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' national 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.
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.
EPA
MADRID - Former Real Madrid and France footballing star Zinedine Zidane says he regrets having headbutted Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup final but he'd rather die than apologize to the Italian defender.
In an interview with leading Spanish daily El Pais published Monday, Zidane recalled the infamous incident with a sense of shame, but he felt none toward Materazzi.
"I apologize to football, to the fans, to the team... After the game, I went into the dressing room and told them, 'Forgive me. This doesn't change anything. But sorry everyone'," he said.
"But to him I can't. Never, never...it would be to dishonor me...I'd rather die," he added.
The match was Zidane's last after a sparkling career in which he became one of the game's most respected players.
But in the 20th minute of extra time of the grueling game, Materazzi insulted Zidane who responded by headbutting the Italian defender violently in the chest. He consequently got sent off and from the sideline saw France lose the match.
"Of course I reproach myself," Zidane told El Pais. "But, if I say 'sorry', I would also be admitting that what he did was normal. And for me it was not normal.
"Things happen on the pitch. It's happened to me many times. But I could not stand it that time. Because...it's not an excuse. But my mother was sick. She was in hospital. This people didn't know.
"But it was a bad moment. More than once they had insulted my mother and I never responded. But in that moment...it happened.
"If it was Kaka, an ordinary guy, a good guy, of course I would have apologized. But to this one!" he said. "If I ask forgiveness of him, I lack respect for myself and for all those I love with all my heart."
Materazzi recently told Italy's La Repubblica paper he was still waiting for Zidane to apologize and that he was still so angry over the incident that he won't even watch this year's tournament in South Africa.
Zidane won two Serie A titles with Italy's Juventus and two La Liga titles and a Champions League with Real Madrid as well as the 1998 World Cup. He was voted FIFA World Player of the Year three times.
Now 37, he acts as an informal adviser to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
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.
Alex Morgan's 2 goals, including the winner in stoppage time, lift the U.S. past New Zealand 2-1.
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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 |
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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.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
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.