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.
APJoePa isn’t looking down at you, he’s just, well, seated high above you
Penn State earns a trip to Pasadena for their 81-year-old head coach if they can defeat Michigan State (9-2) in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions, however, have failed to stuff big-time backs this season (Shonn Greene, 122 yards; Jacquizz Rodgers, 99) and the Spartans’ Javon Ringer may be the best they’ve faced.
Coach Paterno has made no overtures about retirement, but he moves about as well as Tony Sacca these days and, after all, he was born in the same year as Cloris Leachman. Might this be his final game coaching in Beaver Stadium?
Terror in Tucson
Last November, Oregon took its 8-1 record, its Rose Bowl (if not greater) aspirations and its Heisman-race quarterback, Dennis Dixon, to the desert to face a middling 4-6 Arizona team. Dixon tore his ACL, the Ducks lost and Oregon was relegated to the Sun Bowl.
This Saturday, their neighbors from Corvallis trek to the desert. The Wildcats at home in November are even more dangerous than Lute Olson’s ex-wife: In each of the past three seasons they have toppled a Top 10 visitor.
Oregon State (7-3) needs to win its final two games to play in the school’s first Rose Bowl since the 1964 season. And a win tonight sets up potentially the most anticipated Civil War since smooth-bore rifles were all the rage. But first the Beavers and freshman tailback Jacquizz Rodgers, the Pac-10’s leading rusher, must elude this Sonoran ambush.
The ABC Saturday Night Western
The Big 12 South has had a longer prime-time run this autumn than “My Own Worst Enemy” which, by the way, it sort of is. This Saturday night’s colossal clash pits No. 2 Texas Tech at No. 5 Oklahoma and I’ll make it as simple as possible: Should the Red Raiders win, they get to grapple with Missouri in the conference championship game and then it’s on to the national championship game. Should the Sooners prevail, expect President-elect Obama to issue his first executive order, as that will set up a three-way tie between Tech, OU and Texas that would be settled by the BCS standings.
In other words, it would hang on a whim and a prayer (oddly, only two of these three coaches vote in the coaches' poll).
Five items to bore your friends with as you wait for the ultimate seizure plate to arrive:
So there you have it. Put your feet up, Alabama, Texas and USC (and your fans). We’ll miss you, but you’ll be able to watch the season’s most intriguing Saturday.
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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Sooners, magic and aliens, oh my! Nov 19: Texas Tech coach Mike Leach talks with John Walters about magic, aliens and of course, his team's matchup with Oklahoma. |
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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 |
 | Special feature |
 | BCS Busters Taking a look at the non-BCS teams that have the biggest chances of getting to a BCS bowl. NBCSports.com |
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 | Stoops ready for Red Raiders Nov 19: John Walters interviews Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops about the Sooners' upcoming game with undefeated Texas Tech. |
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.