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.
ASSOCIATED PRESSFeats of Clay
Clay Matthews was one of the best linebackers ever to suit up at Southern California, a stalwart of the 1978 squad that produced 37 future NFL players. Matthews currently has two sons playing his former position in the Pac-10, albeit at different schools. Clay III plays at USC and backs up All-American candidate Brian Cushing, while Casey, a sophomore, is a budding star at middle linebacker for Oregon.
Pac-10 odysseys
Lewis and Clark, whose own pilgrimage ended in Oregon, would empathize with the paths some of these Pac-10 skill-position players have taken to find themselves on the two-deep chart:
Nyan Boateng, WR, Cal: Born in Ghana. Raised in Brooklyn, where he was a high school hoops teammate of Sebastian Telfair. Accepted a scholarship to Florida, where he caught two passes as a freshman before being arrested for burglary, criminal mischief and battery (i.e., breaking down his ex-girlfriend's door). Transferred to Berkeley and sat out last season.
Jason Forcier, QB, Stanford: Attended gridiron powerhouse Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.) for three years before transferring to St. Augustine (San Diego). Accepted a scholarship to Michigan (the Mater Dei of college football), where he backed up Chad Henne for two seasons while completing all three passes he attempted for the Wolverines. Transferred to Stanford in 2007, coinciding with another former Michigan QB's comments about the Wolverines' steering "borderline guys" into majors in sports communications. That guy, Jim Harbaugh, is now Forcier's head coach in Palo Alto.
Kevin Craft, QB, UCLA: Began his career at San Diego State, playing for his father, Tom Craft. His dad was fired following the 2005 season, after which Kevin started five games as a redshirt frosh in 2006 and was the Aztecs' leading passer. Transferred to Mount San Antonio College before the 2007 season after his dad was hired as the offensive coordinator there and threw 44 TD passes. Now a Bruin, Craft, who made his college debut as a starter against BYU, could start against the Cougars again on Sept. 6.
Locker room
Redshirt sophomore Jake Locker of Washington is the closest thing the Pac-10 has to Florida's Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow. Last year, Locker's first as a starter, he set a Pac-10 record for rushing yardage by a quarterback (986 yards) while also throwing the longest touchdown pass in conference history, 98 yards.
Despite Washington fielding its most porous defense in school history (446.4 yards per game), Locker engineered near upsets of two BCS bowl teams, USC (a 27-24 loss) and Hawaii (35-28 loss, after leading 28-7).
This summer Locker is causing sleepless nights for Ty Willingham by playing outfield for the Class A Bellingham (Wash.) Bells. Which is to say that Locker is an athlete of multiple lockers.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Arizona
5-foot-8 wideout Mike Thomas led the Pac-10 in receptions last season with 83.
Arizona State
Dennis Erickson is the only coach besides Lou Holtz to defeat three No. 1s, and he may have a chance to make it four on Oct. 11 at USC.
California
Mammoth left tackle Mike Tepper (6-foot-7, 321 pounds) played youth soccer for 11 years.
Oregon
Rover Patrick Chung is the Pac-10's leading returning tackler, with 117 stops in '07.
Oregon State
Projected tailback starter Ryan McCants has yet to carry the ball in college.
Stanford
Another Wolverine QB on the Farm, as Michigan transfer Jason Forcier battles incumbent Tavita Pritchard to start.
UCLA
New head coach Rick Neuheisel, a former Bruin QB, has a law degree from USC.
USC
How deep? Redshirt freshman RB Marc Tyler, a USA Today prep 1st team All-American who averaged 13.0 yards per carry as a senior (and whose dad is former All-Pro Wendell Tyler), is 6th on the depth chart.
Washington
The Huskies allowed a school-record worst 446.4 yards per game in '07.
Washington State
Fifth-year senior QB Gary Rogers, who has completed 4 of 16 passes in his career, replaces record-setting Alex Brink.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
TERRIFIC TROJANS Since 2002, USC has finished in the top 4 in every final AP poll. No other school has finished in the top 12 every year. In fact, USC, Ohio St., Oklahoma and Texas are the only schools to end each of the last seven seasons in the Top 25. |
| Season | AP | Coaches |
| 2008 | 3 | 2 |
| 2007 | 3 | 2 |
| 2006 | 4 | 4 |
| 2005 | 2 | 2 |
| 2004 | 1 | 1 |
| 2003 | 1 | 2 |
| 2002 | 4 | 4 |
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.
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.
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