Super Bowl XLVI
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.
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.
Video: Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky talks about the division races and says 22 teams have a shot to win it all.
Chandler: Even in eighth grade, Jeremy Lin stood out as a singular talent. So his success with the Knicks is no surprise.
Arc's weekend preview: The way you beat Kentucky is by getting physical with their big guys, and the Wildcats don’t have much depth up front.
CFT: To address safety concerns, the NCAA is proposing that kickoffs be moved from the 30 to 35-yard line and touchbacks moved out to the 25-yard line next season.
Despite an injury scare and a few missed opportunities at Monterey Peninsula CC, Tiger Woods remains in contention at the AT&T.
John Isner jolted Roger Federer with his big serve and booming groundstrokes Friday, winning 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 to give the United States a 2-0 lead against Switzerland in the first round of the Davis Cup.
Manchester City will find at least three highly motivated players in its way Sunday when it tries to improve upon its flagging away form in the Premier League at Aston Villa.
All that stuff about the Olympic ideal, how it's all about taking part, not winning, can often seem like so much hot air, rendered hopelessly quaint and outdated by the ultra-competitive and mercenary world of modern sport. Until, that is, you speak to Kieran Behan.
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.
INDIANAPOLIS - Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy couldn’t escape the lingering question Monday: Why was Peyton Manning still throwing deep so late in Sunday’s 49-14 rout of Houston?
“Everybody can look at it the way they want to,” Dungy said in his typically stoic manner. “They say you should run the ball three times and punt. We aren’t trying to run the score up on people, we were trying to make first downs.”
A day after the Colts’ most lopsided win in seven years, some people were still struggling to understand the difference.
When the Colts took a 42-7 lead after three quarters, most people assumed Indianapolis would grind out the clock with the three biggest stars — Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison — safely on the sideline.
Instead the Colts let Manning continue to throw.
Dungy insisted Monday the Colts were merely adjusting to Houston’s defense as they always do, and that the Texans’ eight-man fronts forced them to try and run out the clock through the air.
The reality was Manning was just 2-of-5 for 25 yards and threw one interception in the fourth quarter.
The perception, though, was very different.
CBS analyst Randy Cross blasted the Colts, saying they showed “no class.”
A shoving match ensued in the game’s final minutes, and afterward some Texans said they would use the memories of Sunday’s game to motivate them for the rematch in Houston on Dec. 12.
Other Texans were more understanding of the Colts’ tactics.
“Tony Dungy is not that kind of guy,” starting nose tackle Seth Payne said. “They tried three running plays in a row once, and you saw what happened.”
Indianapolis had the ball only twice in the fourth quarter Sunday, but both series caused consternation.
Clinging to that 42-7 lead, Manning opened the first drive by throwing incomplete to Harrison, then hooked up with Harrison for 13 yards and Reggie Wayne for 12 before throwing his second interception of the game.
On the next series, James ran twice for 3 yards before Manning threw deep to Aaron Moorehead on third-and-7. An unnecessary roughness penalty gave Indianapolis a first down.
James then ran twice for 9 yards, setting up the game’s most curious play — a long pass to Harrison on third-and-1 from the Indy 41. Harrison had beaten a defender inside the Texans 20, but did not make the catch.
If he had, Manning might have had his sixth TD of the game and 32nd of the season.
Manning and Minnesota’s Daunte Culpepper have each thrown a league-high five TD passes in three games this year, an NFL record. Manning’s on pace to shatter Dan Marino’s single-season record of 48 TD passes, set in 1984. Manning is on pace to throw 55.
The Colts argued that statistics, victory margin and records weren’t the issue Sunday, clock management was.
“If you run, you’re basically giving the ball back to them, so we were throwing versus eight-man fronts because that’s what the offense dictates,” Manning said.
The bigger question might have been why Manning, James and Harrison were even in the game.
Backup quarterback Jim Sorgi, a rookie, hasn’t taken a snap all season. Dominic Rhodes, James’ backup, rushed for 1,104 yards his rookie year — an NFL record for undrafted free agents. The Colts also have a deep receiving corps.
None of the triplets were injured during the rout, but some wondered why Dungy even risked it.
“That’s a decision we make week in and week out,” he said. “We wanted to get Sorgi in the game, but we didn’t get the ball back.”
Dungy, known for his ability to develop aggressive defenses, seemed to understand the fuss even though he tried to put it perspective.
“I guess there’s room for debate, but we have to run our offense,” he said. “Should we have taken those guys out? That’s conjecture.”
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.
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.
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 Football great fights bigotry, gives hope Joined by his mentee, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Hines Ward tells TODAY’s Ann Curry about his work with young adults and his efforts to fight discrimination. His story will be told on the new USA Network documentary “NFL Characters Unite.” |
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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.
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Jill Kinmont Boothe, who appeared headed for Olympic glory but who was paralyzed in a skiing accident in 1955, died Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported. She was 75.