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.
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.
APOther teams feel the same, and Sabathia would like to pitch on the West Coast and in the National League. But money tends to talk in these situations, and the Steinbrenner bank account fairly screams. If Cashman and the Steinbrenners want Sabathia, they’ll get him.
Burnett should be the next target. He won 18 games for the Blue Jays and pitched 221 innings after several years broken up by various injuries. He’s not a total stud and his ERA tends to run around 4.00. But he’s 31, in his prime, and a proven commodity.
Of the other available free-agent starters, Big Ben Sheets is the most dominating, but he is also injured a lot. His won-lost record is also barely above .500. Better to grab Lowe, who’s a 35-year-old ground-ball pitcher who helped Boston win the World Series in 2004 before moving to the Dodgers. He’s not a top-of-the-rotation guy, but he wins more than he loses, almost never misses a start, and eats up innings. If you had a choice of keeping Pettitte or getting Lowe, it should be a no-brainer: Lowe’s the man.
If the Yankees got Sabathia, Burnett and Lowe, it would free them to trade Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy, both of whom flopped last year. It also will allow them to put Joba Chamberlain back in the bullpen, where he can spend the year as Mariano Rivera’s understudy with an eye toward taking over as closer in 2010.
Chamberlain was a terrific reliever, but last year the Yankees moved him into the rotation. He showed promise there, but he ended up injured. Already the Yankees are talking about limiting his innings next year, which is absurd for a 22-year-old kid who should be able to pitch all day without feeling it. He belongs in the bullpen.
Better to get proven starters in the primes of their careers than to hope that Chamberlain will last a full season or that Hughes and Kennedy will discover how to pitch. Tampa Bay may have time to wait for kid pitchers to mature. The Yankees don’t.
The arms are out there, and they’re proven commodities. All it will take to land them is money. And the Yankees have plenty of that.
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 |
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.
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.
