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.
Peter Gammons of MLB Network reports that Rich Harden had surgery last week to repair a torn capsule muscle in his right shoulder and will miss the entire 2012 season.
Gammons said on MLB Network on Wednesday that the surgery was performed by Dr. James Andrews. The rehab process from a torn capsule can be tricky (see: Chien-Ming Wang and Johan Santana for two prominent recent examples), but he's aiming to come back healthy in 2013. Harden, 30, posted a 5.12 ERA and 91/31 K/BB ratio over 82 2/3 innings for the A's last season.
During an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday, Athletics owner Lew Wolff said that general manager Billy Beane and team president Michael Crowley will have their contracts extended through the 2019 season.
The extensions are expected to be made official within the next 30 days. "I view them as partners as well as executives," said Wolff. "So if they are here another 30 years, that is fine with me. I may not be here to see it, but that will be fine." Beane, who was already signed through 2014, has been the team's GM the end of the 1997 season while Crowley took over as president following the 1998 campaign. However, the A's haven't had a winning season since 2006 and appear content to go through a rough rebuilding phase as they attempt to get a new ballpark.
Dallas Braden threw off a mound Monday for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery.
Braden is claiming to be a full month ahead of his rehab schedule and is optimistic that he won't miss much of the 2012 regular season. "At this point I have not hit a setback, knock on wood," said the 28-year-old left-hander. "Everything is good to go so we just stay the course and see where we are yet come Opening Day."
Daric Barton (shoulder) said that he won't be able to field until mid-March.
Barton underwent surgery on his right shoulder in September to repair a partial labrum tear. Barton, 26, batted .212 over 236-bats with the A's last season. He's a solid defensive first baseman, assuming his shoulder is sound. The key to reclaiming his old role as a starter will be turning things around offensively. He was simply atrocious at the plate last year, especially for a first baseman.
A's manager Bob Melvin hinted Sunday that Brandon McCarthy will be the Opening Day starter March 28 in Japan against the Mariners.
McCarthy, Dallas Braden and Bartolo Colon are locks for the starting rotation, with Jarrod Parker, Brad Peacock and Tommy Milone amongst competitors for the final two openings.
Athletics manager Bob Melvin said Sunday that Brett Anderson (elbow) is on target to return in August.
Anderson has said previously that he hoped to be back in July, but it sounds like it will be a little later than that. Of course, a lot can happen between now and then, so any timetable is a rough estimate. With his command unlikely to be up to snuff initially upon his return, Anderson can't be counted on to contribute much for fantasy owners in 2012.
Pitching coach Curt Young thinks it's unlikely that Dallas Braden (shoulder) will be ready by Opening Day.
Braden is shooting to be available by then, but Young thinks mid-April is a more likely scenario. The A's have a couple off days early in the season, so they could just delay Braden's season debut until they need a fifth starter. The left-hander will throw from a mound Monday for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery last May, and we'll obviously have a clearer picture of his status once we see what he feels like after throwing from the bump.
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.
