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.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had 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.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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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1. Big Game Bob
Got a kick last winter when, suddenly, Bob Stoops forgot how to coach after Oklahoma lost its fourth straight BCS game. How the guy all 120 Division I programs would be giddy to have, had morphed into Ray Goff.
These are the games where Stoops makes every penny of his $3-plus million a year. Texas vs. Oklahoma, the game big money boosters want more than any.
There are two things that supersede all in Stoops' world: beating Texas and winning the Big 12. Winning the national title, with all the uncertainty of human polls, is a crapshoot.
Now, let's recap Stoops' nine years in Norman in the two games that matter: 11 wins, four losses. That's 6-3 vs. Texas, and 5-1 in the Big 12 Championship game.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd take those big-game numbers over just about anyone. And, in case anyone cares: Sooners QB Sam Bradford is the game's best pure passer, and the Longhorns are 96th in the nation in pass defense.
2. Wild thing
That nutty Mark Richt. The once stoic and steady coach has gone three shades of crazy on us. Last year, he forced his Georgia team to earn a personal foul against rival Florida to find a spark. This time, he's making everyone on the team pay for individual penalties.
Georgia is last in the nation in penalties at 10.6 per game, and Richt says he has a limit in place where the team discipline kicks in. He won't say how much, but don't be surprised if, after the 10th penalty against Tennessee this weekend, the entire team drops and gives him 20.
Then continues down the road to embarrassing the Vols.
3. Bucky and the band
So, this summer, at band camp ... We give you the Wisconsin Badgers, everyone. The rough and tough crawl-ball Badgers who have somehow blown leads the last two weeks against Michigan and Ohio State and could start the Big Ten season with three consecutive losses.
And all anyone can talk about is the Wisky band.
For those who believe college football athletes are spoiled, pampered babies who get away with things most students can't, check out a few of the revelations from the university investigation into hazing:
Maybe the Wisconsin band can get together with a few of JoePa's wayward Penn Staters (you know who you are, fellas), and discuss the appeal process at their respective hearings at the student judiciary committee.
4. Bucking for the BCS
I'm not kidding, I got a handful of angry emails from Tulsa fans about me nixing any thoughts of the Golden Hurricanes advancing to a BCS bowl game.
Just for that, I'm going to throw a sophomoric tantrum and put the whammy on Tulsa and good guy coach Todd Graham. Here comes SMU, baby.
Ten Things to Watch bonus: anyone outside the city limits of Tulsa who can name one player — ONE — on the roster gets 20 bucks.
5. The French connection
There should be an unwritten rule in smack talk: he who yaps, shouldn't be in the middle of an underachieving season.
LSU defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois, he of the huge potential and all of six tackles in four games, said earlier this week that LSU wants to take Timmy Terrific out of the game. Yet even after the fine folks in the LSU sports information department tweaked that statement, we are still left with this:
Time for Jean-Francois to Justifier. For those without French/Acadian heritage — or a few years of high school French — time to justify.
Or in LSU vernacular: walk the walk, Jack.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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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