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 for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
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.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Golf's dream pairing - Woods and Mickelson - is on the course in the final round at Pebble Beach. Jason Sobel has hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Euro Roundup: First-place Manchester City won 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday on Joleon Lescott's goal in the 63rd minute, maintaining its two-point lead over Manchester United in the Premier League.
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.
Reuters fileCan an Eastern Conference team win the NBA title this year? Yes, and that team is the Pistons. That's not a reach of any sort since Detroit's superb defense and its acquisition of Rasheed Wallace make coach Larry Brown's club a legitimate title contender.
STEPPING UP
IN CLASS
The East can beat the West.
At least in the case of the Pistons, who are a better team than a year ago when they were the No. 1 seed in the East.
Last spring Detroit made it to the conference finals before being swept by New Jersey.
This year Detroit, seeded second, paid back the Nets by eliminating them in the second round.
The Pistons not only play the best defense in the league, they have improved offensively.
And that's a key since in the past there was some concern about the Pistons' point production.
The gap between the powers in the West and the Pistons and Pacers, the two top teams in the East, has been closed.
But it's Detroit that has what it will take to knock off the Lakers or T'Wolves in the NBA Finals.
RASHEED RICH IN TALENT
I wouldn't be writing about the Pistons as a true title contender had they not made the deal to bring Rasheed Wallace on board.
The power forward, who has been an All-Star, is a very good individual defender.
Along with center Ben Wallace, a true defensive menace, and talented small forward Tayshaun Prince, Detroit has a frontcourt that strikes fear into opponents with its trapping, shot blocking and pressure defense.
Rasheed Wallace isn't all defense.
He can score both on the inside and from the perimeter, although the Pistons have asked less of him offensively than did the Blazers and Hawks.
And another huge plus for the Pistons is that Rasheed Wallace seems to have left his troubled past behind in Portland as well as his propensity for getting called for technical fouls.
GUARDS SCORE HIGH GRADES
While Detroit grabs a lot of attention with the personnel it has up front, the Pistons also boast a terrific starting backcourt in point guard Chauncey Billups and shooting guard Richard Hamilton.
Both are primary offensive options.
With Detroit involved in many low-scoring games, Billups shoulders the responsibility of making sure the Pistons come up big when it's crucial to do so down the stretch.
The decisions he makes as a playmaker are critical.
In the past, Billups has shown a shoot-first mentality, but he has worked to come off that a bit and to better his shot selection.
When the Pistons get stops and rebounds, they free Billups up to attack and create in the open court.
Some of what makes Hamilton tough to stop is his ability to move without the ball, work off screens and sink the midrange jumper.
Behind its starting five, Detroit has just the right amount of depth, with the key reserves being Lindsey Hunter, Mehmet Okur, Corliss Williamson and Mike James.
CHASING THE ULTIMATE GOAL
To get out of the East, the Pistons have to get past Indiana in the conference finals.
The Pacers present a challenge, but Detroit's toughness, both physically and mentally, could prove the difference.
In the NBA Finals, Detroit would most likely draw the Lakers.
The Lakers could get surprised by the Pistons, although L.A.'s chemistry -- which just didn't look right to me during the regular season -- has come around as has the team's defense.
Detroit is a team that wants to punch first all through the postseason, a much more confident bunch with a different mentality this year.
To the Pistons being in the playoffs is not enough, nor is making it to the conference finals.
Detroit wants to win a title.
It knows -- especially after the deal for Rasheed Wallace -- that it's been built to do so.
So the Pistons are on a mission, one that has as its ending beating the best in the West -- and for Detroit, that's not mission impossible.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
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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.