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.
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.
Reuters
NEW YORK - A fastball here. A changeup there. Here’s a curve. No, another fastball.
Pedro Martinez sure knows how to use all his pitches.
The New York Mets’ ace threw seven strong innings Monday night and Carlos Beltran hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Beltran’s seventh-inning shot made a winner of Martinez, who limited the Phillies to four hits and was superb after a rain delay of 2 hours, 17 minutes at the start.
Martinez waited out the delay and was hardly disturbed.
“I never stopped moving around,” he said. “I tried to do something to keep me warm.”
Then he did a workmanlike job on the Phillies.
“I’ve seen him dazzle with an array of different pitches,” manager Willie Randolph said. “I’ve seen him improvise. He’s very crafty. He’s smart. He deals with the rhythm of the game.”
The rhythm was fast once it got started. Martinez (3-1) and Jon Lieber don’t waste time on the mound and the Mets led 1-0 into the seventh with Martinez working on a two-hitter. Then Philadelphia tied it on a double by Chase Utley, a single by David Bell and an infield out.
Now it was New York’s turn against reliever Terry Adams (0-1).
With one out, Jose Reyes reached with the third of his four hits. Kaz Matsui walked and Beltran followed with his fourth homer of the season and first at Shea Stadium, a 460-foot shot that hit the right-field scoreboard.
“I was trying to put the ball in play,” Beltran said. “I wanted to make something happen. I got a pitch in the middle of the plate and I was able to drive it. I knew it was gone.”
So did Randolph and Martinez, who celebrated in the dugout.
“It was a good ballgame up until the guy hit the home run,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “It looked like a high slider. That’s what I saw.”
Beltran’s fourth homer of the season broke a 1-1 tie and rewarded Martinez’s airtight pitching. New York’s Cliff Floyd had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, the longest run in the majors this season.
Until then, Martinez and Lieber hooked up in a dandy pitcher’s duel.
“I knew going into this game it was going to be tough,” Lieber said. “Pedro is Pedro. He’s a very good pitcher.”
Martinez struck out six and walked two, mixing speeds. Lieber went six innings, allowing one run and six hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
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.