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.
AP3. Wrigley Field, Chicago. OPENED: 1914. SEATS: 41,118.
The field box poseurs accuse the Old Style army of not taking the baseball seriously enough. From the bleachers and rooftops comes this resounding response: Baseball? Seriously, what's not to love from any vantage point? The ivy, the marquee, the hand-operated scoreboard, the telltale flags, the low, red brick wall near the dugouts, the ball hawks on Waveland. Day baseball. This is the setting in which the game was meant to be played
3 REASONS WE LOVE WRIGLEY
1. The scoreboard flags. The flags atop the scoreboard in center field can tell you a lot: who's where in the standings, whether the wind is blowing in or out and, after the game, whether the Cubs won or lost.
RYAN DEMPSTER, Cubs starting pitcher: "It's fun when you're hitting. You get a fly ball up and think you maybe have a chance of getting a homer. But for me, as a pitcher, I don't really concern myself with whether the flags are blowing in or out. I just try to make pitches. And a lot of times when the wind's blowing straight out, it ends up making my split(-finger fastball) a little better or helping the movement on my fastball because you've got the wind in your face and a little bit of friction and things like that. I actually don't even mind it when it's blowing out because I'm trying to get a little movement anyway. There are some days, though, when I'm thinking, 'I'm glad I'm not pitching today,' when it's blowing out at 50 miles per hour. But it's not something where I'd ever come to the ballpark and say, 'Hey, Lou, can you push me back a day because the flags are blowing out?' "
2. The Ivy-covered brick wall. Bill Veeck, best known as a promoter extraordinaire with the White Sox, also left a lasting and unique legacy on the North Side in 1937, when he planted ivy along the base of the outfield fence.
REED JOHNSON, Cubs outfielder: "The ivy gets thicker during the summertime, but when you hit it going at a top speed, that's not really going to pad it for you. Even when you're just drifting back, you know it's there, and you're thinking about it. But I like having the ivy out there. That's what Wrigley Field is all about. When you think about Wrigley Field, it's the ivy. That's just part of the game."
3. Wrigleyville. If you want to get technical, the neighborhood is a subsection of the Lakeview area, but Wrigleyville's restaurants and bars make it a destination on game days (and nights), even if you don't have a ticket.
RANDY WELLS, Cubs rookie starting pitcher: "I remember the first time I got here, I got off the train, it was a 2 o'clock game, so, it's like 10:30 in the morning, and the streets were packed, the vendors were out, the people were all over in good moods. They're at the bars. Guys are selling tickets, guys are waiting for home run balls in BP. It was amazing. It's special. It really is."
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.
HardballTalk headlines |
 | Interactive |
 |
 | Slideshow |
 | Unbreakable records in baseball A look at the most unbreakable records in baseball including Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters. |
| Slideshow |
 | The top tools of baseball You hear a lot about the tools of baseball, but who are the best hitters, fielders and pitchers? We break it down. more photos |
 | Slideshow |
 |
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.
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.