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.
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.
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'It's not about me' Nov. 19: Lloyd Carr discusses his decision to retire as Michigan head coach after 13 years. |
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Lloyd Carr alternately choked up and chuckled for nearly 40 minutes Monday, as he announced his 13th season as Michigan football coach will be his last.
“I wanted to be able to walk out of here knowing that to the very last minute, I did my job to the best of my ability,” Carr said with watery eyes. “And I know I’ll be able to do that.”
The best of Carr’s ability brought Michigan a national title and five Big Ten championships. It also included an unsightly loss to Appalachian State to open this season and a fourth consecutive defeat and sixth in seven years to Jim Tressel and Ohio State to close it.
Many of those memories were very close to the surface at Monday’s news conference during which the public that rarely got to see his true personality also learned what had happened behind closed doors the previous day when Carr broke the news to his players and staff.
“I cried more tears than I knew I had,” said Carr, who spent 28 seasons on the Michigan coaching staff. “And I’ve never laughed so hard in my life because there were so many memories.”
Carr will coach the Wolverines in their bowl game, likely to be either the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio or the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla. Following the bowl game he will become an associate athletic director.
The retirement announcement surprised no one.
Last winter, Carr had his contract reworked to pave the way for this to be his last season and later made sure the school gave his assistants unprecedented two-year deals.
The only unknown was when the 62-year-old Carr would choose to step away from the sideline: Monday, as he did, or after the bowl game.
“My timing is based on one thing, what is best for Michigan football,” he said. “There are no other motives.
“To do it after a bowl game would have been absolutely ridiculous.”
The departure opens a job at the nation’s winningest football program and the timing of it might make things uncomfortable for top-ranked LSU and coach Les Miles.
Miles seems to be at the top of the list in Ann Arbor. He played for Bo Schembechler at Michigan, where he met his wife and later became an assistant under Schembechler.
On Monday in Baton Rouge, La., though, Miles insisted he’s not looking for a job and said Michigan has not called him.
“I love LSU,” he said.
Even though Miles appears in a great situation leading the Tigers in a talent-rich area, the school was concerned enough about him bolting for Michigan that it put a specific clause in his contract to make it an expensive move.
In the “termination by coach” section of his deal, Michigan is the only other school mentioned. It states that Miles will not seek or accept employment as Michigan’s coach. If Miles does leave LSU to coach the Wolverines, he must pay LSU $1.25 million.
Gerry DiNardo was in a similar situation when he was coaching at LSU and his alma mater contacted him about its opening a decade ago.
“I told Notre Dame that I didn’t want to talk until the season was over, but each coach is different in how they handle that,” said DiNardo, who was in Ann Arbor working for the Big Ten Network. “My advice to Les Miles would be to learn from the Nick Saban saga and to either tell the truth or don’t say anything.”
Saban said he had no interest in the Alabama job when it became vacant nearly a year ago while he was coaching the Miami Dolphins, then declined comment the next month. After five weeks of denials and two days of deliberation, Saban bolted to coach the Crimson Tide.
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.
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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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
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 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
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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.