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.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
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.
APWith a World Series winless streak tracing to 1908 and injuries piling up, maybe it's no surprise that Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker is taking drastic steps.
Baker is rubbing holy water on the injured parts of Cubs players, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.
Baker isn't Catholic, but he is a religious man who is open to all sorts of ideas. So when Cubs public relations manager Sharon Pannozzo brought Baker some holy water that had been blessed by Pope John Paul II four months ago, the Cubs manager leapt to action, the newspaper reported.
"It's about as close to holy medicine as you can get," Baker said, the newspaper reported.
"It's not like it's voodoo or something," the manager also said.
"It's blessed. I didn't bless it. It wouldn't work if I blessed it. I just hope that my sinning doesn't negate the effectiveness of the water."
Baker poured some water on Cubs starter Mark Prior's injured right elbow during spring training, the newspaper reported. Prior is starting Wednesday against the Padres.
Prior didn't object to the treatment, the newspaper reported, and outfielder Corey Patterson seemed to welcome it.
"That's why we have a fun team," Patterson said, the newspaper reported. "Everyone has their own little superstitions or whatever. That's why the world is made of different people. You get to meet different people and see different attitudes and have fun. If everyone was the same, it would be boring. That's why I like this team."
Baker's tactics may follow in an odd tradition for the Cubs. Last season, outfielder Moises Alou, now with the Giants, urinated on his hands to heal calluses and blisters.
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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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.
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.