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.
AP
PHOENIX - That new contract in the works for Brandon Webb might have grown a few digits.
Webb became the first pitcher in three years to win his first eight starts, pitching his 13th career complete game to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-3 on Thursday.
The 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner struck out four and didn’t walk a batter in his first complete game of the year. He hit one batter.
“I felt early on I had good stuff, even in the pen,” Webb said. “My arm felt great, the best it’s probably felt in three games.”
The easygoing Webb (8-0) became the first pitcher to win his first eight starts since Jon Garland of the Chicago White Sox in 2005 and the first in the NL since Pedro Martinez for Montreal in 1997, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“Everything has to go your way for these things to work,” Webb said. “Guys hitting in situations and making plays. The bullpen has been coming through. Everything has to fall in place and it has whenever I’ve been out there.”
Webb stifled the Phillies on three hits through eight innings before allowing two runs and three hits in the ninth. Philadelphia’s first-inning run was unearned.
Manager Bob Melvin came to the mound after the Phillies scored two runs in the ninth and had a runner on first with one out. With catcher Chris Snyder almost pleading with the manager to leave Webb in, Melvin relented.
“He said ‘You’ve got one batter,”’ Webb said. “‘I said, all right.”’
Geoff Jenkins then lined one off the pitcher’s glove that Webb turned in to a game-ending double play.
Webb is one of baseball’s biggest bargains, or one of the most underpaid depending on the perspective, but the Diamondbacks are trying to work out a new deal.
He is scheduled to make $5.5 million this season as part of a four-year contract that originally guaranteed him $19.5 million and potentially is worth $27.5 million over five seasons. He is due $6.5 million next year, and the Diamondbacks have an $8.5 million option for 2010 with a $1.5 million buyout.
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.
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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.