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.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had 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
ARLINGTON, Texas - First, the New York Yankees lost Joba Chamberlain to a shoulder injury. Then, they lost the game.
Marlon Byrd hit a game-winning grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning and the Texas Rangers snapped a 10-game home losing streak to New York with a 9-5 victory Monday night.
Already missing No. 1 starter Chien-Ming Wang and right-hander Phil Hughes from a top-heavy rotation, the Yankees received more bad news when Chamberlain exited with a stiff right shoulder in the fifth.
He’ll return to New York on Tuesday for tests, and manager Joe Girardi said the 22-year-old right-hander probably will miss a turn in the rotation. Anything more than that would be a major blow to the injury-depleted Yankees, who are 2½ games behind Boston for the AL wild-card lead.
“He has a little stiffness. We believe it’s muscular,” Girardi said. “We’ll see what the tests reveal. I don’t think it’s serious. I don’t think he’ll be shut down a long time.”
But the Yankees are likely to be cautious with the hard-throwing Chamberlain — even in a tight playoff race. He said he’s never had a similar problem in his shoulder.
“My strength was fine. My velocity was fine,” Chamberlain said. “We’ll have tests just so we can rule out everything. It kind of grabbed and it was a little bit tighter in the fifth inning.”
After the game, Girardi also revealed that star closer Mariano Rivera was unavailable for the second consecutive game because of back spasms.
“We were a little short-handed,” the manager said. “He said he felt OK, but I’ve got to hear that he feels great.”
Girardi said he expects Rivera will be ready to pitch Tuesday night.
Leading off the bottom of the ninth on a 101-degree night, pinch-hitter Milton Bradley drew a walk from Damaso Marte (0-1). Travis Metcalf ran for Bradley and, one out later, Marte walked Gerald Laird.
After Michael Young flied out, Josh Hamilton walked to load the bases and Byrd hit the next pitch from Marte into the right-center seats. Byrd was mobbed at the plate by his teammates after circling the bases with his seventh homer.
“I knew it was gone right when it came off the bat. He threw a fastball and I put a good swing on it,” Byrd said after his second grand slam this season and the fifth of his career.
Young and David Murphy also homered for the Rangers, who earned their first home win over the Yankees since July 19, 2006.
Texas moved five games over .500 (59-54) for the first time this season.
“It was big because of the way that we did it, against the team we did it against, factoring in the circumstances,” Murphy said. “We’ll ride this for a while.”
New York threatened in the ninth when Johnny Damon hit a two-out double off Eddie Guardado (3-2). Derek Jeter hit a line drive to center, where Hamilton made a tumbling catch to keep the score tied at 5.
Trailing 5-4 in the eighth, New York tied it against Frank Francisco on Xavier Nady’s fourth homer in 30 at-bats since joining the team July 26, but the finish was disappointing for the Yankees.
“It was a hard one,” Girardi said.
Young’s three-run shot off Chamberlain in the fifth gave Texas a 5-4 lead.
Byrd hit a two-out single in the fifth and when Chamberlain returned to the mound, assistant trainer Steve Donohue and Girardi ran onto the field to check on the former reliever, who pointed at his right shoulder.
Chamberlain, who gave up five runs and eight hits over 4 2-3 innings in his 12th major league start, walked to the dugout and was replaced by Edwar Ramirez.
Jason Giambi homered and had three hits. Robinson Cano also homered for the Yankees, who had won 14 of 16 in Texas.
Giambi’s RBI single in the first gave New York the lead. Giambi led off the fourth with his 21st homer for a 2-0 advantage and, one out later, Cano went deep for the 10th time to make it 3-0.
Murphy’s two-run shot off Chamberlain in the fourth — his 15th — pulled Texas to 3-2.
Rangers starter Vicente Padilla gave up four runs and six hits in six innings. Texas manager Ron Washington was ejected for protesting two balk calls in the fifth against Padilla.
Notes: Girardi started rookie Justin Christian in CF for Melky Cabrera, who came in for defense in the ninth. Girardi said Cabrera — hitless in his last 12 at-bats — could use a few days off. ... Chamberlain gave up three runs or fewer in each of his first 11 big league starts. ... Bradley missed his sixth straight start due to a strained left quadriceps.
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.