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.
 | NFL power rankings |
 |
Cowboys move up in power rankings NBCSports.com's experts weigh in with their choice for NFL's top teams, but you get your say. NBCSports.com |
NEW YORK - As much as NFL teams are feeling a financial squeeze already, commissioner Roger Goodell fears the economic downturn really could hit the league in early 2009, when tickets for next season go on sale.
“There’s no secret on sponsorship, advertising, licensing — those numbers are going to be impacted by the current climate. We’re aware of that,” Goodell said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday.
“We’re still, unfortunately, in the beginning stages of this. And most of our tickets are sold in the spring. And so ’09 is going to be more of a barometer of how impactful the economic environment’s going to be on the NFL.”
Asked if individual clubs already were having problems, Goodell replied: “Sure. Absolutely. For (a variety of) factors: What’s happening to sponsorship. What’s happening to licensees. What’s happening to our ticket holders, club seat holders, suite holders. This affects all of us.”
He would not identify particular teams or go into other financial specifics.
Goodell did note, however, that stadiums are still filling up on game days, and that the billions of dollars in TV rights fees — the main source of NFL revenue — continue to come in from long-term deals negotiated in 2005.
The downturn is starting to hit much of the sports world.
Major League Baseball attendance was down slightly this season, for example, and the LPGA Tour schedule will have three fewer events in 2009. With the problems faced by American automakers, NASCAR is finding sponsors harder to come by, has taken steps to cut costs by millions of dollars, and a couple of major teams merged.
“I don’t know if anyone of us felt it was going to be this bad,” Goodell said during a half-hour discussion in his office at the NFL’s Park Avenue headquarters.
Goodell addressed a variety of other topics, including:
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.
 | Slideshow |
 | Super Bowl XLVI shots See the best moments before, during and after the Giants' win over the Patriots more photos |
Latest from ProFootballTalk |
 | Video: Football from NBC Sports |
 Getty Images |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
 | 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.