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.
ASSOCIATED PRESSWhen Stan Bowman took over as general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks this summer, his situation wasn't like most new GM hires. He wasn't rebuilding. The team he was put in charge of had just advanced to the Western Conference finals. He had a great coach in place, and one of hockey's best young rosters.
Not a bad place to start.
"I guess in some ways it's different than other new GMs," Bowman told Sporting News during a recent interview. "I don't feel a strong need to put my stamp of approval on this group because I've been a big part of what we have here."
But Thursday, Bowman's first major stamp was announced. The Blackhawks held an afternoon press conference that marked the true beginning of the Stan Bowman era in Chicago.
Franchise forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane signed five-year contract extensions worth $6.3 million per season. And those aren't even the biggest contracts. The team also announced the signing of defenseman Duncan Keith to a whopping 13-year deal that an NHL source tells SN is worth $5.54 million per season — a total of $72 million.
Signing those three players was never a debate for Bowman and his staff. It's a no-brainer. Now, figuring out a way to make it all work under the salary cap in future seasons becomes the debate.
With players like Marian Hossa, Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet already averaging more than $5 million per season, salary cap space will be tighter than ever in Chicago.
Two years ago, the Penguins had to make hard personnel decisions after locking up Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury to long-term contracts.
Last summer, the Red Wings had to let Hossa walk for nothing after core players Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen signed deals during the season.
Now, the celebration over securing cornerstone players in Chicago is short lived. It soon will be Bowman's time to make the hard choices — just like his counterparts in Pittsburgh and Detroit did.
"It wasn't that they were unhappy with them," Bowman said of the players Pittsburgh and Detroit let go. "You have to make decisions. They've gone through that, those are decisions that are going to be facing us. It's the sign of the times, the system we're in now."
Red Wings GM Ken Holland can certainly relate. Last season, he enjoyed the fun part while announcing new long-term deals for Zetterberg and Franzen. But it wasn't so fun seeing a franchise player like Hossa head down I-94 to the rival Blackhawks.
"Everyone is going to face it at different times," Holland told SN. "We faced it last year. Pittsburgh the year before, Chicago has it next ... probably, Washington's day is coming. (The Capitals) have high-end players. We all have to make our decisions and you decide who your core is."
Bowman has clearly decided.
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.
Check out highlights from the Rangers 3-2 win over the Capitals.
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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.
