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.
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.
ReutersAna Ivanovic
The 19-year-old will be playing only her third U.S. Open, but she comes into the major having given a very strong account of herself at the French Open and at Wimbledon. In Paris she made the final before bowing to Henin, and in London she got to the semifinals before falling to Venus.
She won on the hardcourts in Los Angeles and is clearly a top player on the rise although I'm not sure she's ready yet to win a major. One thing the fifth seed needs to get much better at is being able to adjust her game when things are working well for her in a match. For her to get out of her quarter of the draw she may need wins consecutive wins over Venus and Jankovic.
Other players to watch
Svetlana Kuznetsova is a former U.S. Open champion (2004) whose game has pretty much been stalled since she won her only major. She has huge weapons in a big serve and monstrous forehands and must always be considered dangerous. But she doesn't seem to know how to construct points, and isn't polished as making adjustments during matches.
Sidelined since Wimbledon with mononucleosis, 13th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova returns to the tour at the U.S. Open. The 18-year-old Czech is tall and strong and finished 2006 ranked No. 10. Vaidisova is looking at a potential fourth-round meeting with Sharapova.
Anna Chakvetadze is seeded sixth and is rising fast. She won hardcourt tournaments earlier this summer in Stanford and Cincinnati. She followed that up in San Diego by taking a three-setter from Venus before exiting in the semifinals against Sharapova, who she could meet up with in the quarterfinals in Flushing.
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.
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.
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