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.
AP
CHICAGO - Carlos Zambrano could not avoid the disabled list, even though he dodged a major injury. The Chicago Cubs placed their star pitcher on the 15-day disabled list with a minor right shoulder strain Saturday and expect him to miss two starts.
"There's nothing wrong," Zambrano said. "We just have to be careful, take some time, give it a rest, come back stronger."
Big Z gave the Cubs a big scare when he left Wednesday night's game at Tampa Bay because of discomfort in his right shoulder. He was examined Thursday in Chicago and underwent an MRI arthrogram on Friday. The test, in which dye is injected into the troubled area to provide a more detailed look, revealed no major structural damage.
The DL stint is the second for Zambrano, who missed nearly a month in 2002 with a strained right elbow.
The Cubs recalled infielder Eric Patterson from Triple-A Iowa, and general manager Jim Hendry said they will shuffle the roster again before Tuesday's game against Baltimore, when they will recall left-hander Sean Marshall to start in Zambrano's place.
Zambrano also will miss a start against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field next weekend.
"Obviously, we're very relieved about yesterday's MRI announcement," Hendry said. "As you would expect, Carlos once he got the good news felt like he could go if not Tuesday the one after."
Zambrano won a career-high 18 games in 2007 and was off to a strong start for the NL Central leaders, going 8-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 16 starts. But the two-time NL All-Star winced after throwing a pitch in the seventh inning on Wednesday, leaving the pitcher and the organization a bit nervous.
"I was a little worried," Zambrano said. "This never happened to me."
Even so, Zambrano lobbied to stay in the game. And on Saturday, he lobbied against going on the disabled list.
"He wasn't real pleased with me right away but we talked through it," Hendry said. "By tomorrow he'll be using it as a chance to work on his hitting."
Zambrano said the Cubs made the right decision.
"In this case, the most powerful word is the doctors' and trainers'," he said. "They want the best for me. ... We've been playing good. We have a good team. They will do a good job."
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.