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.
Getty ImagesQ: What is the likelihood of the NL West being won by a team with a sub-.500 record? Seriously, a good team in the Central or East will have to sit out the playoffs so one of the dreadful West teams can be represented in October.
— Rob W., San Francisco
A: Since the six-division/wildcard format began in 1994, the worst playoff-qualifying team has been the 1997 Houston Astros, who won the NL Central with an 84-78 record. So if somebody wins the West with a sub-.500 mark, it would be a first. I don’t think that will happen, but the Padres sure have tested that prediction lately, haven’t they? In fact, the West is so bad that from June 1 through Wednesday, the best team in the division has been the last-place Colorado Rockies at 21-29. It doesn’t get any worse than that. But you have to figure that with the final month of schedule devoted mostly to intra-divisional play, somebody in the division — most likely the Padres — will get hot and post a winning record for the year. Going back a bit further since two-division play began in 1969, the worst playoff qualifier was the 1972 New York Mets at just 82-79. But they did beat the Reds in the NLCS before losing to the A’s in the World Series.
Q: Which of the Yankees do you think will have the biggest impact in the second half of the season?
— Aaron, Delano, Calif.
A: If he can sustain his monstrous July, Jason Giambi certainly has to be one of the top candidates, Aaron. Through Wednesday, Giambi is hitting .349 with 11 homers and 20 RBI this month, and an eye-popping .518 on-base percentage, .952 slugging percentage and 1.470 OPS (on-base and slugging percentages combined). Those are MVP-type numbers — and certainly a dramatic improvement over his dreadful first two months. But what the Yankees really need is for one of their top three starting pitchers — Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina or Carl Pavano (currently on the DL) — to put together a long winning streak and stabilize what has been an uncommonly unsettled rotation and staff.
Q: Do you think Keith Hernandez will ever get elected to the Hall of Fame? He won 11 Gold Gloves, played on two World Series teams, was a league MVP and had more than 10 All-Star appearances.
— Rick Celeste, Cleveland
A: I seriously doubt it, Rick. In the 2004 election, Hernandez didn’t even get the required 5 percent of votes to stay on the annual Baseball Writers’ ballot, so his candidacy lies in the hands of the Veteran Committee, which doesn’t seem to want to elect anyone. ‘Mex’ may be the best defensive first baseman I have seen, and he did win a batting title and hit .296 in his career with 2,182 hits. But his power numbers (162 homers and 1,071 RBI, or averages of only 10 and 67 per season over his career) are well below the major-league average at a power position such as first base – let alone the Hall of Fame standard. But while we’re on the subject, Hernandez is an excellent analyst on Mets telecasts – one of the best out there in my estimation.
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.