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.
Getty Images for NASCAR fileOthers I expect to have top-10 cars on Sunday are Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth. Busch has a win at Martinsville (Oct. 2002) and also two top-fives and four top-10s. Hamlin, who sat on the pole for this event last year and led 125 laps before finishing third, has come home out of the top 10 only once in five Martinsville Cup starts. Junior has yet to win at Martinsville in 16 Cup races, but he does have seven top-five finishes. And despite not liking racing at Martinsville, Kenseth is looking for his third straight top-10 finish at the half mile oval.
My darkhorse is Martin Truex Jr., who loves racing at Martinsville despite never having finished higher than 19th in four Cup races at the venue. He’s still learning this short track, but on Sunday – inexperience aside --he might just be flying around this paperclip-shaped track.
Keys to success at Martinsville
Martinsville Speedway is a short, tight track so driver patience will be a key factor in deciding which car gets to Victory Lane.
This is the smallest track on the Cup circuit, and it's probably as hard on equipment as any track run by NASCAR's top series, especially brakes and rearend gears. The brakes take an especially tough beating because of the short turns off the long straightaways, forcing constant accelerating and braking. Drivers will have to make concerted efforts to save on their brakes.
Pit road is so narrow we will likely see some cars banging into each other when entering and exiting the pits. It's so tight on pit road there just isn't room for 43 cars to pit at the same time. Look for more pit issues this Sunday than in most if not all other Cup races.
|
The bottom is the line to run since the outside groove went away after repairs were made to the track following the spring 2004 race.
Besides having equipment hold up, getting good luck, and running a smart and patient race are what's needed most to win at Martinsville.
 | Slideshow |
 | Earning a trip to victory lane Take a look at every NASCAR driver who has claimed a checkered flag this racing season. NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | Revved up for racing Take a look at how some NASCAR fans express their dedication to the drivers and to the sport. NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | more photos |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | INTERACTIVE |
 | NASCAR wives and girlfriends They're fixtures in pit row, but they don't drive on the track or work on the cars. Take a look at some notable NASCAR wives and girlfriends. |
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.
NBC Sports TV and livestream listings
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.
