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.
Euro Roundup: First-place Manchester City won 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday on Joleon Lescott's goal in the 63rd minute, maintaining its two-point lead over Manchester United in the Premier League.
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.
Mergers and purchases were the magic words in the world of mixed martial arts, sparking hopes for megafights in the near future.
Ultimate Fighting Championship, based in Las Vegas and perhaps the most successful MMA organization, purchased Japan-based Pride Fighting Championship, its nearest competitive rival in terms of fan appeal.
Many of the most popular and talented fighters are contracted to either UFC or Pride, including Chuck Liddell, Quenton “Rampage” Jackson and Dan Henderson. The merger could open the hatch for many dream matches, Henderson said.
“It could be very good for the sport,” said Henderson, who holds the Pride welterweight and middleweight championships.
“There are some opportunities like fighting someone like Quenton Jackson,” Henderson added.
For a decade, fans of each MMA group have argued incessantly over which organization features the best fighters. Now it can be decided.
UFC’s Dana White, the president, said the two groups will fight separately and maintain their champions. They will eventually meet in a virtual MMA Super Bowl at some time in the year. It’s planned to be an annual event.
The biggest winners are the fans, who will be able to discover if a Dan Henderson can beat a Matt Hughes or if a Fedor Emelianenko could make ruin of UFC’s heavyweights such as Randy Couture. The matchups are endless.
Pride has a large pool of international fighters, while UFC has the best American fighters, said Juanito Ibarra, who trains Jackson. But he's not entirely sold on the merger.
“My concern is exploitation of fighters,” Ibarra said. “Will they (fighters) receive true value? Overall I’m thinking of the fighter, but I’m not saying anything negative of the UFC. ... But the average fighter, I pray they will always have the same opportunity as before.”
K-1 in L.A.
Fighting Entertainment Group, Pro Elite and Showtime network announced Tuesday they joined forces to bring K-1 to the U.S. on June 2 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
They have big dreams.
“There will be 100,000 people and it will be a historic event,” said Sadaharu Tanikawa, CEO for FEG. “This will be the first time for an MMA event in the L.A. Coliseum.”
Massive Hong Man Choi of Korea, a seven-feet, two-inch tall fighter with a large following in Asia and around the world, will face former pro wrestler Brock Lesnar, will be making his MMA debut.
“Big things are going to happen in this stadium,” Lesnar said.
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A portion of the fight card will be shown on Showtime, and the main attractions will be shown on pay-per-view television.
Weekend results
In Las Vegas, Carlos Condit captured the World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight championship by submission of John Alessio in the second round.
The semi-main event saw Urijah Faber beat Dominic Cruz at 1:58 of the first round with a guillotine chokehold.
Coming events
April 1 – Undefeated Givanildo Santana faces Chris Ledwidge in a cruiserweight bout at the Irvine Marriott Hotel in Irvine, Calif.
Televised events
April 5 – Joe “Daddy” Stevenson meets Melvin Guillard in a UFC event at the Palm Casino in Las Vegas. It will be televised Thursday by Spike Television at 8 p.m.
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.
NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''
Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.
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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.
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.
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