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.
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.
Golf's dream pairing - Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson - are on the course in the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
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.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -England defender Joleon Lescott preserved Manchester City's two-point lead in the Premier League by scoring a second-half winner in a 1-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday.
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.
AP
DUNEDIN, Fla. - Joba Chamberlain was told Wednesday he would start the season in the bullpen. One day later the right-hander showed why he was dominant as a rookie setup man last season.
Chamberlain struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh inning of the New York Yankees' 7-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.
"It felt great," said Chamberlain, who threw nine of 11 pitches for strikes. "Just getting going, it's like riding a bike. It didn't take me very long to get going. My arm actually warmed up quicker than I thought it would. My arm reacted really well."
Chamberlain went 2-0 with an 0.38 ERA in 19 games last year. The 22-year old had been working in a starter's role this spring, which is what the Yankees have said he will become in the future.
"He has a great arm," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He was great today."
Yankees starter Ian Kennedy allowed one run and six hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out four.
"Today's the sharpest he's been," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "That's a good sign for us."
Wilson Betemit hit a two-run homer for the Yankees. Shelley Duncan drove in two with a double.
Toronto closer B.J. Ryan will not pitch in games for a few days due to discomfort in his surgically-repaired left elbow.
"Hopefully it's just a little tightness in there and we can get it calmed down," Ryan said.
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"He is throwing every day and we are monitoring him," Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. "We need to have B.J. for the whole year, not half a year, so we are treating it with kid gloves."
Toronto right-hander Kane Davis gave up four runs and five hits in three innings. He got the start because Blue Jays' opening day starter Roy Halladay pitched in a minor league game.
Halladay allowed four hits over six scoreless innings in a Triple-A contest.
"His cutter is getting better and better," Toronto pitching coach Brad Arnsberg said.
Aaron Hill had an RBI double for the Blue Jays.
Notes: Yankees RHP Chien-Ming Wang, the expected opening day starter, will pitch in a minor league game Friday. RHP Darrell Rasner will start Friday night against Tampa Bay. ... Yankees 1B Shelley Duncan said he doesn't expect his appeal of a three-game suspension stemming from a bench-clearing incident against Tampa Bay to be heard until after opening day. ... Toronto DH Frank Thomas went 1-for-4 and has four hits in 35 at-bats overall. ... 2B Roberto Alomar will be inducted into the Blue Jays' "Level of Excellence" during pregame ceremonies on Apr. 4. ... The Yankees sent C Kyle Anson to their minor league camp. ... New York INF Chris Woodward (right hamstring) could play in a minor league game Friday.
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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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.
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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.
