gators.”
Leak capped it all off with a mention of the team’s stadium, as it is known to Florida faithful.
“This is the day,” he said, “we turned the White House into the Swamp.”
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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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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