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.
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.
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.
Hevad Khan (photo courtesy IMPDI)
The future of poker isn’t hunkered down in a smoky card room in the back of roadside tavern. It’s not wearing a weathered face, chewing on a cigar and glaring lightning bolts from beneath a 10 gallon hat.
The future of poker is fresh-faced and fast-paced. It’s intelligent and cocky and ultra-aggressive. And it’s likely sitting in front of a computer right now, trying to take all your money.
Chris Moneymaker became the face of Internet poker when he won the main event in 2003. He had parlayed a $39 online tournament into a $2.5 million payoff in the World Series of Poker main event. But by today’s standards, Moneymaker is a dinosaur.
Today’s online players spend hours a day on PCs in college dorm rooms or basement hideaways, grinding away on four, eight, or even more tables simultaneously on the same computer screen.
To them, the World Series is an event where they can prove themselves and earn recognition. But as far as getting rich, they can earn more cash more quickly against inferior competition on the Web.
Concerns over online gambling
Of course there are concerns about young people gambling online, with worries about such activities leading to gambling addictions, credit woes and bankruptcy.
In May, U.S. Representatives Shelley Berkley and Jon Porter, both of Nevada, introduced legislation calling for an independent study to explore the issue.
And this summer, the UCLA Gambling Studies Program thought it a big enough issue to design a study to try to pinpoint just how prevalent problem gambling is among its students.
How big a problem online gambling is among young people remains unclear, as does the role of online poker.
“I don’t think any of us look at this (playing poker) as gambling,” Gardner says. “We look at it as a skill game. But people who don’t know the game, when they find out I play, they say ‘oh so you’re a gambler.’ A lot of preconceived notions come with that, and you’re a degen(erate) and all that.”
Both Khan and Keenan admit they know of people who have lost all their money playing poker online.
“It happens quite often,” Keenan says. “People don’t like to admit they go broke, but sometimes they do. A lot of people say ‘I play within my bankroll.’ They go on such a downswing that they try to catch up on their losses, move up higher (in stakes), and start going broke. It’s very, very easy to get into that situation.”
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“You doubt everything,” he explains. “You try to change your game around a lot, and you eventually start to fulfill the self-prophecy that you always lose. So you’re becoming self-destructive in a way. That’s how it works.”
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.
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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.
