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.
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New ties in Phoenix Dec. 19: Steve Nash talks about the changes in Phoenix, from new coaches to teammates. |
At least some fans may be wondering if Kerr’s moves have left Porter with a puzzle that’s too hard to put together. But remember to win a NBA championship a team has to have all the components that make that happen. In the best of all worlds, Porter molds the Suns so they have two huge plusses going for them. They can still run opponents off the court but also when needed, especially in the postseason, they can toughen in the trenches and succeed with a defensive minded, half-court game. His greatest challenge in pulling this off is how well he can find combinations of his personnel that click since the Suns’ roster has a mix of players who are either much more effective playing a wide-open style or much better suited to half-court basketball.
Kerr wouldn’t have changed the roster to the degree he has if he didn’t feel like the new look gives Phoenix a better chance of winning the Western Conference and playing for a NBA title. While some other top clubs in the West, namely the Lakers and the Suns’ playoff nemesis -- the Spurs -- will be tough hurdles for them to clear, Phoenix remains a forceful team, one from which 50 wins should come this season. In terms of the constitution of the team, the Suns are better now than they were a year ago. As they play more with each other and get better as a unit, they are going to cause more problems for opponents. Having O’Neal playing better and Richardson on board reinforces the notion the Suns should be a team to be reckoned with come the playoffs.
Kerr’s moves have been about addressing what he felt has kept the Suns from winning a NBA championship. They didn’t have a big potent force in the middle, their bench was lacking and in the playoffs they couldn’t grind it out half-court style and get the best of top-tier opponents.
Kerr admits if what he’s done works out, he’s a genius. If it doesn’t, he’ll be second guessed forever. He realizes the window of opportunity to win a championship for the cast he has assembled could very well be only this season and next. Nash, 34, isn’t getting any younger and either is O’Neal, 36. Both become free agents in the summer of 2010 as does Stoudemire, who is standing by his comments of earlier in the season that he has no preference on where he will play when he becomes a free agent. So when the Suns tip their 2010-11 season, it could be without Nash, O’Neal and Stoudemire. But even more of a question than that is will they have won a NBA championship by then?
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
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 Lin on on 'Linsanity' Knicks guard Jeremy Lin discusses the hype surrounding his recent rise in New York. |
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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.