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 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
CHICAGO - A missed opportunity and a sloppy performance left the White Sox in second place and had manager Ozzie Guillen as frustrated as he’s been all season.
“That’s the only thing I hear, ’We have a chance.’ We don’t have a chance if we continue to play that way,” Guillen said after Friday night’s 11-8 loss to the Cleveland Indians.
Ryan Garko drove in five runs with a grand slam and a solo homer for the Indians, but Chicago’s pitching was also a major contributor to the White Sox’s fourth straight loss.
And it came on a night when the first-place Twins lost at home to Kansas City 8-1 — on the heels of their three-game sweep of Chicago that knocked the White Sox into second place.
Trying to regroup Friday, the White Sox faltered again.
Chicago hurlers gave up 10 hits, issued six walks, including one with the bases loaded, threw two wild pitches — one scoring a run — hit two batters and committed a balk.
“I already got mad. I broke up stuff in the clubhouse. I get to the point I just wanted to start laughing,” Guillen said. “I don’t have any choice, just because it’s something you can’t even try to do what we did today. I think that’s the worst five or six innings I ever remember we went through in a long time. ... I think those guys out there should be a little embarrassed.”
The White Sox, still a half-game behind the Twins, have two games left against the Indians and possibly a makeup game Monday against Detroit, if needed.
“It is frustrating to look up there and see the team in front of you getting beat and losing and you can’t do anything with it,” Chicago’s Paul Konerko said. “I know it’s tough to stay positive when you look bad and it’s sloppy. But we’re still right there and crazy things have happened in this game.”
Cleveland lefty Scott Lewis (4-0) served up homers to Jermaine Dye, Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski during his five innings but got the victory.
Winless in six games on the White Sox’s home field before Friday, the Indians jumped on Chicago starter John Danks and reliever D.J. Carrasco in the fifth inning.
Trailing 4-3, Cleveland loaded the bases on two singles and a walk to start the inning before Shin-Soo Choo delivered a two-run single that finished Danks (11-9). Carrasco walked Jhonny Peralta to reload the bases before Garko homered over the wall beyond outstretched center fielder Brian Anderson, putting the Indians up 9-4.
“We have a lot of pride and we want to play hard for ourselves and our managers and the coaching staff,” Garko said.
When the White Sox won the World Series in 2005, they went into Cleveland and swept a three-game series over the final weekend to knock the Indians out of the wild card.
Revenge?
“That’s not something I ever look at,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “I don’t give a damn who wins between Chicago and Minnesota. I gave a damn what we do.”
Dye’s two-run shot, ending a 93 at-bat homerless streak, cut it to 9-6 in the bottom of the inning. But Mike MacDougal walked three in the sixth to load the bases again, and Ehren Wasserman continued the bullpen’s horrendous night by walking Gutierrez on four pitches to force in a run and make it 10-6.
Horacio Ramirez’s wild pitch in the seventh put the Indians up by five.
Konerko hit an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to make it 11-7, and pinch-hitter DeWayne Wise had an RBI single off Jensen Lewis in the eighth to make it 11-8. With two runners on, Lewis retired Dye to end the threat and pitched the ninth for his 13th save.
Chicago got four in the second for a 4-2 lead on homers by Konerko and Pierzynski and an RBI roller from Anderson. The inning included a pair of errors on Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera in his first game back from a three-game suspension for his role in a brawl with the Tigers.
Ben Francisco’s homer in the first gave the Indians a quick lead against Danks and they added another in the second on Josh Barfield’s RBI single.
Garko led off the fourth with a solo shot to cut Chicago’s lead to 4-3.
Notes: The Indians are not sure if 22-game winner Cliff Lee will make his scheduled start Sunday. Lee is dealing with some neck stiffness and played catch before Friday night’s game. ... White Sox LF Carlos Quentin had his broken right wrist X-rayed Friday and although it is healing properly, he still is not ready to take swings in a game.
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.
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.
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.