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.
HOUSTON - Mike Hampton is set to return to the Houston Astros, reaching a preliminary agreement on a $2 million, one-year contract.
His deal would contain an additional $2 million in performance bonuses, a person familiar with the agreement said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been finalized. The oft-injured 36-year-old left-hander must pass a physical for the agreement to be finalized.
Hampton’s deal with the Astros was reported earlier by KRIV-TV, ESPN.com, MLB.com and the Houston Chronicle.
Astros general manager Ed Wade declined comment. Hampton’s agent, Mark Rodgers, did not return a phone message left at his office.
Hampton pitched for the Astros from 1994-99, winning 15 games in 1997 and 22 in 1999. He then was traded to the Mets, and left New York after the 2000 season to sign a $121 million, eight-year contract with Colorado. It proved to be one on the worst free-agent signings ever, with Hampton going 56-52 with a 4.81 in just 147 starts for the Rockies and Braves, who acquired him after the 2002 season.
Hampton missed the 2006 season recovering from elbow surgery and opened the 2007 season on the disabled list with a left oblique injury. He then learned he had a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow, leading to another season-ending surgery.
Hampton was 13-9 with a 4.28 ERA with Atlanta in 2004, his last full season. He went 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA in 13 starts in 2008, including the season finale in Houston. In 14 seasons, Hampton has a 141-105 career record.
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.
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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.
