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.
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Distant Replay With MLB instituting instant replay, NBCSports.com looks back at memorable plays that could have used it. |
PITTSBURGH - Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella sounds ready to throw in the towel on baseball’s new instant replay system before it starts. At least he’d like to toss out a red handkerchief, like his counterparts in the NFL do.
Piniella learned Tuesday from reporters that the Cubs’ home game Thursday night against the Phillies will be the first in which baseball’s new replay system will be used. Call him skeptical, with Piniella questioning why baseball is rushing to make the change without first educating managers and players about it.
Replays will be used only on “boundary calls,” such as determining whether fly balls went over the fence, whether potential home runs were fair or foul and or if there was fan interference on potential home runs.
Piniella wasn’t aware that only the umpires’ crew chief can request to see a replay. He was under the impression that managers could request a call be reviewed.
“Now what do you do, throw out a red handkerchief? What’s the format? What do you do? I’d love to be able to throw a red hankie or a green hankie,” Piniella said, referring to the NFL system in which a coach throws out a red flag to challenge a call. “Imagine being able to throw something on the field and not be ejected.”
Piniella has been known to throw a base or two while arguing.
While it’s possible some teams might go the rest of the season without having a replay delay a game, Piniella questions whether the new system might cause as many problems as it solves.
“Nobody’s told us anything. I think we should be schooled on it somehow,” he said. “This is not going to work. Come on. I shouldn’t say it not’s going to work, but this could turn into a little bit of a fiasco initially.”
Piniella, whose team owned the majors’ best record going into Tuesday night’s game against the Pirates, doesn’t like that a replay might slow down a game or cause a pitcher to get out of rhythm as umpires watch a replay.
If the crew chief at a game decides replay needs to be checked, umpires will leave the field, technicians at Major League Baseball Advanced Media will show umpires the video and the crew chief will make the call, overturning the original decision only if there is convincing evidence.
“All we get all spring is directive after directive about how to speed up the game. This certainly is not going to speed up the game,” Piniella said. “This is not like football. You’ve got a pitcher who’s standing out there.”
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.
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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