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.
Getty Images for NASCARClint Bowyer and his No. 33 crew could have panicked Sunday night.
As night fell over Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bowyer’s car developed a loose handling condition. After a lengthy pit stop under caution on Lap 202, the No. 33 Chevrolet was 21st, the last car on the lead lap, with all three drivers trying to knock Bowyer out of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup—Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray and Mark Martin—ahead of him.
A determined drive by Bowyer, coupled with quick work by his pit crew in the last third of the race, produced a seventh-place finish and ample breathing space entering Saturday’s final event of series’ regular season at Richmond.
“That is absolutely what we needed,” a relieved Bowyer said after the race. “Man, I’ll tell you, it was a hard-fought battle. The guys kept digging and kept digging. It was good in the daytime. As soon as it went to night, it got really, really loose—just way down on grip.
“They kept adjusting on it and never gave up. The guys in the pits, they got us back up there where we needed to be. I’m real proud of them. … Not what we wanted, but darn sure what we needed.”
As far as the Chase goes, Bowyer’s gritty performance went a long way toward removing suspense from race No. 26, which typically is a gut-wrencher for those on the Chase bubble. Last year, the battle for the last Chase position between Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch wasn’t settled until the final lap, when Vickers finished sixth to Busch’s eighth and earned the spot by eight points.
Entering Richmond this year, 10 drivers already are locked into the Chase. Greg Biffle, in 11th place, needs a 42nd-place finish to secure his berth, so as soon as the first start-and-park parks, he’s in. Bowyer, in 12th, leads Newman by 117 points and McMurray by 128 and needs no more than a 28th-place finish to eliminate Newman and clinch the final spot.
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No doubt Bowyer will have trouble sleeping as the weekend approaches, but by keeping his head and finishing in the top 10 at Atlanta, he made his job much easier.
The lack of drama as to Chase qualifiers will return our focus to the race itself, and that’s not a bad thing. For those already locked in, a win is the only thing that can change their seeding for the Chase.
“We’ll just go for it,” said Carl Edwards, runner-up to Tony Stewart on Sunday night. “We’ll probably just go there and go for the win and don’t have too much to be concerned about, other than that particular race. So for me, it will just be a fun race.”
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After all, a checkers-or-wreckers, all-star race approach is what fans hope to see when they shell out good money for a race ticket.
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Challenges await drivers at Richmond Sept. 8, 2010: Jeff Gordon thinks double file restarts and the day-to-night transition make Richmond a challenging track for drivers. |
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 | Earning a trip to victory lane Take a look at every NASCAR driver who has claimed a checkered flag this racing season. NBCSports.com |
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 | Revved up for racing Take a look at how some NASCAR fans express their dedication to the drivers and to the sport. NBCSports.com |
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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.
