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 three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
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.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
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.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Now, that’s one costly snowball.
New York Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis was fined $10,000 by the NFL for throwing snow at fans following the team’s loss at Seattle on Sunday.
Several fans threw snowballs at New York players and staff as they walked off the field after the Seahawks’ 13-3 victory. As he approached the walkway leading to the locker room, Ellis reached into a pile of snow, picked up a large chunk and tossed it into the stands at Qwest Field, appearing to hit at least a few fans. No one was believed to have been injured.
Ellis said Tuesday that he wasn’t angry at the time, and there was no malicious intent on his part.
“It was all in fun,” he said.
Video of the incident originated on YouTube after a fan captured it on film and posted it on the site. As of early Tuesday afternoon, the 53-second clip had been viewed nearly 340,000 times. Several other Web sites have also posted links to the video.
“It was kind of like a little battlefield out there, so to speak,” Ellis said. “I mean, it was just all in fun, going to the locker room.”
According to an NFL spokesman, players are notified before each season that any contact with fans that potentially presents crowd-control issues and risk of injury is prohibited. Players are also informed that they must not confront fans during games and must leave any issues to security personnel.
Coach Eric Mangini thought his team was put in a dangerous predicament as it walked off the field, saying several people were pelted with snowballs.
“That situation in the stadium in general was not a very safe situation for anybody involved,” Mangini said. “That doesn’t justify us getting involved in it on the flip side of that. He understands that. We thought that there could’ve been more done to prevent what was happening in terms of the safety from snowballs coming down.”
Mangini seemed to indicate the Jets could file a formal complaint to the league regarding the behavior of Seattle’s fans.
“I wouldn’t want that to happen at our stadium,” he said. “I’m sure Seattle didn’t want that, either. It’s just something that hopefully can be avoided whether it’s us, Seattle, whoever in the future. You just don’t want someone to get struck and hurt in that environment.”
Mike Holmgren didn’t exactly condone the behavior of Seattle’s fans; he had to dodge snowballs as he made a victory lap around the perimeter of the field after his final home game as Seahawks coach. But he understood why the residents of this usually temperate region were firing away.
Sunday was only the second time in team history the Seahawks played at home in snow. They played in the Kingdome from 1976-99.
“First of all, the people at our stadium don’t see snow that much, so it had to be a tremendous novelty,” Holmgren said. “I know if my grandkids were up there, and there was a snowball sitting right there — and they’re good kids, they’re not mean kids — it’d be pretty hard for them not to throw it.”
Holmgren said when he was coach of the Packers from 1992-98, the stands in Green Bay were entirely cleared of snow before games to avoid incidents.
“No one got hurt, which is a good thing,” he said of Sunday. “And the best thing we can do probably is (improve) our preparation in getting the snow out of the stadium if it should ever happen again.”
Mangini said Ellis wouldn’t face additional discipline from the Jets, and the defensive captain would play Sunday in the regular-season finale at home against Miami.
It’s the latest troublesome incident involving Ellis, who was arrested for speeding and marijuana possession last month and could face a suspension next season under the league’s substance-abuse policy. The league is still reviewing that incident.
“I’m just continuing to go out and just play football,” Ellis said. “In the end, we’re all human.”
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.
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
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.