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?
LIVE VIDEO: NBCSports.com shows Washington-New York, with alternate camera angles, HD views and more.
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.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -England defender Joleon Lescott preserved Manchester City's two-point lead in the Premier League by scoring a second-half winner in a 1-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday.
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.
APFinally healthy in 2004, Carpenter went 15-5 with a 3.46 ERA to earn NL comeback player of the year honors from his peers. But he missed the postseason because of a biceps injury, and St. Louis was swept in the World Series by Boston.
Carpenter won 13 straight decisions this year from June 14 through Sept. 8, helping the Cardinals to the best record in baseball (100-62). He threw 241 2-3 innings, struck out 213 batters and got the best of several other aces around the league.
Carpenter beat Clemens in both of their matchups. He also topped Roy Oswalt, Carlos Zambrano, Andy Pettitte, A.J. Burnett and Willis.
“I was locked in mentally for a very long period of time,” Carpenter said. “Next thing you know, your teammates are behind you saying, ‘Wow! Look at this guy go.”’
He and Willis led the NL with seven complete games apiece. Willis had five shutouts to Carpenter’s four.
Carpenter admitted losing focus a bit in September once St. Louis secured a postseason spot, and he struggled in his final three starts of the regular season. Some thought that might give Willis the opening he needed to win.
But those outings were really nothing more than playoff tuneups for Carpenter — he had a 2.31 ERA when the Cardinals clinched the NL Central.
“It’s a great feeling,” Carpenter said during a conference call from his New Hampshire home. “There’s not a lot of people that come from this area, never mind play in the big leagues.”
Bartolo Colon of the Los Angeles Angels won the AL Cy Young Award on Tuesday. The next award to be handed out is the AL MVP on Monday.
Gibson is the only other St. Louis winner, taking the honor in 1968 and ’70.
Carpenter gets a $50,000 bonus for winning the award, and Clemens gets $25,000 for finishing third.
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.
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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