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.
Getty ImagesThe matchup
Tiki Barber, NBC Sports: I think Tampa did a service to Jeff Garcia by starting Brian Griese over him and he came back with a sense of urgency. I think he's their guy, but the team had started to lose confidence in him and he needed this kind of spark.
Matt Ufford, With Leather: The Seahawks, preseason favorites to win the NFC West for the fifth consecutive year, have suffered an embarrassing implosion borne from injuries and substandard coaching. The wide receiver corps, once depleted of its top six receivers, is still starting a collection of has-beens, never-wuzzes, and Bobby Engram. Matt Hasselbeck is injured, and Seattle will start either Charlie Frye or a hobbled Seneca Wallace. And if Wallace can’t elude defenders with his speed, he may as well be Charlie Frye.
Seattle’s defense, which featured four Pro Bowl starters last year, has been hamstrung by rookie Lawrence Jackson’s difficulty adjusting to NFL linemen, the all-around awfulness of free safety Brian Russell, and some suspect formations by defensive coordinator John Marshall.
What are Tampa Bay’s strengths? It doesn’t particularly matter. The team that Seattle puts out there will look like a preseason lineup, with shoddy special teams (see the Week 1 loss in Buffalo) and a lame-duck coach whose playoff aspirations have been essentially erased.
Filling in for Madden
Cris Collinsworth, NBC Sports: Nobody has meant more to me in my broadcastcareer than John Madden. He taught me how to watch the game as broadcaster. He has treated my family as his own. He even asked me to be the voice of Madden '09. I'm thrilled that I can finally do something for him after all he has done for me.
Prediction
Ufford: I suppose there’s a chance that the Bucs can make enough mistakes to lose the game, but as a die-hard Seahawks fan I’ll only be watching out of morbid curiosity. Wait, this is the NBC website? Oh. Well, uh, should be a great game! Be sure to tune in!
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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Making it happen Oct. 12: From Jason Elam to Jeff Garcia, Peter King talks about the players who made the big plays in Week 6. |
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Deadline headlines Oct. 12: Peter King debates which teams should be negotiating as the trade deadline approaches. |
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.
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.