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.
APHis last pro game was in Modesto, Calif., in 1956, and he eventually found his way back to Cedar Rapids, where he worked 23 years for an aerospace and defense firm and two years for the railroad before retiring in 1985.
He ran for sheriff and the town commission, “everything but dog catcher,” Pennington laughed, “and that’s probably the only office I could have been elected to.
“I didn’t care about losing. I was more interested in the chance to speak out against prejudice,” he said.
All the while, locals and out-of-towners knocked on his door to ask if he was THE Art Pennington, and often left with an autographed souvenir.
He kept many of his own. Pennington hit one of the longest home runs in the history of old Comiskey Park for the American Giants and had an old brick from the since-demolished ballpark, but that was swept away, too. So were hats, jerseys and baseballs used in games.
Pennington does have a scrapbook and a glove in the Negro League exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. And three bats were recovered from the flood; two were given to him by Henry Aaron — one a “Remember me?” gift for the time in the mid-’50s when Pennington and Hammerin’ Hank tried to walk through the front gate of a spring training game in Florida together and were told they had to use the service entrance.
“The day they let us back into Art’s house was the worst,” Valencia recalled. “We’d start cleaning up and something would spark a memory and I couldn’t even imagine what he was thinking. I know it would kill me if I was good enough to play in the major leagues and never got the chance.”
Pennington is staying now with friends and neighbors. Valencia helped him file a claim with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is seeking a grant from MLB’s Baseball Assistance Team, which helps aging ballplayers.
Valencia set up a MySpace page where Pennington sells autographed baseball cards that Valencia helped design and print. He also arranges speaking engagements and card-show appearances.
Last weekend, the pair traveled to Kansas City for the Royals’ annual tribute to surviving Negro League players and helped pass the hat seeking donations from current major leaguers.
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But money will only replace material things, like the recliners and TVs where Pennington used to watch the Yankees or Cubs and laugh out loud at an error by some player making more than he ever dreamed about with half his skills.
“When you get up into your 80s, you forget a lot of things,” Pennington said, “and that’s my biggest regret.”
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.
