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?
LIVE VIDEO: NBCSports.com shows Washington-New York, with alternate camera angles, HD views and more.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -England defender Joleon Lescott preserved Manchester City's two-point lead in the Premier League by scoring a second-half winner in a 1-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday.
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.
APPaul DePodesta could be excused for smugly saying, “I told you so” to those who protested his dismantling of the first Dodger team to win a playoff game in 16 years. He’s not, though, even as some of his seemingly questionable moves seem to be paying off.
“Everyone wants to get out of the gate well, so that certainly puts a sense of importance on the games early on,” DePodesta said. “But I don’t necessarily feel anything above and beyond that. I had a lot of confidence in these guys. It’s been easy to be proud of them.”
Indeed, Jeff Kent has been everything the Dodgers thought he would be and more, while fellow free agent J.D. Drew has come to life after beginning the season hitless in his first 25 at bats. Derek Lowe has pitched well at times, Brad Penny may become the ace of the staff and catcher Jason Phillips has beefed up a position at which the Dodgers were sorely weak.
Only three players from the nine that started last year’s lone playoff game win over the Cardinals remain, but one of them, Cesar Izturis, may be blossoming into the best shortstop in the league.
Still, the wholesale changes were hard to swallow for a team that only had one manager its first 19 years in Los Angeles.
For decades, the Dodgers won enough to keep things interesting, the upper deck seats behind home plate were some of the best deals in baseball and the sound of the stadium’s organ always announced the arrival of another season.
In the stands, people munched on cold Dodger Dogs, listened to Scully on portable radios and left by the eighth inning to beat traffic.
Scully is 77 now, and still seems as fresh as the day he began broadcasting for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950, though the team made a mistake by letting fellow announcer Ross Porter go after last season. Fans are still leaving early, but the early season comebacks are now making them think twice about staying.
It’s too early to declare these Dodgers a playoff contender, but the signs are encouraging. DePodesta has assembled a team he feels can be competitive, and says he isn’t averse to adding more salary to a payroll in the low $90 million range during the season if need be.
In a time of flux not seen by the Dodger organization since Walter O’Malley uprooted the team from Brooklyn nearly a half-century ago, simply winning again might be the best change yet for these Dodgers.
That, and perhaps warming up the Dodger Dogs.
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.
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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