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.
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.
Tim Hudson is no stranger to pitching in big games for the Oakland Athletics.
Oakland hopes to maintain its slim lead in the AL West when the A’s continue their four-game series against the last place Seattle Mariners. The A’s have lost five of seven to reduce their lead in the AL West to one game over the surging Anaheim Angels.
Despite the emergence of Mark Mulder and Barry Zito, Hudson has been the most consistent Oakland pitcher over the last five seasons. The 29-year-old Hudson has a 19-7 record and a 3.13 ERA in 32 regular season starts in September and October for the A’s.
Hudson, who is 12-5 with 3.33 ERA this season, pitched Game 1 in the AL division series for Oakland in each of the last two season.
The A’s hope Hudson can get them some breathing room in the AL West race.
Bobby Crosby’s sacrifice fly with one out in the ninth scored pinch-runner Esteban German with the winning run in the Oakland’s 6-5 victory over the Mariners on Monday.
The A’s, the two-time defending division champions, have been in first place in the AL West for 53 straight days — their longest stretch since 1992. when they spent the final 61 days of the season in sole possession of the lead.
Oakland held Ichiro Suzuki to one hit, leaving him five shy of George Sisler’s 84-year-old record of 257. The Mariners have six games remaining.
“It would be outstanding if he broke the record here and didn’t hurt us in the process,” said A’s infielder Mark McLemore, who played with Suzuki the past three seasons in Seattle. “I got to see the majority of the hits.”
Suzuki has struggled against Hudson over his four-year career. The 2001 MVP has a .211 (12-for-57) batting average with five strikeouts against him. Suzuki is 4-for-11 against Hudson this season.
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.
HardballTalk headlines |
 | Interactive |
 |
 | Slideshow |
 | Unbreakable records in baseball A look at the most unbreakable records in baseball including Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters. |
| Slideshow |
 | The top tools of baseball You hear a lot about the tools of baseball, but who are the best hitters, fielders and pitchers? We break it down. more photos |
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.