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 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.
ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints will get most of the attention next week in Miami. But what other NFL stories will get buzz? Here's a look at 10 of them:
1. The CBA
Next Thursday, the NFLPA will conduct its annual press conference. Surely, the ongoing labor discussions will dominate the discussion.
Next Friday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will meet the media. Again, he'll be asked more than a few questions about the labor situation — primarily in response to the arguments advanced the day before by NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith.
These events will be preceded by leaks from both camps early next week in an effort to shape the agenda for the questions that will be posed to Smith and Goodell and in the hopes of nudging public opinion in favor of one side or another.
Keep an ear on sound bites coming from retired players who'll be making the rounds on Radio Row. League and union officials believe that winning the hearts and minds of the fans requires first getting the former players on their side. Next week, we could get a glimpse as to which side some of the higher-profile former players will choose.
2. Overtime
Though it's unknown whether much discussion or debate will unfold next week regarding the league's overtime rules — it should. The NFL now has seen a conference title game decided via a one-drive sudden-death victory; eventually, it will happen in a Super Bowl.
The NFL has gotten a bit lucky in the wake of the Vikings-Saints game. With so much emphasis on what might have been the last play of Brett Favre's career and the inexplicable 12-men-in-the-huddle blunder that preceded it, the inherent unfairness of giving only one team a crack at the ball in the extra session has not received much attention.
If it ever happens in a Super Bowl, it will. And the NFL will be diminished because of it.
Along with it will come an outcry to change the rule, and the league likely will do it. So why not change the rule before it happens in a Super Bowl?
3. Pro Bowl
Despite the complaints that have arisen regarding the decision to play the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl, a key piece of information released during Super Bowl week will go a long way toward determining whether the new approach is a success.
TV ratings.
If more folks watch an all-star game played before the Super Bowl, NFL officials might decide to play more Pro Bowls before the Super Bowl. If the audience is flat or smaller, the experiment likely will be a one-time thing.
Thus, from the perspective of the players, who prefer playing the game in Hawaii, they're likely hoping for the first time in their football careers that people choose not to look at what they can do.
4. Media day
On the Tuesday before every Super Bowl, the league allows a few thousand credentialed media to descend in droves on the game site for access to every player from both teams.
The scene has become chaotic, with nearly as many "entertainment" reporters jockeying for position as folks who cover football, along with a sprinkling of assorted freaks, buffoons and/or attention-seekers. (OK, so maybe I fall into more than one of those categories.)
Periodically, one player actually says something noteworthy. For the most part, it's a circus squeezed into the sideline area, with more potential hazards (including dozens of camera cords at varying degrees of tautness) than an OSHA inspector could imagine.
5. Free agency
On March 5, the annual offseason shopping spree will begin, but under much different rules than in the past.
For starters, there's no spending limit. But there is also no spending minimum. So with players needing six years to become eligible for free agency and with the final eight teams subject to strict restrictions on their ability to sign unrestricted free agents, money won't be flowing like players always have been led to believe that it would.
It's unknown whether players appreciate the situation they're facing. As plenty of them show up in South Florida for a wide range of media opportunities, there should be plenty of talk on the subject — and possibly the venting of some frustrations.
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.
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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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.
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.
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.
