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.
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.
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The Padres have played a big role by recently losing 10 in a row, moving the Giants much closer in the NL West race over the last couple of weeks.
And after taking three of four from San Diego over the weekend, confidence is rising in San Francisco.
But it's not all about the Padres' collapse, as the Giants have been on a roll as well. "Our chemistry is as good as it's been all season," said Giants outfielder Nate Schierholtz. "The more we win, the closer we get, the less pressure we have. You can have more fun.''
"Oh yeah, if you get a chance to take advantage of something going on with another team, you have to take it," added pitcher Tim Lincecum. "We have to worry about ourselves, but what (the Padres) are going through obviously is helping us, and it's motivating us.''
And so the prospect of the Giants' first postseason appearance since 2003 has become even more tangible of late. Only these Giants aren't anything like the Barry Bonds-and-Co. version that made four trips to the playoffs in 1997-2003.
Forget about a superstar presence; there isn't even a star position player star in the Giants' lineup (although rookie catcher Buster Posey sure has that look). Pablo Sandoval was that guy last season, when he was the NL batting title runner-up. But he has taken a big step backward in 2010, particularly against left-handed pitching. He was benched Tuesday night after an 0-for-5 Monday, pinch-run for in the seventh inning on Wednesday, and recently was called out by manager Bruce Bochy (as was Lincecum) for needing to show a greater commitment to conditioning to withstand the grind of a 162-game season.
In fact, look up and down the Giants' lineup, and you don't even see many players who will accumulate an every-day-player total of at-bats, as the lineup that came out of spring training has been re-made on the fly. They've gotten unexpectedly productive seasons from first baseman Aubrey Huff, infielder Juan Uribe and center fielder Andres Torres, the latter emerging from journeyman status for the first time at age 32.
But three of the four platoon corner outfielders — Pat Burrell, Cody Ross and Jose Guillen — were acquired mid-season in attempts by general manager Brian Sabean to add offense. The fourth — Schierholtz — has accumulated just over 200 at-bats.
Veteran shortstop Edgar Renteria has just over 220 at-bats due to time spent on the disabled list, Aaron Rowand no longer plays much at all, Mark DeRosa is gone for the season due to injury, and Bengie Molina was sent away on July 1 to make room for Posey behind the plate.
What's left is a middle-of-the-pack run-producing lineup whose magic number is four. That is, when they score four or more runs, they have a .766 winning percentage (72-22). But they also have failed to do so 50 times. So in other words, this is a team that wins with its rotation and the gutty performances of closer Brian Wilson, who is six saves away from tying the late Rodney Beck's club record.
A rotation blip occurred in mid-August, when the Giants went from a two-game lead in the wild-card race to a two-game deficit during a 5-9 stretch. But that has turned back around in the past two turns through the rotation, including a 31-inning scoreless streak over four games this week in games started by Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner and Lincecum.
Nobody has characterized the rotation's return to form more than Lincecum. He endured an 0-5, 7.82 month of August, but has won his last three starts including Sunday's victory against the Padres.
"Every playoff team has that guy you can count on,'' Huff said. "He's been that guy for a long time. It looks like he's getting back that form. That's a great sign. He picked a perfect time to get it going, and carry us the rest of the way.''
After watching from the opposing dugout, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said, "He's not throwing 96 (mph) anymore. But he still has four really good pitches. And he was throwing them all for strikes at any time (in the count).''
Lincecum admits the pounding he took in August made him reassess — and take Bochy's suggestion to heart.
"I'm becoming a little bit more strict on the things I'm doing to take care of myself,'' he said. "The conditioning, the weight-training ... that's working. As the season is going on, you see (the playoffs) being reachable, so you start working a little bit harder. You know you're going to need a little extra gas in the tank the rest of the season. That's kind of my mindset right now, put the whole rest of the season behind me, and just focus on what I can do now.''
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
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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.
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.
