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.
PBT: Jeremy Lin wasn't his hot self on Saturday, but he still led the Knicks to victory.
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.
AP fileQ: What is your opinion of the dismantling of the Dodgers that started last season? It’s hard to be a Dodger fan at this point.
— Upset, Las Vegas
A: From a team that won 94 games in 2004, the Dodgers slipped to 71-91 in 2005, their worst record in 13 years. Granted, they lost more games to the disabled list than in any season in the last 20, but a dismantling that began before the July 31, 2004 trade deadline has been for the most part a disaster. Gone from the team that was playing outstanding baseball in 2004 are Paul LoDuca, Guillermo Mota, Adrian Beltre, Shawn Green, Steve Finley and Alex Cora. Their replacements just don’t add up talent-wise.
Jeff Kent had his usually productive season, but — surprise, surprise — J.D. Drew was hurt again. How any general manager would give that guy a five-year deal is beyond me. They still haven’t adequately replaced LoDuca, as the jury remains out on Dioner Navarro. The injury to Eric Gagne blew up the bullpen, when Mota might have been able to better plug the gap in the ninth inning. And if they think Hee-Seop Choi is the long-term answer at first base, they’re sadly mistaken. The worst part about it is it cost a good manager — Jim Tracy — his job. But on second thought, he’s better off somewhere else. Basically, I don’t like much of anything the Frank McCourt-Paul DePodesta management team has done.
Q: Did Major League Baseball’s $50-million cap on the Washington Nationals’ player salaries keep the Nats from having a real opportunity at making the playoffs?
— Jeff, Washington, D.C.
A: It sure didn’t help matters, Jeff. But simply put, that’s the situation the Nationals are stuck with until new ownership takes over. For the sake of the franchise, let’s hope that transition occurs this offseason. Overall, though, the move to the nation’s capital obviously is a beneficial one, as the team improved by 14 games over 2004 and finished exactly at .500. In addition, the team drew 2.73 million to RFK Stadium, and that is almost four times as many fans than the Expos drew in Montreal and Puerto Rico in 2004.
You have to assume that the payroll will rise in the near future due to the attendance jump, plus what figures to be a solid ownership group taking over. It’s rare for a team with a payroll around $50 million to reach the playoffs, but it can be done, as the Oakland A’s have proven. This season, the Cleveland Indians won 93 games and just missed the playoffs with a payroll of about $42 million. But more realistically, a team’s payroll needs to at least be in the $60-70 million range. The San Diego Padres got to the playoffs (despite an 82-80 record) with a payroll of about $60 million, and the Chicago White Sox were the next-lowest in the field of eight at about $75 million.
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.