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?
LIVE VIDEO: NBCSports.com shows Washington-New York, with alternate camera angles, HD views and more.
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.
APQ: Do you think it would be wise for the Indians to bring in more veteran pitching, like say Livan Hernandez, to round out the rotation? — MJ, Cleveland
A: I don’t think that’s the way the Indians are going to go, and I can’t say that I disagree with them. They already have four quality starters in C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd, plus a couple of solid options for the final rotation spot.
You mention the idea of a veteran at the back of the rotation — why not Cliff Lee? It’s way too early to give up on him, even though he struggled last season, which he began on the disabled list due to an abdominal strain. Here’s a guy who averaged 15.3 victories over the previous three seasons, and is only 29. If the Indians are ready to give up on him, I’m sure there are several teams who will be glad to take a shot at a comeback season from him in 2008, when he’ll be in the final year of a reasonably inexpensive three-year, $14.4-million deal.
The Indians also have a top-flight prospect in Adam Miller, who figures to surface next season, and got some nice starts down the 2007 stretch in rookie Aaron Laffey. So I’d say they’re in pretty good shape rotation-wise, and agree with their decision to attempt to deepen their bullpen by signing Japanese League veteran right-handed closer Masahide Kobayashi. Besides, if rotation problems arise next season, they can always turn to the trade market if necessary.
Q: I was just curious as to what has become of the two players the Yankees signed from China. I haven’t heard much on them. Do you think they are in the Yankees’ plans, or are they just going to be trade bait? — Matt M., Chattanooga, Tenn.
A: The two 19-year-old players — a left-handed pitcher and a catcher — are very raw, and likely several seasons away from the major leagues, if they even get that far. Baseball in China is in the infancy stage — far below the level that is played in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
But what the Yankees wisely have done in a country with more than 1 billion people is get in on the ground floor by entering into a working agreement with the Chinese Baseball Association. This could very well lead to them grabbing the best talent from China, and eventually a couple of big-leaguers down the road.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
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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.