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.
 | SLIDE SHOW |
 |
Phils' Phans, Rays of Sunshine Both World Series teams have their supporters in race to the championship. |
From apathy to over the top?
For a decade, you couldn’t blame people for staying away from Tropicana Field. The Rays finished in last place in the American League East nine times in the first 10 years of existence, and never won more than 70 games in a season.
But somewhere along the way this year, the excuses disappeared under an avalanche of nearly unprecedented developments. Only the Rays have won a pennant with the lowest payroll in their league. Only one other team won a pennant after having the worst record in the majors in the previous season. Only two other teams won a pennant after 10 consecutive losing seasons.
Yet as late as Aug. 27th, the Rays drew a home crowd of less than 13,000. Their season average was around 22,000. It took Red Sox fans to help them pack Tropicana Field for a key September series.
The first four home playoff games attracted crowds of right around 35,000, and those totals jumped to just more than 40,000 when coverings were removed from distant sections of the dome.
|
No, these new Rays fans don’t just show up. They don ‘Rayhawk’ wigs to join the team’s fad started by outfielder Jonny Gomes. Or they go a step further, and actually cut their hair that way.
They start fights with Red Sox loyalists. And they clang those incessant cowbells — a trick out of the Sacramento Kings fans’ book, promoted by Rays management through giveaways, and video clips and ringing instructions on the stadium scoreboard.
"We've been losers for 10 years, and now everyone is jumping on the bandwagon," 51-year-old Mark Ferguson, a sports pub owner and former teacher, told the Associated Press.
"It's been indescribable," 52-year Dave Rosenberger told the AP as he attended a rambunctious Rays pep rally Monday. "The spirit is almost like going back to high school, before homecoming," Rosenberger said. "It's just incredible how it's brought this community together."
All of which has sparked a barrage of criticism on blog sites, message boards and chat rooms across the internet. Going from one extreme to the other apparently is too dramatic of a transformation for many to tolerate.
But it’s not as a dramatic a change as their new favorite team has undergone.
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 |
 | Slideshow |
 |
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.
