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 Images file
And they need to be educated the way other fans in this country are educated to care about baseball, football, basketball and all the rest. If there were really something wrong with Tom Brady’s foot, would Bill Belichick shout it out for all the tabloids to hear?
OK, maybe coach Belichick is a poor example.
But when entries were drawn 48 hours in advance of the Tampa Bay Derby, stakes coordinator Duane Dube had done his best to scare up a few local rivals to support the event to give it the illusion of being a horse race and not a coronation. Had LaPenta or trainer Nick Zito referenced a fever earlier in the week, the event would have been over-filled like some “beaten claiming” race.
As a horse owner with a top prize of $180,000 on the line, would you rather face 10 rivals or five?
To paraphrase a previous administration in Washington D.C., it’s about the money, stupid, and not about stupid money. Treating racehorses like royalty is a big expense. Racetrackers correctly say it’s money that makes the mare go.
Be it emotionally or financially, everyone tethered to the racehorse knows and understands this. But the general public that attracted to the Derby does not and needs to be educated about the sport’s nuances. It’s nuance that turns a sporting public into lifetime racing fans and horseplayers.
Since last Saturday‘s remarks, the connections of War Pass have begun to back away from the fever scenario. But this is not about whether there was a fever present or not; horseplayers seldom have a problem drawing their own conclusions.
This is about the time of year when sports fans begin to take notice and put their fannies in racetrack seats. In the continued absence of education, pre-race excuses made in post race interviews leave a bad taste and shows little regard for a bigger picture.
It’s about time that the public is made to understand, as racetrackers do, that “they all get beat,” that there’s no shame in defeat, that there‘s nothing sinister afoot.
Even the most well meaning of owners shouldn’t make a bad situation worse. They should know enough to just hold their tongues and take their lumps. Nobody gets to have it both ways. Nobody, no horse — no matter how famous — is bigger than the game.
The first of three pools of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager begins its three-day run on Friday and the bet's opening scenario is very similar to each of its opening pools since the wager was created in 1999.
It's first time that Classic will be broadcast in primetime on Nov. 3.
 | INTERACTIVE |
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 | Slideshow |
 | Derby celebs Plenty of stars from the entertainment and sports world attend the 136th Kentucky Derby. more photos |
| INTERACTIVE |
 | Triple Crown winners The horses that have won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in the same year. |
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.
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.