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.
PBT: Jeremy Lin wasn't his hot self on Saturday, but he still led the Knicks to victory.
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.
APYou can be sure that when Weis takes over at Notre Dame, one of the Irish’s strengths will be play-calling. Weis called the plays for three Super Bowl-winning Patriots teams. When the Trojans visit South Bend next fall without Chow, that is one area they will be forced to concede.
Kiffin and Sarkisian could turn out to be splendid offensive coordinators someday, but they’ll suffer next season and maybe beyond because of the apparently disrespectful way they muscled in after Chow was ushered out. (Conspiracy theorists point to the shouting match between Kiffin and Chow at an Orange Bowl practice.) At the first sign of slippage, fans will demand answers and assess blame. That won’t be a phenomenon specific to USC; that’s the way it happens around any sports team.
The stakes are also higher for Carroll and the young turks he has designated to replace Chow because Matt Leinart chose to pass up a sure NFL signing bonus worth at least $10 million in order to play one more season for USC. He made that decision believing Chow would hang around. Now that Chow is gone – with the lingering perception that Carroll pulled a Kobe – the new offensive braintrust has some Heisman-winning feathers to smooth.
One of USC’s great advantages right now is recruiting, a tribute to Carroll’s personality and work ethic. Each year they reload in astonishing fashion with top-tier talent. If the offense sputters next season, word will spread that playing for the new offensive regime is not the quick ticket to the NFL that it was under Chow. Slowly, the recruiting advantage will diminish, and so will USC’s competitive advantage on the field.
Chow’s departure is the most significant blow to the program, but not the only one. USC has lost a total of five assistant coaches since trouncing Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, including defensive line coach Ed Orgeron (now head coach at Mississippi) and offensive line coach Tim Davis (now assistant offensive line coach with the Miami Dolphins).
All of this is obviously doom-and-gloom. It could be that Carroll and Chow genuinely like and respect each other, but like any two people in a relationship, they might have grown weary of each other’s habits and attitudes and longed for a change. It’s conceivable that with the foundation built under Chow, the collaboration of Kiffin, Sarkisian and Carroll (yes, the head coach and defensive coordinator wants a larger role in the offense) could produce an even scarier unit to unleash upon opposing defenses.
But right now, Carroll might want to take Kobe Bryant out to lunch one of these days and pick his brain on dealing with fan and media backlash. He may never need the advice, but it’ll be nice to have, just in case.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
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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.
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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.