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.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had 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.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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.
APTheir crosstown rival has become an object of scorn and ridicule, indecisive about who to trade and who to keep, seemingly incapable or unwilling to pay the price to win.
Their primary division rival has decided on a new course of action, but it isn’t one that likely will lead to contending again in 2005.
Meanwhile, the Anaheim Angels quietly keep making one smart decision after another, the end result being arguably the best-run franchise in the game. They won a World Series three Octobers ago, but from top to bottom, they’re in even better position now.
Who can blame owner Arte Moreno for considering a franchise name change and trying to take a bigger chunk of the Los Angeles market from the crumbling Dodgers? Moreno took over a defending world champion in May of 2003, and has been on a roll ever since. Lowering beer prices was a nice touch, but spending $145 million for American League MVP Vladimir Guerrero, ace Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar and Jose Guillen led directly to the franchise’s first division title in 18 years, not to mention a franchise attendance record of close to 3.4 million.
And when Guillen became a clubhouse headache late last season, he was suspended, and then quickly dispatched this winter as one in a series of under-the-radar but deadly efficient deals made by general manager Bill Stoneman.
Avoiding the delay tactics and outrageous demands of agent Scott Boras, the Angels bypassed Carlos Beltran and instead gave a two-year deal to Steve Finley. There is no better-conditioned 40-year-old in the game than Finley, and his presence in center makes the Angels better in a couple of different ways. It allows Garret Anderson to return to left field, where he is better suited, or possibly even designated hitter. It also helps keep speedy Chone Figgins in a super-utility role, again best for manager Mike Scioscia – although with Adam Kennedy out for at least part of next season due to knee surgery, Figgins may end up as the regular second baseman.
Top prospect Dallas McPherson also has a hand in freeing up Figgins, as he will take over at third base—where Figgins got stuck for a big portion of last season, when Troy Glaus’ shoulder troubles persisted. With McPherson in the wings, the Angels wisely let Glaus test the free-agent market, where the desperate Arizona Diamondbacks dramatically overpaid him $44 million over four years.
McPherson, 24, got a short trial at the end of last season after leading the minors in slugging percentage and total bases. While he needs to cut down on his strikeouts and sharpen his defense, there is every expectation that he can approach Glaus’ production at a much-lower cost.
But McPherson isn’t the only elite prospect who could have an impact on the 2005 Angels. First baseman Casey Kotchman, 22, is a .340 hitter in his minor-league career, and did nothing to dispel the idea that he can be a .300 hitter in the big leagues during his 2004 big-league callup. With Darin Erstad in the way, Kotchman may have to return to Triple-A, but he could be another designated hitter option.
The Angels also spent $3 million in bonus money to win a bidding war for former Cuban National Team star Kendry Morales, 21, whom they think could win a corner outfield spot, or possibly be a productive designated hitter as soon as this season.
You can question the price (four years, $32 million) the Angels paid for shortstop Orlando Cabrera, but that was the cost of doing business in what has been an inflated free-agent market this winter. And you can’t argue that Cabrera’s defense, arm and gap power are a measurable upgrade from spunky David Eckstein, who will move on.
For Guillen, they got Juan Rivera, who figures to be an extra outfielder along with underrated Jeff DaVanon, as well as Macier Izturis (brother of Cesar), who figures to win a utility infield job. They also sent disgruntled Ramon Ortiz to Cincinnati for a prospect – part of an exodus of not-so-productive veterans that freed up $35 million in payroll.
Longtime closer Troy Percival represents another big chunk of savings, as the Angels rightfully ended his long tenure in favor of Frankie Rodriguez, who deserved the ninth-inning role last year. Esteban Yan has been signed to fill a setup role along with Brendan Donnelly, Scot Shields and Kevin Gregg, and maybe – just maybe, the Angels will find themselves a capable left-handed reliever for a change.
Otherwise, the only thing missing to date is a big free-agent signing for the rotation. But Paul Byrd was a more-affordable option, and he figures to be at the back end of the rotation behind Colon, Escobar, Jarrod Washburn and John Lackey. And with the demise of Oakland’s Big Three, what the Angels have now gives them the AL West’s best rotation.
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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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.