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 three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
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.
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.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
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.
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Offensive: Senior quarterback Ricky Stanzi has so-so statistics — he had 15 interceptions last season against 17 touchdown passes and a pedestrian 56.2 completion percentage — but he is 18-4 as a starter. The Hawkeyes will need to utilize his resourcefulness. Other than senior wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, who needs 30 catches and 400 yards to become Iowa’s all-time leader in both categories, there isn’t an A-list skill player. Sophomore Adam Robinson (834 yards, five touchdowns) should again serve as the top ball-carrier. The offensive line, long an Iowa strength, is in transition with just two starters returning, but the Hawkeyes always seem to develop an effective unit.
Defensive: Iowa has one of the nation’s top defensive lines. The standout is senior defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who had 11.5 sacks and 20 tackles for a loss last season. But there’s also muscle inside with senior tackles Karl Klug and Christian Ballard, plus an underrated performer in junior end Broderick Binns. There’s a three-year starter in senior linebacker Jeremiha Hunter. It gets better in the secondary — senior free safety Brett Greenwood is a fourth-year starter, while junior strong safety Tyler Sash enters his third season as a starter.
Specialists: The Hawkeyes have the luxury of two standout place-kickers — senior Daniel Murray, who converted 19 of 26 field-goal attempts last season, and sophomore Trent Mossbrucker, who made 13 of 15 in 2008 before sitting out with a redshirt season. The punting is solid with senior Ryan Donahue (40.9-yard average, 12 punts of 50-plus-yards). The coverage and return units are top-notch.
Coaching: Kirk Ferentz has made an art form out of transforming Iowa’s program to middle-of-the-pack on paper to conference championship contender (almost annually). Every other year, it seems, Ferentz is rumored as an NFL coaching candidate, but he has clearly built something to last at Iowa.
Heisman hopefuls: The Hawkeyes don’t have any realistic candidates this season.
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Overview: Defense and special teams alone are strong enough to make Iowa an upper-tier team in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes will give the frontrunners a strong battle, but it looks like Iowa doesn’t have quite enough muscle for a repeat trip to a BCS bowl game.
Next up: No. 14 Pittsburgh
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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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.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
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.