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 file“It’s insulting to think you would vote based on how it affects you financially,” Kiwanuka said. “I had that conversation even before I got my signing bonus. It’s a matter of general policy and what you believe in and what that person stands for. ... When you look at it, I spent the majority of my life with an average upbringing to say the least, and that has shaped how I vote a lot more than the last couple of years living this lifestyle.”
Torn between the two arguments is Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot. He was one of the few Washington players to publicly support Sen. John Kerry four years ago, but this time he has yet to make up his mind.
“We’re coming from Democratic backgrounds, but we got Republican money right now,” Smoot said. “That’s kind of hard, because you see it from both sides.”
The spike in interest isn’t limited to the NFL. NBA superstar LeBron James attended an Obama rally last weekend in Cleveland, while Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling appeared with McCain at a NASCAR race in New Hampshire last month.
NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs addressed this year’s Republican National Convention, and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has dished out unsolicited advice to both candidates on his popular blog.
Politics can be a touchy subject for athletes. Some find the topic too polarizing to discuss for public consumption. Others have never voted and simply have no interest.
“I was one of those people who was registered, tried to do the absentee ballot thing in ’04, and didn’t get it done,” Redskins cornerback Leigh Torrence said. “This year I’ll make sure that’s not the case.”
Torrence is making up for lost ground in other ways. He and teammate Lorenzo Alexander attended a voter registration drive last month in Richmond, Va., and he’s been trying to get as many of his teammates registered as possible. Fujita has made a similar push with the Saints, encouraging teammates to register to vote in Louisiana.
Not everyone feels politics belongs in the locker room. On Wednesday, before Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn introduced McCain at a rally in Strongsville, Ohio, Browns coach Romeo Crennel told his players in a team-wide address that he didn’t want to hear political debates on the job.
“Their politics are their politics as long as they don’t interfere with the team,” Crennel said. “That’s my main concern, that they don’t get on a soapbox here in the locker room and get it going back and forth about a particular candidate against another candidate. That’s why the ballot is a secret ballot when you go vote.
“(Quinn) took the time to do that, but as long as he keeps it outside the building and outside the team, that’s his choice.”
Four years ago, it was not uncommon to find Bush-leaning athletes unwilling to speak openly about their preference because they didn’t want to be perceived as voting against their ideals just to get a better tax rate. Some who went public for Kerry were chided by teammates because Kerry, like Obama this year, proposed raising taxes on the wealthy.
This year, the dynamic appears to have shifted. Several players said the locker room banter suggests many of their teammates are mirroring Daniels’ example and switching from Republican to Democrat. If the Redskins were a state, there was little question that Bush would have won its electoral votes in 2004. Asked what would happen this year, Smoot said: “It’s a blue state.”
“There might be some years where honestly you’re like, ’Hey, what might be best for me fiscally,’ and you may feel like a Republican slant may be a little more appropriate,” New York Giants defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. “But I think after Bush’s reign of terror, you know, and what we are seeing out of Sarah Palin, I think regardless of your financial station, I think it is pretty easy to support Obama.”
That’s not to say McCain doesn’t have a solid core of supporters. After putting his absentee ballot in the locker, Albright emphasized that his preference for the Republican had as much to do with experience as taxes.
“McCain’s been in office his whole life,” Albright said. “I like somebody who’s experienced. He’s not going to make a quick, rash decision. If I’m having heart surgery, I want somebody who’s done it before.”
Kansas City Chiefs center Rudy Niswanger called himself “a McCain man, for all the obvious reasons.”
“I appreciate the sacrifice and courage he’s shown,” Niswanger said, “and I think experience is very important in that job.”
The dilemma gives some a reason to opt out of the process entirely.
“I don’t think I’m going to vote,” said Washington running back Clinton Portis, the Redskins star known for his colorful opinions. “Because I make Republican income, but I need the Democrats in office, so which way do I go?”
That’s one electoral decision that doesn’t sit well with Torrence, who has worked so hard to get his teammates involved in the process.
“Regardless of what your beliefs are,” Torrence said, “I think it’s your responsibility to vote.”
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.
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.