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.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
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.
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ARLINGTON, Texas - Garret Anderson did exactly what he wanted to do with the bases loaded in the 11th inning, and extended the Los Angeles Angels’ winning streak in the process.
After the Texas Rangers intentionally walked Vladimir Guerrero to load the bases with none out, Anderson hit a ball in the air. It landed in the stands for a grand slam, giving the Angels their eighth straight victory, 5-1 on Tuesday night.
“Just don’t hit the ball on the ground, that’s about as much as I thought of right there,” said Anderson, whose seventh career slam was his first since May 8, 2003. “I looked for a fastball to hit. Fortunately, he left it in a spot I could get it up in the air.”
Anderson pulled an 0-1 pitch from left-hander Brian Shouse into the first row of seats in right.
Los Angeles began its winning streak with a three-game sweep of the second-place Rangers last week. The Angels have an 8½-game lead in the AL West with two more games to play in Texas this week.
“We’re very frustrated,” said Rangers manager Buck Showalter, whose team lost for the eighth time in nine games. “We’re trying not to get bogged down in our situation. We want it to go away as soon as possible.”
The Angels loaded the bases against Kameron Loe (0-1) in the 11th. Chone Figgins had a leadoff single before Darin Erstad doubled and Guerrero, who has a hit in all 29 career games he’s played against the Rangers, was intentionally walked.
Even though Anderson was hitting .356 against lefties, the Rangers brought in Shouse, their sidearming reliever. Anderson had never gotten a hit off Shouse before the homer, his ninth this season.
“You play by the book, and that’s what I expect,” Anderson said. “If they don’t play by the book, they are going to have to answer questions after the game if it doesn’t work out.”
For the Rangers, that also meant not giving Guerrero a chance to swing the bat in the 11th.
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Guerrero’s RBI double in the first inning extended his hitting streak against the Rangers. But he grounded out to start the ninth against Francisco Cordero, who then struck out Anderson and Juan Rivera.
The Rangers had two on with one out in the ninth against Scot Shields before Laynce Nix grounded out and Rod Barajas popped out.
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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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.
