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.
Getty ImagesI imagine that one night in late 2003 or early 2004, NASCAR chairman Brian France went on a late-night bender of tequila and jalapeno guacamole. He fell into a deep sleep and was visited by strange visions and hallucinations. Out of those fevered, crazy dreams was born a revolution for the sport, and four years in, I have to say: Pass the Cuervo, buddy boy, the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup works.
I have to admit, in the very early going, I thought France had maybe swallowed the worm one too many times. But as a wise man once said, the most annoying non-drunk is a former drunk, I’m totally on the Chase bandwagon now.
In 2004, the run-up to the Chase and the Chase itself were remarkably tense. The race at Richmond that Jeremy Mayfield won to get in and the race in Miami after which Kurt Busch was crowned the champion were the two most remarkable sporting events I’ve ever been to. In Miami, the event was such a see-saw that I completely wrote three magazine stories (Busch wins, Jeff Gordon wins, Jimmie Johnson wins) because my deadline was extremely tight and the points kept changing.
But critics weren’t convinced then and they still aren’t convinced that this Chase deal is worth it. I do a lot of radio, and I’m still asked on a weekly basis whether I like the Chase.
After Sunday’s race, the second of 10, how could anyone not like it? I mean, anyone who isn’t an “I hate everything” grump? Four drivers are within four points of the lead. Those four drivers include Jeff Gordon (first) and Tony Stewart (second), the two best drivers of the decade. Jimmie Johnson (fourth) one day might force me to call them the three best drivers of the decade, and Carl Edwards (third) is merely a strong finish from the greatest season in the history of the sport.
Edwards will win the Busch championship, and he has a legit chance to win the Nextel Cup, too, which would be an unprecedented accomplishment.
I think the rest of this Chase is going to be, to use a technical racing term, nutso. The race at Kansas Speedway might be “normal,” but Talladega is going to make the second half of Dover look like a day at the library. Restrictor plate races have gotten whacko enough lately. Throw in the uncertainty of the Car of Tomorrow and the tension of the Chase, and who knows what could happen.
|
A lot of old school fans can’t stand the Chase because they think it’s a silly contrivance. Well, you know what? So was the old way of crowning the champion, and worse than being contrived, the old way was also as boring as a Matt Kenseth interview. There’s no larger truth that says a champion has to have scored the most points over the entire season any more than there’s a larger truth that a football season has to end in a playoff.
|
 | Slideshow |
 | Earning a trip to victory lane Take a look at every NASCAR driver who has claimed a checkered flag this racing season. NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | Revved up for racing Take a look at how some NASCAR fans express their dedication to the drivers and to the sport. NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | more photos |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | INTERACTIVE |
 | NASCAR wives and girlfriends They're fixtures in pit row, but they don't drive on the track or work on the cars. Take a look at some notable NASCAR wives and girlfriends. |
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.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
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.
