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.
Getty ImagesHere’s a look at the top five drivers in the Sprint Cup Series standings and five drivers to watch in Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. All statistical references are for Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis unless otherwise indicated. Driver rating is based on the past 5 races at the track.
Top five drivers in the standings
1. Kevin Harvick, 91.9 driver rating
Harvick has a win and six top 10s in nine starts. There are seven races before the Chase field is set. To Harvick, that’s seven opportunities for victories. If he is in the hunt for a win, he’ll go for it. Otherwise, he’ll preserve his top spot as insurance, should qualifying be rained out before the Chase begins and the starting field—and pit stalls—be awarded on points.
2. Jeff Gordon, 96.2
Gordon is solidly in the Chase. Passing Harvick means little. But Gordon is winless, so it’s about wins. Like Harvick, he knows what to do when he doesn’t have the car for a win. In fact, Gordon has finished in the top five in each of the past five races. Gordon has the track record for wins (four), top fives (nine) and top 10s (13).
3. Jimmie Johnson, 104.9
Johnson’s three wins at the Brickyard have come in the past four years. By contrast, in Johnson’s past six starts at the Brickyard, the three races he didn’t win, he didn’t finish. All because of crashes.
4. Denny Hamlin, 93.3
After winning back-to-back races at Pocono and Michigan, Hamlin cooled, finishing outside the top 10 three straight weeks until finishing eighth at Chicagoland. He finished 34th last year after finishing third in 2008. Gibbs cars haven’t been running well of late. It will be interesting to see how they do with two weeks of preparation.
5. Kurt Busch, 66.4
Busch’s three top 10s came when he was racing for Jack Roush, the last coming in 2004. He hasn’t distinguished himself at the Brickyard, leading three laps in nine starts. His average start is 20.7; his average finish 19.0.
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Five drivers to watch
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Mark Martin, 104.8
Martin is struggling. He hasn’t had a top 10 since the Coca-Cola 600 in May and that is his only top 10 in the past 10 races. A poor showing Sunday would be heart-breaking for the No. 5 team. Martin won the pole last year and finished second for his fourth top 10 in five races, and the non-top 10 was 11th in 2008.
Carl Edwards, 87.4
Where to begin with Edwards? He has been rebuked by NASCAR, and a number of high-profile current and former drivers have said he crossed the line in retaliating against Brad Keselowski. With but a 75-point lead over 13th place, Edwards has little room for error—which means one timely payback from Keselowski can knock Edwards out of the top 12. Oh … and Keselowski might feel he owes Edwards two shots (don’t forget Atlanta).
Greg Biffle, 90.7
Biffle is 21 points ahead of 13th place Dale Earnhardt Jr. In the last race, at Chicagoland two weeks ago, Biffle’s new Ford FR9 engine expired and he finished 35th. That is major cause for concern in the Roush camp. On the brighter side, two of Biffle’s three top 10s at Indy came in the past two years—fourth last year and eighth in 2008.
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Clint Bowyer, 83.4
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Bowyer is points racing, and he excels at getting solid finishes. He has finished in the top 15 in 79 of his 127 starts since the start of the 2007 season (60 top 10s). He is 15 points ahead of Earnhardt and simply needs to finish as far ahead of Earnhardt as possible. He is 37 ahead of Mark Martin and 96 up on 15th-place David Reutimann. Bowyer has a 13.5 average finish in four starts at Indy.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., 75.1
Earnhardt does not have a good record at the Brickyard: Two top 10s, three DNFs and a 21.7 average finish in 10 starts. Even more discouraging for Junior Nation is that the three DNFs have been in the past five years, including last year for engine failure. There is no margin for that kind of error on the 88 team.
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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.
