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.
AP FILE
Fred McGriff was cut Saturday by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, seven home runs short of 500.
McGriff, 40, struggled after the Devil Rays brought him up from Triple-A Durham on May 28, hitting just .181 with two homers and seven RBIs in 27 games. He hasn’t homered since June 17 against Adam Eaton at San Diego.
Tampa Bay designated him for assignment, meaning the Devil Rays have 10 days to trade him, send him outright to the minors or place him on waivers.
“If a major league club has interest in Fred, we’ll let him go,” Tampa Bay general manager Chuck LaMar said.
McGriff is tied with Lou Gehrig for 21st place on the career home run list. He was trying to join Ted Williams, Willie McCovey and Eddie Murray as the only players to reach 500 homers after turning 40.
“It’s not an easy situation,” manager Lou Piniella said. “Hopefully, somebody will pick him up and give him a further opportunity. I was hoping things would be different. But the organization wanted to get younger, and that’s really what we’re doing.”
The Devil Rays called up outfielder Joey Gathright and infielder Jorge Cantu from Durham. Utilityman Damian Rolls was optioned to Durham.
“I’m sentimental when it comes to Fred, but there comes a time I have to make a decision to put our best team on the field,” LaMar said.
A Tampa native, McGriff played for the Devil Rays from their inception in 1998 until a 2001 trade to the Chicago Cubs.
McGriff has 2,490 hits and 958 extra-base hits, 30th on the career list. He has homered in a major league-record 43 ballparks.
Asked if falling short of 500 home runs would keep McGriff out of the Hall of Fame, Piniella said it shouldn’t.
“I don’t see where seven home runs make a difference,” Piniella said. “He’s had a marvelous career.”
Halladay will make next start
Toronto right-hander Roy Halladay will make his scheduled start on Wednesday in New York against the Yankees despite concerns about his sore shoulder.
Halladay, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, allowed six runs and seven hits over four innings in Friday night’s 11-2 loss at Texas, his shortest outing of the season.
Halladay was on the DL because of soreness in his right shoulder and has made seven starts since he was activated on June 12, going 2-3 with a 5.85 ERA. He walked 13 during that span.
“We’ll see how he does over the next couple of days and go from there,” Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca said before Saturday night’s game against Texas. “He’s still scheduled to make his next start.”
Halladay, 7-7 this season after going 22-7 in 2003, said after Friday night’s game that he has a tired arm, but didn’t think there was anything seriously wrong. Halladay will have his regular bullpen session on Sunday, but Tosca remains concerned.
“The ball isn’t coming out of his hand the way it used to,” Tosca said. “His curveball isn’t sharp. The location and movement aren’t there. It’s a get-it-over curve instead of a power pitch for him.”
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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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.
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.
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