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.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had 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.
Joel Quenneville is exonerated: Monday's firing of Colorado Avalanche GM Francois Giguere is the final piece to proving Quenneville was correct in his player decisions and Giguere was wrong. We'll now accept appeals to this decision.
Trouble is, the Avalanche had to suffer through the just-finished season with Gigeure calling the shots on personnel and Tony Granato coaching. Giguere is packing out of Denver, but it appears Granato will get a chance to stick around for a while. One question: Why?
OK, Granato is a first-rate guy, but he's done squat in two stints as Avalanche coach. OK, he kept his composure through a trying season, but his team finished last in the Western Conference. OK, he was forced to use a lineup hamstrung by injuries, but he motivated ... anybody? Nobody?
Last place in the West, 28th overall and a fan desertion rate that screams depression prompted old pal Adrian Dater of the Denver Post to write this: "Only Bear Stearns and two Eastern Conference teams had uglier numbers than the Avs this year, and the two questions at the top of most fans' lists are: How did things get so bad?"
The second question was whether Giguere would be held accountable. Monday, he paid.
Now, here's what the Avs need to do to get out of this mess:
Clean house
Give Joe Sakic an ultimatum: Sign a cut-rate deal now or move on. That'll sting, but Sakic isn't a front-line player anymore, and his indecision before last season cost the Avs plenty. They waited for him, let capable replacements skate away and got little in return.
The Avs also need to get younger, faster and more talented with the best players available in the team's development system. This season's M*A*S*H unit on ice allowed tryouts for plenty of prospects. The best stay; the rest can take up permanent residence with AHL Lake Erie or elsewhere. Anyone on the ice that doesn't make it in the sharp-eyed evaluation of boss man Pierre Lacroix should plan on a change of address.
And veterans who couldn't make a difference? Take a hike. By all indications, Tyler Arnason should be the trail blazer — even though nobody wants to go with him.
The Avs are up against the salary cap again next season. Spend the $13 million available on young talent, whack away at the 13 signed players to create more cap space and bring speed and youth back into the lineup.
Find a goaltender
Enough of the Peter Budaj-Andrew Raycroft experiment. Neither guy can win the No. 1 job. Go into free agency with a mandate to sign the best goalie on the market. Avs fans are accustomed to the best — Roy. Find his replacement, something the Avs haven't done since he retired.
Trouble is, that cap figure means they won't be able to lure, say, Nikolai Khabibulin without blowing the cap and/or the roster to smithereens. Vesa Toskala, for example, might be closer to the acceptable salary range. Or, sign Scott Clemmensen.
Make scouts accountable
Differences on using prospects versus veterans marked the tipping point of Quenneville's tenure. The scouts won over Giguere; Quenneville split. Either the amateur and pro scouts find talent or they don't. If they don't, they start looking for jobs. Judging by recent scouting decisions, a change would be good.
Make a decision on Granato ASAP
Don't let those Patrick Roy rumors hang around too long. In fact, Lacroix should hire his GM first, and then let him hire the coach, if Granato isn't his man. If Lacroix wants his old job back, fine, though it's unlikely. The next GM should be a sharp judge of talent from a winning organization whose focus is acquisition and development of young talent. We trust Lacroix will find that guy. He could do worse than talking to Mike Ricci first. His experience with the Sharks front office at least merits a chance to work as Lacroix's pupil.
We wish the Avalanche luck with their rebuilding program. Too bad they let this go too long. But remember the last time this franchise was awful? Those bleak days in Quebec set in motion the Avs' glory days. And looking at other teams in the West that rose — or are rising — from the dead gives hope of rebirth.
We think even Quenneville will look kindly on that.
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.
Check out highlights from the Rangers 3-2 win over the Capitals.
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
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.
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.
Paul Pierce has been around long enough to know what Rajon Rondo's performance can mean for the aging Boston Celtics.
