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.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
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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FORT MYERS, Fla. - Jonathan Papelbon wants a new contract before Thursday, when the Boston Red Sox plan to renew contracts of any unsigned players. He doesn’t have any leverage.
Because he didn’t have enough major-league service time to be eligible for arbitration, the team can decide on his 2008 salary. After this season, the star closer will be eligible for arbitration.
“I’m at the mercy of the club right now to a certain extent,” Papelbon said Tuesday after pitching a perfect inning in Boston’s 5-3 exhibition win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. “It’s just a matter of ironing out the numbers. We haven’t ironed them out yet and, hopefully, we can get to a mutual agreement. I don’t want to renew. I don’t want to. But if I have to, I have to.”
He’d prefer to reach an agreement with the team on a one-year contract or a multiyear deal. But he doesn’t think a long-term contract can be reached before this season.
The Red Sox have a long-standing policy of not commenting on negotiations.
Last year, Papelbon was paid $425,500. He finished the season with 37 saves in 40 opportunities and a 1.85 earned-run average. He struck out the last batter of the World Series in Boston’s sweep of Colorado, earning his third save in the four games.
Mariano Rivera, the dominant closer for the New York Yankees, signed a three-year, $45 million after last season, his 13th.
Papelbon’s 37 saves were tied for sixth in the American League. He wants to establish a salary standard for future outstanding closers.
“I feel a certain obligation not only to myself and my family to make the money that I deserve but for the game of baseball.” Papelbon said. “Mariano Rivera has been doing it for the past 10 years and with me coming up behind him I feel a certain obligation to do the same.”
He said his contract situation wasn’t a distraction and he actually is more focused this spring training than he was a year ago when he moved into the rotation only to return to his closer’s role before the season.
Papelbon is working on a slider to go with his two outstanding pitches, a fastball and a splitter.
“I feel like it’s coming along well,” he said. “I feel like I can go out there and start the season and be a three-pitch closer.”
Manager Terry Francona doesn’t expect to see the slider much, not with Papelbon pitching so well with his other pitches.
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“But you’re not going to see Pap change his style a whole lot.”
Chances are, there won’t be much change in his salary either, at least until he qualifies for arbitration after the season.
“It’s a tough situation for me right now,” Papelbon said. “I feel like with me being at the top of my position, I feel like that (salary) standard needs to be set and I’m the one to set that standard and I don’t think that the Red Sox are really necessarily seeing eye to eye with me on that subject right now.”
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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.
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.
