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.
Getty Images file • I accept that if the Oregon Duck beats up another mascot, I will attempt to respond with an appropriate, adult response, and will point out how unfortunate it is that this has to happen. Then, I will fall onto the floor rolling with laughter at footage of a man in a duck suit going mercenary on a hapless mascot.
• I will despise watching without guilt as Miami of Florida plays anywhere with functional plumbing and fully enclosed end zones, because the death of the Orange Bowl is a culture crime of the first order.
• I will not watch a game I do not care about. I will, however, just happen to have it on while my eyeballs are looking directly at the television. There's a difference, you know.
• I will try not to fear for Nick Saban's life when his veins bulge scarily as he stands on the sideline.
• I will gain five pounds this season. It's an inverse relationship with the players; any body fat they have aerosolizes, floats through the television and lands on me. Sitting for 10 hours straight on a Saturday does that, especially when you have an open bag of Cheetos Flamin' Hot on the table at all times.
• I will attempt to care about Al Groh football. Again, I will accept it when I fail in this task. Al Groh won't care.
• I will not fall under the irresistible sway of Southern Cal as the permanent No. 1 pick, nor get suckered by Pete Carroll's Facebook page, his refusal to sleep more than an hour at a time, his flashy website, or the effervescent, glitzy Hollywood mojo perpetually surrounding the Trojans' program.
• I will succumb to this when/if Southern Cal beats Ohio State, and then will only flag in schoolgirl awe when USC lets its guard down, loses to a lesser Pac-10 team, then incinerates whomever it faces in its bowl game.
• I will continue my tradition of narrating everything I do from September to January in a terrible Keith Jackson voice. No one said this was advisable, or even necessarily appropriate. "WHOA, NELLIE! That's a humdinger of a colonoscopy machine you've got there, doctor."
• I will make one random bet on Ole Miss as an underdog this season, because Houston Nutt's teams every year up and bite at least one team with which they have no business running. It's in the almanac. We promise.
• I will step willingly into the South-Florida-as-Big-East-champion bear trap. Go ahead, open it for me. I'm waiting.
• I will wager heavily that Oregon will be better than most suspect, especially on defense. I also will bet that safety/rover Patrick Chung will be an extremely polite, sportsmanlike person to opposing wide receivers, especially when he helps them pick up their teeth off the turf as a gentleman would.
• I will also wager that the Tennessee "Clawfense" with new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson will, after a period of great confusion, scale back its alleged complexity and look exactly like the Cutcliffe/Sanders offenses of the past.
• I will also wager that Maryland will look mediocre, struggle on offense, frustrate even its most loyal fans, lose one game on national television in humiliating fashion, and still win nine games.
• I will not drink the "chaser" at LSU tailgates if I make it to Baton Rouge, because the "chaser" is two handles of gin mixed with two bottles of Fresca. This is how people end up in the cage attempting to play with Mike the Tiger at 2 in the morning.
• Finally, if Georgia wins the national title, then the keg's on us, Matthew Stafford. Strictly for workout purposes, of course. Overhead lifts are great for core muscle development.
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 |
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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