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.
Getty ImagesCARL PAVANO (33, turns 34 on Jan. 8) 14-12, 5.10 ERA with Indians and Twins in 2009
Pavano had four miserable seasons in New York, as everything went wrong and he just couldn’t stay healthy.
But his reincarnation this year in Minnesota showed that he can still be the pitcher he was with the Marlins in 2003-04. He had a very consistent year in 2009 with the Indians and Twins, pitching 199 1/3 innings.
Hopefully the Twins will keep him in the fold. He was a good leader and a strong presence in the clubhouse, taking a lot of pressure off young pitchers like Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker. I was very impressed with his work ethic and the way he went about his business. That’s just what the Twins need.
He had very good control on the mound, walking only 39 and averaging 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
There will be a lot of clubs interested in Pavano, so it may be tough for the Twins to keep him, but one heavy hitter you can rule out is the Yankees. They’re just not going down that road again.
J.J. PUTZ (32, 33 on Feb. 22) 1-4, 5.22 ERA in 2009 with Mets
We’ve focused entirely on starters, but in today’s game the bullpen is so important, so we’re giving you a talented reliever who can likely be had at a discount.
Putz has been hurt a lot over the last couple of years. The Mets took a gamble on him as a bridge to Francisco Rodriguez, but injuries derailed his season and it just didn’t work out.
But I would think there would be a lot of clubs that would love to have Putz either as a closer of a bridge to the closer.
He would fit in nicely in Detroit, which has had trouble keeping Joel Zumaya on the field. If Putz were in the fold, that would give the Tigers nice depth at the back end of the bullpen, plus a nice security blanket in case closer Fernando Rodney, who has a history of arm troubles, gets hurt.
Remember, Putz saved 76 games for the Mariners in 2006-07. If he gets healthy, he can be a dominant reliever.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
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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.