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.
AP fileQ: Why won’t Johan Santana win the Cy Young Award?
— Chris, Minneapolis
A: I’m not so sure that he won’t, Chris. Although Bartolo Colon and Mariano Rivera appear to be the leading candidates, you can make a very strong case for Santana, and it won’t surprise me if he wins the award for the second consecutive season. For certain, he’ll finish in the top three. The argument for Santana is this: He was the runaway leader in strikeouts with 238, 27 more than runner-up Randy Johnson. Santana also finished second in the league in ERA, just .01 behind Kevin Millwood at 2.87, and second in the league in innings pitched at 231.2, just five behind Mark Buehrle. Santana also had the best ratio of hits allowed per innings pitched (only 180 hits in 231.2 innings), and the best ratio of walks and hits per innings pitched — arguably the best indicator of a pitcher’s dominance. What will hold him back, of course, is he finished five wins behind Colon, plus the fact that the Twins finished a disappointing third.
Q: Why was Aaron Small left out of the Yankees’ postseason starting rotation? His performance during the season speaks for itself.
— Ernest Badman, Dayton, Ohio
A: I’m sure it was a tough call for Joe Torre, but in this case, I think Small’s versatility worked against him. Small is quite capable of coming out of the bullpen on short notice and pitching effectively in middle relief, while we know Shawn Chacon failed as a closer in Colorado, and Chien-Ming Wang hasn’t had much experience in the pen. Given Torre’s track record, I’m not going to question him. He knows his staff better than anyone.
Q: I know Tsuyoshi Shinjo became the first Japanese-born player to play in the World Series, but will Chien-Ming Wang be the first Taiwanese-born player to play in the World Series if the Yankees make it that far?
— Matt, Chattanooga, Tenn.
A: Unless I’m missing somebody, the list of Taiwanese-born big-leaguers includes only four players — Wang, Dodgers outfielder Chin-Feng Chen, Dodgers reliever Hong-Chih Kuo and Rockies pitcher Chin-Hue Tsao. None have appeared in a playoff game yet, let alone a World Series. So yes, Wang would be the first if the Yankees get there.
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.