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.
PBT: Jeremy Lin wasn't his hot self on Saturday, but he still led the Knicks to victory.
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.
 | Video |
 |
Best bullpens
The Phillies and Dodgers finished 1-2 in the NL in bullpen ERA, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that neither staff allowed a run in relief through the first two games of the league championship series.
“They’re kind of like us. If they’re down a couple of runs, they’ve got guys they can bring in to keep the game right there and give their team a chance to come back. That’s why we’ve both been successful,” Dodgers lefty Joe Beimel said. “They were the top bullpen in the league, so you definitely can’t ignore that. They’ve got a closer who hasn’t blown a save all year, and they’ve got the guys to bridge the gap between the starter and him.”
The Phillies were a major league-best 79-0 during the regular season when leading after eight innings. The only other teams with perfect records were the Yankees (77-0) and Giants (60-0). Brad Lidge was the only prefect closer, converting all 41 save opportunities with setup help from Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero.
“Those guys don’t get enough credit,” Lidge said. “They’ve been doing it all year long. I mean, what Madson’s been doing the last month and a half is just extraordinary. I’d say, from top to bottom, this is the best bullpen I’ve ever been on. There’s no weakness down there. There’s no one you can say can’t get the job done in important, close-game situations.”
The Dodgers’ bullpen finished the season with a 3.33 ERA, just 14 points higher than Philadelphia.
“We’ve been feeding off each other in the bullpen all year. It’s been awesome,” said closer Jonathan Broxton, who took over and converted 14 of 16 save opportunities after Takashi Saito went on the disabled list July 13 with sprained right elbow.
Surgery for Proctor
Dodgers reliever Scott Proctor, who hasn’t participated in the postseason, is scheduled to undergo surgery on his pitching elbow Wednesday.
The team said the 31-year-old right-hander has a partially torn flexor tendon, which will be repaired, and a spur in the back of his elbow that will be shaved down. Proctor is expected to be recovered by spring training.
Proctor, 2-0 with a 6.05 ERA in 41 games with 46 strikeouts in 38 2-3 innings, missed 63 games because of tendinitis in his elbow before being activated from the disabled list on Sept. 1.
Los Angeles manager Joe Torre said Proctor told him recently he’d like to have the surgery as soon as possible if he wasn’t in the Dodgers’ postseason plans.
“We talked about it in Philadelphia the other day, I told him to go ahead and do it,” Torre said.
The Dodgers got a boost out of the bullpen Friday in Game 2 when 23-year-old right-hander James McDonald, who spent most of the season in the minors, worked 3 1-3 scoreless innings.
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.
HardballTalk headlines |
 | Interactive |
 |
 | Slideshow |
 | Unbreakable records in baseball A look at the most unbreakable records in baseball including Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters. |
| Slideshow |
 | The top tools of baseball You hear a lot about the tools of baseball, but who are the best hitters, fielders and pitchers? We break it down. more photos |
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.
NBC Sports TV and livestream listings
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.