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.
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.
APAfter Victorino's inning-ending groundout and an exchange with Kuroda, benches cleared and Ramirez had to be restrained after rushing in from left field. But come to think of it, Ramirez has been leading the Dodgers ever since he arrived, so what's one more time?
“Manny was more steamed than I was,'' Martin said. “I was trying to hold him back a bit.''
And about the time that Sly and the Family Stone's Why Can't We Be Friends blared over the PA system, also in the scrap was Phillies first-base coach Davey Lopes — who before the game, was part of the ceremonial first pitch with his longtime former Dodger infield mates Steve Garvey, Bill Russell and Ron Cey.
“You have teammates. You have to support them,'' Torre said. “I don't look at it as bad blood (between the two teams). It's baseball. I don't think this will be anything that is long-lasting.''
Whether it lasts or not, the Dodgers can point to two excellent starts in three games, with Derek Lowe — the author of the other one — coming back on three days rest for Game 4. And a comeback from an 0-2 deficit doesn't seem nearly as far-fetched as it did after Game 2 in Philadelphia.
Still, that scenario doesn't bode well as far as NLCS history goes. Only the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals have turned the trick and advanced to the World Series.
The Dodgers have never trailed 0-2 in an NLCS, but they have dropped the first two games in three different World Series — 1955, 1965 and 1981 — and every Dodgers fan knows how well those turned out.
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Two trends are working in the Dodgers favor for that pattern to continue: They are 24-9 at Dodger Stadium since the All-Star break, and in the Dodgers-Phillies season series that has totaled 11 games, the home team has won every one of them.
“Hopefully, we planted a seed of doubt (in the Phillies' minds),'' Torre said. “But these are two good clubs. You get to the post-season by being able to handle failure.''
Added Phillies manager Charlie Manuel: “Momentum in this game is huge. And the way they came out in the first inning, I would say they took it away from us for the night.''
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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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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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.
