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.
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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.
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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
PARIS - Roger Federer will face American Michael Russell in the first round of the French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament he hasn’t won.
In the draw Friday, two-time defending champion Justine Henin of Belgium opens against Elena Vesnina of Russia, and No. 2 Maria Sharapova will play Emilie Loit of France.
Serena Williams will face Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria. Williams, who won the Australian Open, is looking for her second French Open title and first since 2002.
“The French Open is my No. 1 priority,” the eight-time Grand Slam winner said.
Federer, who has 10 Grand Slams titles, faces a potentially tough route to the final if he gets past the 71st-ranked Russell.
Fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko, No. 7 Ivan Ljubicic and No. 9 Tommy Robredo are in Federer’s half of the draw, and the Swiss star faces a possible fourth-round match against 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal, whose 81-match clay-court winning streak was snapped by Federer in the final of the Hamburg Masters, will open against 58th-ranked Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina.
“I feel good,” Federer said. “I had a few days off after my win in Hamburg. Obviously the feeling now is better than two weeks ago.”
Federer lost to Nadal in last year’s final. Since then, he has won Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open. By winning the French, he would complete a career Grand Slam and a non-calendar Grand Slam.
“I’ve been working a long time for my French Open goal,” Federer said. “(My) confidence is back where it was.”
Federer lost all five clay-court matches to Nadal before beating him for the first time on the surface in Hamburg.
“I’m not going to beat him every time now,” Federer said. “You’ve got to be able to dominate him on the baseline. Will he allow me to do it again?”
Sharapova has missed two tournaments this year with a right shoulder injury, but has shown a return to form this week at the Istanbul Cup in Turkey.
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“I only have one (French Open) trophy and she’s really lonely,” Williams said. “It’s the only one I have that doesn’t have a friend.”
Third-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova plays Ekaterina Bychkova and No. 4 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia — who has reached at least the quarterfinals in 11 of 14 tournaments this season — plays wild card Stephanie Foretz of France.
Fifth-ranked Amelie Mauresmo opens against American Laura Granville. Mauresmo, formerly the top-ranked player, has not advanced beyond the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. Her two Grand Slam titles came at the Australian Open and Wimbledon last year.
The tournament begins Sunday and ends June 10.
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.
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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.
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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.
