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.
AP
|
It's restrictor-plate racing this Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and Jeff Gordon, who got his first win of the season last weekend at Phoenix, could make it two in a row as he is my favorite to get to Victory Lane.
The current stock car will be run with the Car of Tomorrow not debuting in plate racing until the fall Cup event at Talladega on Oct. 7.
Working in Gordon's favor
When it comes to racing at restrictor-plate tracks (Talladega and Daytona International Speedway), Gordon is one of the best. He has lots of experience and success at the superspeedways. He won the pole Saturday, showing he and his crew are ready.
If the four-time Cup champion wins on Sunday, it will be his fifth restrictor-plate victory since 2004, and his 11th overall. The only driver to have reached that mark is the late Dale Earnhardt.
Gordon has four wins at the 2.66-mile Alabama track. He also has 11 top-fives and 14 top-10s. In this event last year he led for 62 laps but got shuffled back late in the race and came home 15th. Last fall he got caught up in a wreck at Talladega and finished 36th.
The engines and chassis of Hendrick Motorsports perform well at the restrictor-plate tracks, and the resources the organization has to work with have helped make it tough to beat on superspeedways. Last year Hendrick registered a Talladega sweep with Jimmie Johnson winning in the spring and Brian Vickers (who is no longer with Hendrick) winning in the fall.
Gordon, who leads in points, has finished fourth or better in six of his last seven races. And only once this season (when he was 12th at Atlanta) has he crossed the checkers outside of the top 10. He leads the Cup series in poles (3), top-fives (6), top-10s (7), and average finish (4.5).
His great start to the season is not only due to his driving, but also due to the impact of his crew chief Steve Letarte. Gordon has said that Letarte has done a great job of leading his team, building the team chemistry, and preparing great race cars.
That's not only a formula for success, but also a formula that could bring Gordon a fifth Cup championship.
Other drivers to watch
I have two of Gordon's teammates, Johnson and Kyle Busch, pegged as top contenders on Sunday. Both are off to solid starts this year as Johnson is fourth in points and Busch is sixth.
|
This is Johnson's 11th Cup start at Talladega, where in addition to his win in this event last year, he has two poles, two top-fives, and three top-10s. He will be in the chassis he won in a year ago.
The defending Cup champion also won at Daytona last year and his two restrictor-plate wins in 2006 enabled him to learn a lot about what it takes to get to Victory Lane at the superspeedways. Johnson says that he'll use what he learned and apply that knowledge to his racing on Sunday so look out he could chalk up his fourth win of the young season.
Busch's results have been mostly positive this season, but he's run even better than those finishes indicate. The soon-to-be 22-year-old posted his career-best start and finish at Talladega last fall when he qualified sixth, led 10 laps, and wound up 11th.
|
The fourth driver for Hendrick Motorsports, Casey Mears, has shown some promise on the superspeedways, but so far this season Mears and his No. 25 team don't have a handle on things. Mears has only one top-10 and is 35th in points.
Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing and Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing must be considered prime threats to make it to Victory Lane.
Stewart has never won a Cup event at Talladega, but he has finished second in three of his last four starts at this superspeedway. Overall at the Alabama track the two-time Cup champion has a half dozen second-place results.
Harvick is good at restrictor-plate racing, and a rejuvenated RCR can expect success at the superspeedways. In 12 Cup starts at Talladega, Harvick has one pole, three top-fives, and six top-10s. He also has a 17.7 starting average, and a 13.7 finishing average.
Like Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Inc. has made a major commitment to winning at restrictor-plate tracks. That explains why DEI driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. has five wins and two runner-up finishes in his last 12 Talladega races.
Junior has won more Cup races at Talladega (5) than at any other track. And his five victories at the Alabama superspeedway are the most of any active driver. He also ranks second on the track’s all-time wins chart behind his father, Dale Earnhardt, who won 10 times in 44 starts.
 | Slideshow |
 | Earning a trip to victory lane Take a look at every NASCAR driver who has claimed a checkered flag this racing season. NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | Revved up for racing Take a look at how some NASCAR fans express their dedication to the drivers and to the sport. NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | more photos |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | INTERACTIVE |
 | NASCAR wives and girlfriends They're fixtures in pit row, but they don't drive on the track or work on the cars. Take a look at some notable NASCAR wives and girlfriends. |
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
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.
