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.
APDENVER - While Barry Bonds fought off a dangerous bacterial infection in recent weeks, the San Francisco Giants slugger gained a new perspective on his health — and a renewed desire to get back in uniform as soon as possible.
Though the Giants transferred Bonds to the 60-day disabled list Friday, he was optimistic about his recovery from three recent knee surgeries when he made a rare public appearance at SBC Park as San Francisco lost the opener of the Bay Bridge interleague series against the Oakland Athletics.
He’s finished with two weeks of intravenous antibiotics to treat the infections, apparently contracted from bacteria in a whirlpool during his rehabilitation. Bonds isn’t ready to put a date on his return, but he still hopes to be back this season.
“Baseball leaves your mind real fast when you get sick like this,” said Bonds, who is now off crutches. “I still have a lot to live for. There’s still a lot I can do in baseball, but the situation is for me to get better and then get myself back in shape.”
Bonds misses baseball acutely these days. He was in the Giants’ locker room before the series opener, chatting with his teammates and even expounding on his feelings to a small group of reporters.
About 30 minutes before the first pitch, he went behind home plate for an impromptu autograph session with dozens of young fans.
“I want to finish what I started here,” Bonds said. “I have a contract, and I have an obligation to the team, the city and the fans here. I’m being an optimist. I’m looking at the positives of this, and I’m going to do the best I can now that this infection is gone.”
Bonds, who has undergone three arthroscopic surgeries on his right knee since Jan. 31, is eligible to return from the DL on June 2 — but there’s almost no chance he’ll be back until well after the All-Star break.
That’s just fine with Bonds, who was more concerned about his long-term health when the infection required him to receive regular IV treatments. He’s getting regular blood tests to watch for any signs of a recurring infection, and he’ll begin physical rehab shortly.
"At the beginning, when I was on the IV, I thought I was going to die," Bonds told ESPN.com. "It's a scary situation. With the right medications, it will get better. Technically, I could be on this medication for months."
When asked if he expects to return this season, Bonds said: “I believe I can. I definitely believe that. I don’t have an idea when I’ll come back. I really have no idea. I want to get through this step, and then on to the next step. That’s key. Whatever those steps are, I’ll take any challenges that come.”
Bonds has 703 career home runs, 11 behind Babe Ruth and 52 from tying Hank Aaron’s career record. Bonds batted .362 last season with 45 homers and 101 RBIs and also walked a major league-record 232 times on the way to his record seventh MVP award.
Though Bonds prefers to release information about his recovery through his Web site, Giants trainer Stan Conte still has been inundated with home remedies and treatment suggestions — everything from yoga to potato applications. That’s why Conte won’t name the bacterial problem Bonds apparently contracted, though it isn’t a staph infection.
“We’re going to rehab him, but it’s just easy stuff, and we’ll take it from there,” Conte said. “Infection is still the primary concern. Even just one particle of it can restart the whole thing. ... There’s still a possibility to see him this year. We’re still proceeding to fight the infection.”
The Giants’ struggles this season have nagged at Bonds, the centerpiece of a veteran roster designed to give him a good shot at playing for his first World Series championship. All three of San Francisco’s veteran outfielders have struggled with injuries, while ace Jason Schmidt and closer Armando Benitez are on the disabled list.
Bonds knows the Giants are a collection of talented role players without his star abilities holding them together, and it dismays him.
“I’ve been watching games on television, and I wish I was up in certain situations,” Bonds said. “And then I get annoyed and upset, and I have to walk away. I want to be there, but it’s not a baseball situation I’m in, it’s a life situation. ... My 6-year-old daughter can run faster than me.”
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.
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.