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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.
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.
New defensive coordinator Mike Nolan reportedly plans to remove MLB Curtis Lofton from nickel packages if the Falcons re-sign the free agent.
It sounds like Nolan wasn't pleased with what Lofton put on tape as a cover linebacker in 2011. Len Pasquarelli of the Sports XChange does confirm that re-signing Lofton is a "priority" for the Falcons, whose run defense collapsed down the stretch. Pasquarelli suggests WLB Sean Weatherspoon playing the middle on nickel downs. Pro Football Focus agrees that Lofton was a liability more often than not in coverage. Weatherspoon has more range.
ESPN's Pat Yasinskas confirms that the Falcons "aren't likely" to re-sign free agent LB Mike Peterson.
Peterson, 36 in June, ended last season on injured reserve with a torn triceps. His career may be over. The Falcons are known to be looking at "street free agent" Channing Crowder, who has experience starting at all three linebacker positions and could replace Peterson as Atlanta's utility backup.
Tony Gonzalez said Thursday that 2012 will probably be his last in the NFL.
"I said that last year though, and the year before," acknowledged Gonzalez. "But I really do believe this is it. First of all, this is the first time my wife came to me and said, 'You're only going to play one more year, right?" The future Hall of Famer, turning 36 later this month, signed a one-year, $6.9 million extension in January. The Falcons had already planned to seek his heir apparent this offseason.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution expects free agent WR Harry Douglas to leave for another team if he gets a more lucrative offer.
The Falcons intend to use the three-year, $9.4 million deal signed by James Jones last offseason as a starting point in negotiations with Douglas. GM Thomas Dimitroff will likely have to overpay if he wants to give new OC Dirk Koetter a shot at having Roddy White, Julio Jones, and Douglas in the passing game.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution believes free agent FS Thomas DeCoud is a strong candidate for an extension and may not hit the open market.
The Falcons are projected to be $28 million under the cap, but are focused on signing Curtis Lofton and Brent Grimes and have key decisions to make on fellow free agents John Abraham and Harry Douglas. The paper suggests SS William Moore as an option to replace DeCoud if an extension can't be struck.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution expects the Falcons to elevate WR/KR Eric Weems to No. 3 receiver if free agent Harry Douglas is not re-signed.
Of course, Weems is a free agent himself, so this is already taking a big leap. Weems also has just 24 receptions in 54 career games since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2008. Though Weems was a 2010 All-Pro special teamer, he would not be a realistic third receiver for the Falcons.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution expects free agent MLB Curtis Lofton to seek a deal similar to the four-year, $36 million pact signed by Jets ILB David Harris last August.
Lofton has led the Falcons in tackles each of the past three years, and was fifth in the NFL this season with 147. Keeping Lofton figures to be a priority for Atlanta, and they will likely offer a deal mirroring Harris' to start.
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.