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.
ReutersQ: Personally, I think Kobe Bryant is overrated. I mean, right now, I believe he is the most talented in the NBA: talented, but not a winner. His three championship rings came from the leadership of Shaq. Don’t get me wrong, he was a big part of those championships, but we shouldn’t give Kobe credit like he has led a team to a championship yet. We honored Scottie Pippen and Robert Horry for their winning ways, but we never considered them to be among the elite. So we should probably just give Kobe credit the same way. What do you think?
— Jay, Anaheim, Calif.
A: I believe championships are merely part of the "great player" equation, and, frankly, an overrated part.
Were John Stockton and Karl Malone not great players because they didn't win titles?
And don't overstate Shaq single-handedly winning anything in L.A. Using your logic, one could argue that Shaq has never won anything without Kobe or Wade at his side. He had neither in Orlando and Phoenix and hasn't won at either stop.
No, Kobe is a great, great, great player, one of the best of his generation and, yes, also deserving of mention in the all-time debates.
Even if he doesn't win this year, it is because of his growth as a player and person that the Lakers were able to resurrect their hopes in the wake of the Shaq trade to Miami.
If LeBron is the best player in the game, Kobe is a close second. Ask general managers if they could have one player for next season which would they pick, and Kobe would draw plenty of mentions.
Debate the personality, if you wish. But there is no denying the brilliance of his performance. It can be argued that over the past two seasons, counting the entirety of the two seasons, that no player has been as productive or successful as Kobe.
Q: All things considered (Jamaal Tinsley's situation, Mike Dunleavy's injury, a ton of new faces this year, the challenge of regaining its fan base, salary-cap issues, etc.) Larry Bird & Co. have done an excellent job in the early stages of rebuilding a once-proud franchise. Obviously there's more work to be done, but is Indy headed in the right direction, or stuck in no-man's land?
— SFA, Indianapolis
A: Sorry, but I have to take the glass-half-empty approach with this one.
I don't sense any tangible step forward beyond the strides Danny Granger has made over the past three seasons, including his recent Most Improved Player selection.
Otherwise, the Pacers remain stuck with the awful contracts of Dunleavy and Troy Murphy, at salaries that far exceed any potential contributions.
Then there was last season's trade for T.J. Ford that, on one hand, did shed the contract of Jermaine O'Neal, but, on the other, hardly provided any tangible upgrade at point guard. In fact, it could be argued that Jarrett Jack offered more at the point last season than Ford.
Beyond that, Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush hardly stand as sure things, when it comes to any sort of youth movement. And it's not as if Tuesday's No. 13 lottery result did the franchise any favors.
No, the more you look at the situation, you not only have to wonder whether Jim O'Brien is the answer on the bench, but whether Bird has done anything to distinguish himself in the front office.
While talk of franchise relocation due to the arena terms at Conseco seems to have quieted, this stands as a franchise in a highly tenuous position, one, frankly, that is bordering on the edge of irrelevance.
Oh, and it doesn't even have available cap space for the 2010 free-agent free-for-all.
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
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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.