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.
APThe plan to trade Ilya Kovalchuk wasn't exactly a state secret. In a rare move, the Atlanta Thrashers released a statement Thursday detailing the declined contract offers they made to their Russian star. There was one offer worth more than $100 million, another that would have made the sniper hockey's highest-paid player.
In the end, it wasn't enough and the Kovalchuk sweepstakes were off. Rumors swirled. The media, as it were, descended on a Thursday morning hockey practice in suburban Atlanta. One player later joked, "We had our first media scrum."
But when the trade happened on Thursday evening — Kovalchuk to the New Jersey Devils — it hit the franchise hard. Even though it all saw it coming.
"Everyone was still blown away that Kovy actually got traded," teammate Colby Armstrong told Sporting News on Thursday night. "I don't think we'll be able to fill the shoes of what he did even though we're getting some good players back."
During a conference call following the announcement of the trade, the weariness in GM Don Waddell's voice was apparent. This wasn't easy, even if it had to be done. Kovalchuk wanted a max contract — $11.3 million per season. And he wanted it for the next 10 to 12 years.
He might just get it if he hits free agency on July 1 because there's never been another player so gifted to hit the market at 27 years old. But Waddell couldn't do it, not on a budget-driven team like the Thrashers.
It pained him to part ways with the player who has been the identity of the team since he was drafted first overall in 2001.
"This has been a very tough day for all of us here," Waddell said. "It's not easy. A lot of emotions go into it."
People will want to take sides in this debate between player and club, and there isn't one to take. Kovalchuk has every right to find out what his market value is. The Thrashers have every right to make their best pitch, and punt if it isn't enough.
And now, today, Kovalchuk is in New Jersey.
There's no way to spin this one. No matter how good a skater Johnny Oduya is for a defenseman or how much you like the potential of Niclas Bergfors or Patrice Cormier, the Thrashers won't be as good when they take the ice against Washington on Friday as they were the game before — 50-goal scorers don't come around too often.
There will be some who will predict that this signals the end for hockey in Georgia. That the departure of Kovalchuk, the one recognizable player in Atlanta, will drive fans away. It's too late for that.
"Fans haven't been coming out right now. We're struggling with our attendance as it is," Waddell said.
He knows winning is the only solution to that problem and it's hard to say the Thrashers are any closer. The best news is that the Kovalchuk distraction is gone and the package Waddell pried from Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is a solid return, even if it lacks the flash some fans wanted.
Now the players left behind have to see if they can win without Kovalchuk, when it wasn't an easy task with him.
"Hockey is a team game," Armstrong said. "I think we bring our group close together and play together ... now we can move forward."
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
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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 |
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.
Adreian Payne scored 15 points, Draymond Green added 12 and defense-minded No. 11 Michigan State beat No. 3 Ohio State 58-48 Saturday night, ending the Buckeyes' 39-game home winning streak.
