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 Images for NASCARCarl Edwards might be winless, but after his seventh finish of seventh or better in the past eight races—and fifth top five—he moved into the top spot of this week’s Sporting News Power Poll. Kyle Busch is second, and Tony Stewart jumped to third after his first win of the season. Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson also made big jumps based on their top-five finishes at Atlanta, and they round out the top five. The weekly poll is a collaboration of Sporting News and Rowdy.com.
1. Carl Edwards (last week: 3rd)
It’s just a matter of time before Edwards claims a victory to go with all the top 10s he has been posting lately.
2. Kyle Busch (2nd)
Cool, I didn’t blow up!
3. Tony Stewart (11th)
Sunday’s win at Atlanta may give Smoke the bump he needs for the Chase.
4. Jeff Burton (12th)
Fun to watch him drive his car on the very edge and come home with a fourth-place finish. He was going for it, and that’s what we all want to see.
5. Jimmie Johnson (17th)
Johnson scores his first top five since his victory in June at New Hampshire.
6. Kurt Busch (8th)
At one point Busch was running as low as 39th, but a pit gamble coupled with dumb luck resulted in a top 10.
7. Clint Bowyer (4th)
Congrats on making the Chase. But based on a lack of laps led and wins, wouldn’t you rather see Jamie McMurray in the Chase than Bowyer?
8. Juan Pablo Montoya (10th)
Montoya wore his Huggies sponsorship to his fourth top 10 in a row.
9. Kevin Harvick (1st)
Picked a good time to miss pit road and blow out his left front fender as a result. He can’t afford to make any mistakes in two weeks.
10. Matt Kenseth (9th)
Kenseth just missed the top 10 but did get his ninth top 20 in a row—which is great news if your name is David Ragan.
11. Jeff Gordon (6th)
Ella’s new paint scheme didn’t propel her daddy to the front. Gordon was steady, not speedy.
12. Ryan Newman (16th)
Newman was tagged by Greg Biffle so he took it out on Kasey Kahne.
13. Greg Biffle (5th)
His mistake at Atlanta won’t hurt him—in order to miss the Chase, Biffle would have to finish last with Newman winning and leading the most laps at Richmond.
14. Marcos Ambrose (25th)
Only the second top 10 on an oval for Ambrose in 2010. He had five in 2009.
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15. Jamie McMurray (7th)
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McMurray had a fast car in Atlanta but couldn’t gain ground on Bowyer. Chase is now a pipe dream.
16. David Reutimann (13th)
Reutimann couldn’t hear his team trying to tell him that his radio wasn’t working because his radio wasn’t working.
17. Martin Truex Jr. (18th)
Truex was very strong for the first half of Atlanta but finished out of the top 10.
18. Denny Hamlin (15th)
Hamlin’s blown engine will be long forgotten if he wins at Richmond.
19. Mark Martin (21st)
It may have nothing to do with the midsummer drama, but the 5 team has lost the magic it had last year.
20. AJ Allmendinger (22nd)
Allmendinger failed to lead a lap for the 22nd race this season.
21. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (19th)
Junior showed promise in the middle of the race but faded at the finish. That has been the pattern for the past three months.
22. Kasey Kahne (14th)
Kahne had a strong car and used it to send a strongly worded message to Newman.
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23. Reed Sorenson (23rd)
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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.
Sorenson has two top 15s in a row. Red Bull regular Scott Speed has two in the past 17 races.
24. Joey Logano (20th)
Sound the sad trombone. Mile-and-a-half tracks were Logano’s best last year, and now he can’t seem to figure them out.
25. David Ragan (NR)
Ragan’s recent improvement is not nearly as encouraging as that of his teammates.
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 | INTERACTIVE |
 | NASCAR wives and girlfriends They're fixtures in pit row, but they don't drive on the track or work on the cars. Take a look at some notable NASCAR wives and girlfriends. |
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.
