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 file
Floyd Landis claims the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s lead attorney approached his lawyer offering “the shortest suspension they’d ever given an athlete” if Landis provided information that implicated Lance Armstrong for doping.
Landis said he made the Armstrong allegations public Thursday not because he planned to use it as evidence when testimony begins Monday in his arbitration hearing, but to show the lengths USADA will go to in prosecuting athletes.
“It was offensive at best,” Landis said during a teleconference from Los Angeles. “It speaks to the character of the prosecution.”
The 2006 Tour de France champion said USADA general counsel Travis Tygart approached his attorney, Howard Jacobs, with a deal shortly after learning of Landis’ positive doping test during the Tour.
He said Jacobs characterized the conversation as one in which USADA would offer a deal if Landis passed on information about seven-time Tour champion Armstrong “or information about someone more important than me.”
Over the years, Armstrong has fought doping allegations that have never been proven.
As for what he told Jacobs when the attorney passed on the information: “I don’t think that offer justified a response,” Landis said.
Jacobs did not immediately return messages left at his office by The Associated Press, and Tygart held to USADA’s restriction on commenting about ongoing cases.
“If Mr. Landis will waive the rule and allow me to comment, then I’ll be happy to address his nonsense,” Tygart said.
USADA has a history of reducing penalties for athletes who provide evidence of doping violations by other athletes, though asking for information about specific athletes is not allowed. Landis faces a two-year suspension and forfeiture of his title if his positive test is upheld.
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Armstrong and Landis are former teammates who went through an unfriendly split in 2004, but Armstrong has publicly supported Landis and been an outspoken critic of the way anti-doping agencies do business.
“I believe in Floyd, I believe he hasn’t had a fair shake,” Armstrong said recently.
The Armstrong revelation was the latest in a string of allegations Landis has levied against USADA and anti-doping authorities as he puts the final touches on his defense.
Over the past several months, he has toured the country to drum up support and money for his defense. He says the leak of the positive doping test last July damaged his reputation, and he’s not even sure a victory in arbitration will repair all that.
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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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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