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 three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
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.
AP
BOSTON - Josh Beckett’s 100th career victory may have been his best
The Red Sox ace capped a brilliant first half of the season with a three-hitter, joining teammate Tim Wakefield as the only 11-game winners in the AL as the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-0 Sunday.
“It’s pretty memorable” to post his 100th win, Beckett said, “and the way I did it is cool.”
Beckett (11-3) retired the first nine batters, five on strikeouts. It was his second shutout and complete game of the season following his 3-0 win over Atlanta on June 20. He finished with seven strikeouts and no walks.
In seven career complete games, his 94 pitches Sunday tied that Braves game for the fewest and the three hits were the fewest he allowed.
“Oh, he was good,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “He attacked the strike zone with his fastball and it was very obvious they wanted to hit his fastball.”
They couldn’t.
“Not a lot we could so with him,” Kansas City manager Trey Hillman said.
It was a fitting end to a stretch in which Beckett went 9-1 with a 2.14 ERA after struggling at 2-2 with a 7.22 ERA through April.
Beckett allowed a ground-ball double down the right-field line to David DeJesus leading off the fourth and singles by Mitch Maier and Mark Teahen in the seventh.
“Believe it or not, he had to battle in the middle innings,” Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek said. “It don’t think it comes that easy for him as people may think. He falls off it as much as anybody and has to make adjustments during games.
“He’s pretty much a bulldog.”
Rookie Aaron Bates, called up last Monday, went 3 for 4 with two doubles and an RBI, and stabbed a line drive by Brayan Pena for the second out of the fifth. Bates could be sent down after the All-Star break with Mike Lowell possibly coming off the disabled list.
“I want to learn as much as I can in the short amount of time I’m here, and if you can help them win some games that’s obviously the main goal, to help win,” Bates said.
Bruce Chen (0-4) and four Royals relievers walked nine batters. Chen came out after allowing the first two batters in the fourth to reach base.
“Lots of balls in the air and too dangerous to leave him in and have any chance at all,” Hillman said.
Boston scored a run in the first on Kevin Youkilis’ RBI single and three in the fourth when Bates bashed a run-scoring double, David Ortiz grounded out for another RBI and Jason Varitek walked with the bases loaded.
The fifth run came across in the fifth when Nick Green, who had walked and taken third on a single by Bates, scored on Jacoby Ellsbury’s double-play grounder. Rocco Baldelli doubled in the final run in the eighth.
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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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
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.