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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Is there life after Randy Moss? Yes.
Will it be a better life than the Vikings had grown used to?
Quieter but maybe not better.
Moss' Vikings never won a thing but he did contribute 90 touchdowns the past seven years, including 33 in the last two. He also contributed a lot of noise and more complaining than quarterback Daunte Culpepper cared to hear, so in some ways his absence will be a relief, but only if Nate Burleson plays all year the way he did in Moss' absence last season.
With Moss sidelined for five games, Burleson stepped up and had 29 receptions and four touchdowns, finishing the year with nine scores. That translated into 13 touchdowns in a year when the 40 percent Randy Ratio coach Mike Tice had in effect (40 percent of all passes had to be directed at Moss) disappeared. That would effectively replace Moss' production, which someone is going to have to do. This summer it looked like that player will be Burleson. In the end, the bulk of the responsibility will fall upon Culpepper's broad shoulders to make up for Moss' absence, and he's well capable of it. Culpepper accounted for 5,123 total yards last season, throwing for 4,717 of them. He also had 39 touchdown passes and only 11 interceptions, a remarkable year overshadowed by Peyton Manning's 49 scores but otherwise extraordinary.
Culpepper had 40 completions of 25 yards or more and was so effective inside the red zone, he finished with a 100 quarterback efficiency rating in those situations. He may benefit from a more balanced attack in which he's not forced to look so often for one man.
He'll be aided by a rebuilt defense with five new starters and a total of seven with Pro Bowl credentials. Minnesota already had one of the best defensive lines in football before it signed free agent tackle Pat Williams to help stuff the run. In addition, Minnesota imported two new starters in the secondary in cornerback Fred Smoot and safety Darren Sharper and a mobile linebacker in Sam Cowart.
In addition, the Vikings drafted massive defensive lineman Erasmus James with their first pick in the college draft. Minnesota could end up with two new starting defensive linemen, three new starting linebackers in Cowart, Napolean Harris and Dontarrious Thomas and two new faces in the secondary in Smoot and Sharper. Smoot combines with last year's free agent signee Antoine Winfield to give Minnesota two of the best corners in the game at a cost of $20.6 million in combined bonus money. Whether all those changes are enough to make them forget Moss isn't of interest to beleaguered Tice. What's of interest to him is that he gets all these changes ironed out in time for the season-opener, when he begins a fight not only to make the playoffs but to keep his job.
HOT SEAT: Nate Burleson. No matter how you try to say he isn't replacing Moss, he is. Burleson had 47 receptions last season for 1,006 yards and eight scores and showed signs of flash this summer, but he's still replacing a guy who scored 90 touchdowns in seven years. That won't be easily forgotten in Minnesota.
OVERHEARD: Although it's expected that Michael Bennett will open the season as the Vikings starting running back, keep an eye on young Mewelde Moore. Moore carried only 65 times last year but gained 377 yards and averaged 5.8 yards a carry to Bennett's 3.9. With Onterrio Smith out on a league suspension, there is running room there and Moore may get a chance this summer to show if he can handle the work load. He's more explosive than Bennett and if given the chance may pass him by.
OUTLOOK: Tice knows he can't survive another 3-7 finish like the past two years. He also probably needs a playoff win or two to convince new ownership to keep him around even if he is a bargain-rate coach at $1 million a season.
PREDICTION: First.
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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.
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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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.
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