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.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had 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.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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 - Jose Contreras wriggled out of a couple jams at Yankee Stadium. One fan apparently put himself in much more serious danger and was fortunate to survive.
Contreras pitched shutout ball against his former team, and the Chicago White Sox got home runs from Paul Konerko and Tadahito Iguchi in a 2-1 victory Tuesday night over the New York Yankees.
The game was delayed for four minutes in the eighth inning after 18-year-old Scott Harper of Armonk, N.Y., plummeted about 40 feet from the upper deck onto the large net behind home plate.
“That was the only exciting thing that happened today,” Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said.
After the final out, Harper was carried from the ballpark on a stretcher, his head immobilized in a neck brace, and taken to Lincoln Hospital for observation.
Harper told three friends he was sitting with that he was going to test whether the net would hold his weight — and then he jumped, police said.
Obviously shaken after he landed, Harper sat with his head in his hands for a few moments before climbing on the net back up to the loge level as players watched and the crowd roared. He was hoisted over the railing and led away by security.
Det. Kevin Czartoryski said Harper was arrested and police expect to charge him with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. “I think that’s New York, you know, anything can happen.”
It was the second time in five years a fan fell or jumped from the upper deck at Yankee Stadium. In May 2000, 24-year-old Stephen Laurenzi of Yonkers, N.Y., was unconscious for a short time while sprawled on the netting as a game between Boston and New York went on. He also was arrested and taken to a hospital for observation.
In 1997 and 1998, there was only a high backstop behind the plate and no netting extending to the stands.
After Harper was pulled off the net by security, Cliff Politte retired Robinson Cano and Gary Sheffield with a runner on second to end the eighth.
Konerko hit his 28th homer leading off the ninth against Alan Embree, leaving Steinbrenner upset with Joe Torre .
“I’m not pleased with the manager,” Steinbrenner said. “I don’t know why they kept the left-hander in there. ... He should never have pitched to Konerko. Konerko’s their best hitter.”
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Alex Rodriguez hit his AL-leading 33rd homer and third in three days leading off the bottom half against Politte. Bernie Williams, who missed the previous two games with a sore right shoulder, came off the bench for the Yankees with runners at the corners in the ninth. He was 5-for-6 against Chicago closer Dustin Hermanson before lining out to first to end the game.
Hermanson threw only one pitch for his 29th save in 30 chances.
The White Sox, who have the best record in baseball, rebounded nicely one night after the Yankees beat another ex-teammate, Orlando Hernandez.
Contreras (7-6) allowed only a first-inning single to Cano, a leadoff single to Rodriguez in the fourth and a leadoff single to Tony Womack in the eighth. The big right-hander struck out six and walked two in seven-plus innings, outpitching Shawn Chacon.
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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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
