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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Tommy Bowden steps down Oct. 13: Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden says his quitting is best thing for the team. |
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Five reasons by Tommy Bowden is out at Clemson:
1. Win-loss record. Obviously. But even before this season of underachieving -- Clemson is 3-3 after starting the year ranked No. 9 and being picked to win the ACC -- the Tigers under Bowden lost games they should've won and won games they should've lost. That's a sure sign of a program in trouble, and one with little internal direction and leadership. You can't lose to Duke and beat Miami in the same season. Or lose to Wake Forest and beat Tennessee.
2. He lost control of the team. Players were bickering more and more after each loss, and then Bowden announced after last week's loss to Wake Forest that he was benching quarterback Cullen Harper, a senior captain, in favor of redshirt freshman Willy Korn. Bowden said he was looking for "a spark" in the offense, even though Harper has been playing behind an inexperienced and beat-up offensive line and has dealt with receivers dropping balls all season. Bowden essentially blamed Harper for the team's struggles -- and nothing could be further from reality.
3. He stayed too long with offensive coordinator Rob Spence. Bowden, like his father, Bobby, is big on staff continuity. He believes like minds get teams through rough patches. Spence had a few uneven seasons, but Bowden stuck with him. That loyalty likely cost Bowden his job. According to sources, Bowden was feeling pressure to fire Spence after last week's loss to Wake Forest. Spence also lost his job Monday.
The offense played well last year -- and Harper had a huge season -- because the line could pass block. Different story this fall, and Spence never adjusted. The young unit is decent at run blocking, and Spence didn't get the ball to dynamic tailbacks James Davis and C.J. Spiller nearly enough -- but kept trying pass calls with five- and seven-step drops.
For three seasons, Spence never consistently found a way to get Spiller, one of the game's fastest players, alone in matchup advantages. Davis and Spiller have combined for 121 carries in six games this season -- or 20 carries a game.
4. The team never developed an identity. The Tigers were so erratic under Bowden because there was never a foundation or philosophy to embrace. It's well known around the league that Clemson can't brawl and doesn't get physical. "They try to out-athlete you," says one ACC coach. "You never had to be concerned that they were going to line up and trade punches with you. That comes from up top and works its way down."
A team without an identity is eventually a team without a coach. More than a few Alabama players said Clemson quit in the third quarter of the season-opening loss to the Tide.
5. He was never embraced by the Clemson community. Think about that concept: This was Bowden's 10th season, yet there were many big-money boosters who never felt like he was the right coach for the job. There was constant bickering among the school's legendary booster club IPTAY, and Bowden was seemingly always considered on the proverbial hot seat.
ACC and national championship expectations simply made the obstacles too tough to overcome when the same Clemson team showed up this fall.
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 |
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.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
