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.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Carolina vs. Tampa Bay. Just the thought makes the Panthers and Buccaneers seethe.
"It's the age-old saying,'' Bucs defensive tackle Chris Hovan said. "They don't like us, we don't like them.''
Such is life in the NFC South, where no team has finished first in consecutive seasons and the past five champions have plummeted to last place the following year - a trend that Tampa Bay (3-2) hopes to stop in 2008.
Carolina (4-1) has won eight of 12 meetings between the teams since the formation of the division in 2002, including five straight at Raymond James Stadium, where the clubs tangle with first place on the line Sunday.
Ten-time Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks calls the series, dominated by Carolina since the Bucs swept the Panthers on the way to winning the Super Bowl six years ago, Tampa Bay's biggest rivalry.
Most of the games have been close, spiced with lots of pushing and shoving and a generous amount of trash-talking. The stakes generally are high, too, even if one of them is having an off year.
"Contrary to other people's opinion, I feel that this is the toughest division to win because every year the division champs have been another team,'' Brooks said. "After Sunday we will have played all three teams, and we don't face another division opponent until the end of November. So this is very important for us.''
Carolina, coming off a 34-0 rout of Kansas City, is eying its first 5-1 start since 2003, when the Panthers won the division title and went on to appear in the Super Bowl. They haven't lost in Tampa in six years.
"Any time you dominate from start to finish on both sides of the ball and in the kicking game, that's impressive,'' Bucs coach Jon Gruden said of Carolina's destruction of the Chiefs, a team that upset Denver two weeks ago.
The Broncos turned around and beat Tampa Bay 16-13 last Sunday.
"I had to turn the film off and go for a walk. I got a little nervous, you know what I mean?'' Gruden joked.
"That was a big victory for Carolina and that was a great win on the road to start the season at San Diego. ... They have been very stingy on defense and they're very clearly a confident bunch.''
But there's also reason for the Panthers to be wary.
With Brian Griese at less than 100 percent after injuring his throwing elbow and shoulder against Denver, the more mobile Jeff Garcia likely will regain the starting quarterback job he lost after a poor performance in Tampa Bay's season opener.
Garcia has beaten the Panthers four straight times, including his only start against them last year in Charlotte. With the Bucs already assured the division title, he and several other starters sat out Carolina's win in Tampa on Dec. 30.
"He's going to present a challenge as far as the secondary goes to stay with our wide receivers a little bit longer than maybe Griese,'' Panthers cornerback Ken Lucas said, adding that Carolina's defense can play better even better than in its shutout of Kansas City.
"It's scary to think that we shut somebody out and we still have room for improvement. I think we do. We're still not where we want to be.''
The Bucs anticipate a smooth transition on offense. In addition to leading them to the playoffs last year and starting the season opener, Garcia came off the bench and played fairly well after Griese was hurt last week.
"It's not like I haven't played at all. I've worked with pretty much all of these guys all of last year and a good part of this year,'' Garcia said.
"For me, it's an exciting time because I feel like there's an opportunity that might be presented there. I just want to be able to get back in and be the guy that I was for this team last year, the guy that I feel I'm capable of being. If I'm given that opportunity then hopefully I can run with it and make the most out of it.''
Either way, the Panthers expect to have their hands full.
"They are a little bit different,'' Carolina coach John Fox said. "I don't want to get into those differences, but they are both very qualified. They've started a lot in this league and they are both veteran quarterbacks that have played in the West Coast offense.''
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.
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.
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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.
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.