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.
APQ. What are the chances that Ivan Rodriguez will become an Astro?
— Ramon Espinosa, McAllen, Texas
A. That appeared to be a possibility until as recently as Wednesday, when Astros general manager Ed Wade removed all doubt by telling MLB.com: “We're not signing Pudge. Put that one to rest. We have no expectation to sign Pudge.''
The issue was raised again in light of a recent MRI done on Toby Hall's right shoulder. Hall is one of four Astros catchers — Humberto Quintero, J.R. Towles and Rule 5 pick Lou Palmisano are the others — who are vying for two jobs in the wake of Brad Ausmus' departure.
The Marlins remain a possibility to sign Rodriguez, 37, who has been holding out in case the Mets have interest. But the Marlins' current plan is to go with two inexperienced catchers in John Baker and Mike Rabelo, as they will have the game's lowest payroll — projected to be around $33 million.
The Mets have said they don't have interest in Rodriguez despite his longtime ties to Mets general manager Omar Minaya.
What Rodriguez may have to do is wait for an injury that will create a need for some team. In the meantime, he will be a part of Puerto Rico's entry in the World Baseball Classic, and perhaps can impress a big-league team enough to get signed.
Rodriguez needs only 54 more games behind the plate to move past Carlton Fisk (2,226) as the all-time leader. He also is sitting on 2,605 career hits.
Q. If you could guess five minor-league players with virtually no major-league experience who could make real contributions this season, who would be your picks?
— Carl Falls, Vancouver, Wash.
A. Well, Rays left-hander David Price has only five games and 14 innings of regular-season big-league experience. But we'll leave him out of this, since everybody already knows about him, and he's clearly the AL Rookie of the Year favorite at this point. So here are a few more names:
A few more include Blue Jays OF Travis Snider, Braves RHP Tommy Hanson, and A's LHP Brett Anderson and A's RHP Trevor Cahill.
Q. What, if any, moves do the Phillies need to make?
— Steve Aldrich, Doylestown, Pa.
A. It's not going to be easy for the Phils to defend their NL pennant, but there also is little doubt they have one of the league' best rosters.
But will the motivation and edge remain? That, to me, is the biggest challenge facing the Phillies — that and an improved Mets bullpen.
Already, there is the potential pitfall of Chase Utley trying to come back from surgery on his right hip — although manager Charlie Manuel says it's possible Utley will be ready for Opening Day.
And as much as we love Jamie Moyer, we can't be expecting another 16-win, 3.71-ERA season at age 46. That makes the signing of Chan Ho Park a potentially underrated one.
As for the Pat Burrell-for-Raul Ibanez change — nothing against Ibanez, who is a proven run producer. But the lineup needed a right-handed bat, not another lefty, especially with the bench including three more left-handed bats in Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs and Geoff Jenkins.
And rarely does a team replace a 32-year-old with a 37-year-old, although neither is anything close to a Gold Glove candidate. Finally, Ibanez isn't going to match Burrell's home-run and on-base-percentage totals, two key lineup ingredients.
I have picked the Phils to finish behind the Mets in the NL East, and be the wildcard. That order very well could be reversed, especially if the Phils stay focused and motivated to repeat.
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.
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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.
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.