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.
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.
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NL preview: Pujols' revenge tour Cardinals slugger out for a big rebound, but will Rockies fall back? |
WASHINGTON - For a guy who admits he was never more than a mediocre baseball player, President Bush sure gets to keep living the dream.
Bush is throwing out the first pitch Sunday night at the gleaming new baseball stadium in Washington, the sixth time he has had the honor as president. It may be ceremonial, but it is not a duty a president wants to tank. People tend to have long memories when you bounce the ball to home plate.
So Bush made time this week to hurl some practice pitches in his backyard — the South Lawn of the White House.
The Washington Nationals are taking on the Atlanta Braves in the opening contest.
The tradition of a presidential first pitch goes back to 1910, when a formally dressed William Howard Taft threw the ball from his seat in the stands. Each occasion is different, but some years surely have more pizazz than others, and Bush is benefiting from a little good timing.
Washington is buzzing about baseball. There are opening days of a season every year, but opening days for a stadium are etched into a city’s history.
Bush will be the first president to take the mound at Nationals Park. The $611 million riverfront stadium is earning raves as a plush, appealing attraction from fans who have seen it so far during trial runs; the players, meanwhile, can’t get over the immaculate conditions and amenities.
Bush, a sports fan in general and a baseball buff in particular, plans to soak it in.
He will visit both teams in their clubhouses before the game. Then he is expected to be escorted to the pitcher’s mound by Nationals manager Manny Acta and star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Acta will catch Bush’s ceremonial pitch.
Bush also threw out the first pitch at the Nationals’ first home game in 2005, when baseball returned to the city after more than three decades. He was mostly cheered that day at RFK Stadium when he threw a pitch that sailed in a bit high to the catcher.
Vice President Dick Cheney, who threw the first pitch the next year, had it a bit rougher. He was greeted by boos, and his ball landed in the dirt.
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.
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.
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.