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.
He also sees Alex Rodriguez as a unique case, because the Yankees third baseman is a New York celebrity who has crossed over beyond sports.
"A-Rod is no different than an actor or actress in Los Angeles," Melchior said. "Boston and New York are very unique marketplaces for sports and the media. Sports is a lifestyle in New York and Boston, and it's not in L.A. or Miami."
Even so, Melchior notes that the New York tabloids (specifically The New York Post) broke the story of Rodriguez spending time with a stripper in Toronto. The blogs just followed the story where the tabloids took it.
So where is this going? Melchior doesn't think we're far from the day when cameras are peeking into athletes' homes with the same regularity that they are outside those of actors and actresses.
He sees several possible triggers:
How can a mainstream sports journalist compete in this changing environment, without compromising his personal ethics?
Shaun Powell, a long-time sports columnist for New York Newsday, is trying to abide by the same not-so-simple rule. He draws the line at whether an off-the-field issue relates to an athlete's performance or team chemistry.
But how do you know? That's the trick. Powell acknowledges that "with the A-Rod situation, he actually played good baseball" while dealing with adultery rumors and facing a divorce. Powell said he never has felt direct pressure from editors to write about the lurid details of an athlete's personal life. But he has felt a nudge to address such issues in a tasteful way, particularly if they have been reported elsewhere.
"If an athlete addresses it directly, and says 'This has been bothering me, and I am trying to fight through it,' then you have the green light," Powell said. "If he says no comment, then you don't. But no sensational splash. Touch upon it, address it and move on. I think I am going to remain a dinosaur. I still think there's an audience that doesn't want to read about it, doesn't care about it, and just wants nuts and bolts. I think there is room for everybody, for everything."
Melchior and those like him are still trying to carve out a larger place.
"Ninety-five percent of typical sports fans still think Chris Berman is cool," Melchior said of the pioneering ESPN broadcaster who has been widely mocked on the independent blogs, with the help of long-lost video that shows Berman acting unprofessionally. "That means we're not out there yet."
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.
NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''
Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.
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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.