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.
APBut part-time golfer Wells puts those exhibition numbers in proper perspective before Monday’s opener. “It doesn't matter how many range balls you hit,” Wells said. “At some point, you’ve got to take it to the course."
In first of 162 rounds this summer, the course was not kind. The Cardinals hoped Carpenter would set the tone for a repeat run. But nine hits, one hit batsmen, one walk, six innings and five earned runs later, it was the Mets who were humming.
Fundamentally firm a few months ago, the world champs were dysfunctional in an eventual 6-1 loss. Normally steady So Taguchi misplayed two balls in left field, Carpenter botched a squeeze bunt, killing a promising moment. The Cardinals lost two runners on the path between third and home.
Meanwhile, the Mets could do no wrong. Starter Tom Glavine, who turned 41 a week ago, pitched effectively enough to get his 291st career win. “I think he’s better than ever, myself,” La Russa said. “The guys who do it for years and years, whether its (Roger) Clemens, or Randy Johnson, or (Greg) Maddux, the guys are amazing.
“They’re still physically fit and they have all that experience going for them. Glavine was a handful.”
Moises Alou, he with the bad wheels, went from first to third on a single and made a diving catch in left field. Glavine’s sacrifice bunt successfully advanced two runners in the fourth, and both scored on Paul Lo Duca’s subsequent single. Calros Beltran and Jose Valentin made run-preventing defensive plays.
The visitors turned four double plays and banged out 12 hits. It was totally convincing. “You have to give the other side credit,” La Russa said. “It was the kind of night they had. They did a lot of terrific things. They played better than we did.”
This was how this matchup figured to unfold last October. This is why there are still head-scratchings and “freak” references. This is what the Cardinals are going to have to deal with all season.
Baseball is back in St. Louis, but it remains to be seen which Cardinals team is back. The one that barely got into the postseason, or the one that won it all.
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.
HardballTalk headlines |
 | Interactive |
 |
 | Slideshow |
 | Unbreakable records in baseball A look at the most unbreakable records in baseball including Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters. |
| Slideshow |
 | The top tools of baseball You hear a lot about the tools of baseball, but who are the best hitters, fielders and pitchers? We break it down. more photos |
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.
NBC Sports TV and livestream listings