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.
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.
APThe Capital Centre, located in Landover, Md., and was the nation’s first sports major venue with luxury boxes and a big replay screen. It was topped 24 years later by the Verizon Center, which Pollin built with $200 million of his own money at a time when many owners of professional franchises demanded taxpayer support for new facilities — and threatened to move their teams if they didn’t get it.
“He had opportunities to go to other places, but this is where he wanted to be,” team president Ernie Grunfeld said. “He wanted to do this for his city.”
Born Dec. 3, 1923, Pollin and his family moved from Philadelphia to the Washington area when he was 8. He graduated from George Washington University in 1945 and went to work in his family’s construction business. He started his own construction company in 1957.
Pollin and two partners bought the Bullets in 1964 for a record $1.1 million, a mere fraction of the salary of today’s NBA stars. He bought out his partners four years later and moved the team to the Washington suburbs when the Capital Centre opened. He also acquired an expansion NHL franchise, the Capitals, for his new building.
The Bullets won their championship with Unseld and Elvin Hayes and reached the NBA finals the following season as well, but Pollin was unable to keep up with the subsequent free agency explosion that sent salaries skyrocketing. He kept a shoestring front-office operation for much of the 1990s, was sometimes reticent to spend big for players, and developed a reputation for retaining employees who were loyal but not necessarily successful.
“I have no doubt that he kept me longer in positions than he should have,” said Unseld, who also was the Wizards’ coach and later their general manager, “and longer than I wanted him to. He was loyal.”
Pollin’s frustration boiled over when he argued with Jordan at a labor negotiating session during the 1998-99 lockout. When Pollin complained that individual owners such as himself could no longer survive, Jordan suggested that Pollin sell his team. Less than a year later, Pollin and Jordan became partners in a relationship that never blossomed.
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After far too many losing seasons to count, the Wizards finally started winning again in recent years. A 2005 playoff series victory was the franchise’s first in 23 years, and the team returned to the postseason for the next three seasons.
Despite his illness, Pollin made his annual trip to training camp in Richmond, Va., this year to encourage the team.
“He would want us to celebrate his life and not mourn his death,” coach Flip Saunders said before Tuesday’s game. “That’s just the individual he was. But when you’re here going through it, it’s not that easy.”
Pollin’s other major franchise was more successful competitively, if not financially. The Capitals, faced with the daunting task of turning Washington into a hockey town, made the playoffs regularly in the 1980s and 1990s but also lost $20 million the year they made the Stanley Cup finals in 1998. Pollin sold the team to Leonsis the following year.
In addition to his wife, Pollin is survived by sons Robert and James and two grandchildren.
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
Rajon Rondo recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 95-91 win Sunday over the Chicago Bulls, who were without star guard Derrick Rose.
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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.
