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.
APHow well the Royals fill in the rotation behind Meche and Greinke will go a long way towards determining if they can make noise in the AL Central and wild-card race. The top candidates in the mix for starting spots are Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies, Luke Hochevar, Horacio Ramirez, and Heath Phillips.
Davies closed strong last season, posting impressive September numbers (2.27 ERA, and a 0.92 WHIP). He has pretty good control of his fastball, and he’s no longer trying to overthrow that pitch. He is just staying within himself. The Royals have reasons to be looking for a lot from Davies this season, but he still must go out on the hill and get it done.
The Royals have an All-Star closer in Joakim Soria, who last season cashed in on 42 of 45 save opportunities, and posted a 1.60 ERA. He has outstanding control, and he has an excellent changeup along with a big, slow curveball with great arm action. He has no fear, and even under the most pressurized situations, he relaxes and goes about his business.
The critical bullpen question this season will not be whether Soria’s that good again, but rather how well Kansas City does in getting games to him to save. Key set-up relievers Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez were dealt away in the trades for Crisp and Jacobs.
Free agent Kyle Farnsworth signed a two-year, $9.25 million deal so you can bet Moore is hoping he can be part of the puzzle in making sure Soria gets plenty of chances to close games. If Ron Mahay can bounce back from an injured foot, he’ll frequently be called upon, and other possible key late-inning relievers include Doug Waechter, and Juan Cruz.
What the Rays did last season has to inspire an organization like Kansas City. The Royals look at Tampa Bay, and tell themselves if the Rays started the season as a basket case and wound up with hardware for their trophy case, why not us doing the same thing?
Indeed, why not?
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.
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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.