Super Bowl XLVI
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.
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.
T.J. Oshie scored the only goal in the shootout and relief goal Brian Elliott was perfect as the St. Louis Blues beat New Jersey 4-3 on Thursday night to end the Devils five-game winning streak.
PBT: On paper this was a battle of seven seeds. But once the Celtics and Lakers locked horns on Thursday night, it felt like a matchup from grander times.
Beyond the Arc: Racers no long sport an unbeaten record, but they're still capable of making an NCAA tournament run.
CFT: To address safety concerns, the NCAA is proposing that kickoffs be moved from the 30 to 35-yard line and touchbacks moved out to the 25-yard line next season.
By most standards, Tiger Woods’ 68 at the AT&T would be considered solid. But he’s not particularly pleased, which is trouble for the field.
Rafa Nadal rips a "general campaign" in France to discredit Spanish athletes by implying their success is due to the use of illegal drugs.
Manchester City will find at least three highly motivated players in its way Sunday when it tries to improve upon its flagging away form in the Premier League at Aston Villa.
All that stuff about the Olympic ideal, how it's all about taking part, not winning, can often seem like so much hot air, rendered hopelessly quaint and outdated by the ultra-competitive and mercenary world of modern sport. Until, that is, you speak to Kieran Behan.
Nick Diaz’s hopes for a UFC interim championship rematch have gone up in smoke after the welterweight star flunked a drug test on the weekend of UFC 143.
AP
PHOENIX - Kurt Warner wound up right where he wanted to be, with a hefty pay raise to return to the Arizona team he led to the Super Bowl.
The 37-year-old quarterback agreed to terms Wednesday on a two-year, $23 million contract with the Cardinals.
“I love what we’ve been doing,” Warner said. “I love what we’ve been building here.”
The deal includes a $15 million signing bonus. Combined with a $4 million salary for the first year of the contract, $19 million is guaranteed.
“We’re ecstatic about the commitment the organization has made to us,” Warner said. “Now it’s my job for the next two years to go fulfill my part of the deal.”
He believes it’s his final NFL contract.
“You never say never,” Warner said, “but I’m old.”
He had talked about needing time after the season to decide whether to retire, a thought that turned out to be fleeting.
“Probably two days after the Pro Bowl all that was on my mind was football,” Warner said. “I told my wife, ’Sorry honey, it’s not time.”’
He said he understands that he’s getting a lot of money in a time of financial hardship for so many.
“You know the numbers are staggering, and to add to that the economy and where people are struggling, it’s tough,” Warner said. “But all I know is I’ve worked hard to get to the point that I’m at, to be in this position and have opportunities like this and I don’t regret that fact.
“The fact is that’s the market for what I do. I’m fortunate for that and I’m blessed in so many ways.”
Warner and his wife Brenda made a highly publicized visit to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, but he said he knew quickly that he wanted to return to the Cardinals.
“I told my wife probably 45 minutes into it that I just felt God say ’You’re supposed to be in Arizona,”’ Warner said, “and I told her that. She tried to tell me to stay open, but He just continued to confirm it.”
While the 49ers are planning a run-oriented offense, the Cardinals were among the best passing teams in the NFL, with a trio of outstanding receivers in Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston.
Warner said the 49ers made him an offer that was larger than the one he agreed to in Arizona. But on the flight back from San Francisco, he said he called his agent Mark Bartelstein and told him to do what was necessary to get the Cardinals deal done.
Initially, Warner had sought to be among the top five paid quarterbacks in the NFL, about $14.5 million a year. But on Tuesday, Bartelstein offered Arizona a two-year, $23 million deal. The Cardinals initially had offered two years and $20 million.
The deal was essentially reached on Tuesday, Cardinals general manager Rod Graves said, with only a few details to be ironed out on Wednesday.
“We wanted to come up with a number that was fair to Kurt, and to be able to do that within the context of other team objectives,” Graves said.
The Cardinals now turn their attention to possible free agent signings and new contracts for some of their current players, including safety Adrian Wilson and linebacker Karlos Dansby.
Earlier in the negotiations, Warner had offered to give $1 million a year of his contract toward a new deal for Boldin, but that provision wasn’t in the final agreement.
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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Steve Prohm had never lost a game as a head coach. He doesn't think much of what his first loss will do for his sleeping habits.
Pau Gasol blocked Ray Allen's putback attempt at the buzzer in overtime and the Los Angeles Lakers held on to beat the Boston Celtics 88-87 on Thursday night.
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.