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 three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
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
CLEVELAND - Kansas City outfielder Mitch Maier’s right eye was swollen shut and his nose still bleeding Thursday, less than 24 hours after being hit in the face with a pitch.
The Royals placed Maier on the 15-day disabled list with multiple facial fractures.
Maier was holding an ice bag on his face and watching television in the Royals’ clubhouse prior to Thursday’s game against the Indians. He had a large bandage near his right cheekbone and his nose was stuffed with tissue.
“I don’t have any pain,” he said. “I still have a bloody nose. I can see out of my eye if I open it, but it feels better with it closed right now.”
Maier was hit by a pitch from Cleveland left-hander Zach Jackson in the fifth inning of Kansas City’s 8-5 loss. He was taken to a hospital for X-rays, which revealed the fractures below his right eye.
Jackson threw a pitch up and in to Maier, who had squared around to bunt and could not get out of the way in time. Maier, 26, crumpled to the ground immediately after being hit.
“I haven’t seen a replay,” he said. “I don’t think it hit my helmet. I turned to bunt. It was up and in. I tried to pull back and get out of the way. When I saw the ball, it was about a foot away.”
Maier said Jackson called him Wednesday night.
“He said he was sorry,” Maier said. “I appreciated the call. He wasn’t trying to hit me.”
Royals manager Trey Hillman said Indians general manager Mark Shapiro stopped by the clubhouse following Wednesday night’s game and manager Eric Wedge called before Thursday’s game to ask about Maier’s condition.
“He’s a tough kid,” Hillman said. “Obviously, there was no intent there. It’s an unfortunate situation that happens in the game of baseball.”
The Royals recalled outfielder Joey Gathright from a rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Omaha to take Maier’s roster spot.
The Royals open a homestand Friday night. Maier will be examined again after the team returns home.
Maier, called up from Triple-A Omaha on July 24, is batting .339 (19-for-56) with no homers and four RBIs in 19 games.
Gathright has been on the DL with a bruised right shoulder since July 24. He’s batting .251 with 21 stolen bases in 82 games.
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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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
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.