LeBron James and the Cavs came up short Saturday against the Magic.
If having LeBron James isn't enough to get the Cleveland Cavaliers into the NBA Finals, what's it going to take for the Bulls to make it back to the mountaintop? Couldn't help but ponder that sobering reality after watching Cleveland -- which swept both Detroit and Atlanta -- come up short against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. "Superman" scored 40 points Saturday and the Magic easily closed out the Cavs 103-90 in Game 6 to advance to a showdown against Kobe and the Lakers.
Detroit's Darren Helm (upper right) celebrates his game-winning OT goal Wednesday.
A six-week odyssey of postseason thrills and chills ended abruptly for Chicago sports fans Wednesday night, but the significance of what two long-downtrodden teams accomplished will resonate throughout what should be an interesting offseason.
Ryan Dempster regroups after Freddy Sanchez's two-run homer in the fourth Monday.
First the Bulls captivated us with a seven-game instant classic vs. the Celtics. Then the Blackhawks took us on a joyride through the Stanley Cup playoffs. But the Red Wings are poised to turn out the lights on the Hawks' postseason party Wednesday, and if that happens, the spotlight's long-overdue glare finally will fall on the struggling Cubs.
Patrick Sharp celebrates his game-winning goal Friday with Brent Seabrook.
It doesn't get much better for Blackhawks fans than Friday night's 4-3 overtime victory in Game 3 against the Red Wings. Let's face it: Detroit is a much better team -- the Hawks built a 3-0 lead with the help of a ton of penalties, and it took the Wings (playing without injured star Pavel Datsyuk) about five minutes late in the second period to tie the score. But Patrick Sharp delivered in OT, and now, even if the Hawks don't win again the rest of the series, they have a signature victory that they can build on for the future.
San Diego Padre Jake Peavy is 3-5, 3.82 ERA, 19 K and a 1.11WHIP in 2009.
For his career, the right-hander is 89-67, 3.27 ERA, 1,325 K, 1.18WHIP
UPDATE, 8:01 p.m.
The Chicago White Sox 4-for-1 deal for Padres ace Jake Peavy is dead after the pitcher invoked his no-trade rights Thursday evening.
Peavy met with San Diego skipper Bud Black Wednesday night to discuss the trade possibility and in the clubhouse said the deal was "something to think about," but in the end, decided he and his family were not ready to make a move to the South Side.
Peavy's agent, Barry Axelrod, said earlier in the day the pitcher respects the White Sox organization, but wishes to remain a National Leaguer:
"The owner [Jerry Reinsdorf] lets his very adept baseball guy run the show. I have a great deal of respect for how they operate. They allow their baseball people do what they are supposed to do.
This would have been a stunning move by Sox GM Kenny Williams coming on the heels of an off-season in which Peavy was the talk of Cubdom.
The Padres and Cubs were reportedly close to a deal in winter, but the North Siders ended up walking away from the table. Peavy's name has continually popped up, including during a Cubs sweep of the Padres during a recent homestand, as still being on general manager Jim Hendry's wish list.
As for the struggling Sox, Peavy would have added to a rotation with a proven ace in Mark Buehrle, but that has struggled to find consistency after that. That included an historic 20-1 pounding at the hands of the Twins at the Cell as the deal news was breaking in the afternoon.
The White Sox have also been offensively challenged this season, but an ace like Peavy seldom comes along. At five games under .500 in a mediocre division, it would have been a huge shot in the arms for the Sox.
Clayton Richard and fellow lefty Aaron Poreda, a former no. 1 draft pick, were two names from the Sox system in the all-pitching deal.
Peavy also had some qualms about playing for volatile manager Ozzie Guillen, but after talking to former Padre Scott Linebrink, was put at ease.
Peavy is due to earn $11 million this season. Padres GM Kevin Towers has said the Padres are about $5 million above the $40 million player payroll that the team's majority owner, John Moores, has set for this season, according to the Union-Tribune.
Bt this sets up a great pitching matchup Friday. The Cubs throw Carlos Zambrano (3-1) in his return from hamstring injury up against Peavy in San Diego.
Peavy was the 2007 NL Cy Young winner and earned the pitching Triple Crown by leading the National League with 19 wins, 240 strikeouts and a 2.54 ERA.
Jonathan Toews (right) celebrates his second goal with Cam Barker and Kris Versteeg.
No, this series is not over. Hawks history tells us it isn't, and you don't have to go back all that far for proof: The last time the Hawks rallied to win a series after losing the first two games was in the 1995 Western Conference quarterfinals, when they dropped a pair at home against Toronto but rallied to beat the Maple Leafs in seven games. And yes, they've done it against the Red Wings, too: In a 1965 semifinal, they lost the first two at Detroit but won it in seven games. So it can be done.
WWE chairman Vince McMahon can't believe the Denver Nuggets are still playing.
So far, so good for the NBA and its anticipated dream matchup: Kobe vs. LeBron in the Finals. But while King James and the Cleveland Cavaliers should have enough to body-slam the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers could be in trouble against a team that already has scored a major takedown over Vince McMahon and WWE.
Duncan Keith and Nikolai Khabibulin sit on the bench near the end of Game 1.
Too many turnovers. Too much time off. Those were a couple of explanations offered for the Blackhawks' 5-2 loss Sunday to Detroit in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. The explanation that Hawks fans would rather not consider is this: The veteran Red Wings are simply a lot better than their young, inexperienced team.
Is Kevin Gregg the closer you want on the mound with a playoff win on the line?
When Cubs manager Lou Piniella anointed Kevin Gregg over Carlos Marmol as his closer at the end of spring training, he made a point of saying that this was his decision for now, but it wasn't necessarily etched in stone. Good thing. After what we witnessed Saturday at Wrigley Field, the suspicion here is that before too long, it won't even be etched on paper.
Scotty Bowman, who coached the Red Wings to three Stanley Cup titles, was hired by the Hawks as a senior adviser last summer.
So, we finally have the matchup everybody is dying to see: Blackhawks vs. Red Wings, two Original Six teams and one of hockey's most bitter rivalries, a rematch of a Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day that captivated Chicago. And although the outcome obviously will be determined mainly by the players on the ice, don't discount the benefits the Hawks will derive from Scotty Bowman providing guidance behind the scenes.
Jermaine Dye stalks off the field after being ejected by plate umpire Mike DiMuro.
Why aren't the White Sox hitting? They were shut out for a major-league-worst sixth time in just 33 games Wednesday in a 4-0 loss at Cleveland, and afterward captain Paul Konerko put it bluntly: ''We're just not good right now, that's it.''
We'll have to wait until Thursday night to learn the next stop on the Blackhawks' postseason express. The Ducks' 2-1 victory over the Red Wings sends their series back to Detroit for a seventh and deciding game (6 p.m., Versus), meaning the Hawks won't begin play in the Western Conference finals any earlier than Saturday.
What an amazing joyride this Hawks season has been! In Monday's Sun-Times, beat writer Len Ziehm likened these Hawks to another young team he once covered -- the Gary Barnett-led bunch that accomplished the unthinkable: taking the Purple to Pasadena. Wrote Ziehm, ''There's a lot to like about these young Blackhawks, who just might be the best feel-good story in Chicago sports since Northwestern's football team came out of collegiate oblivion to go to the 1996 Rose Bowl.''
Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz takes in the national anthem before Game 6 Monday.
Rocky Wirtz is feeling conflicted: Rocky the hockey fan loves the thought of a marquee matchup against the arch-rival Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference finals. Rocky the businessman loves the thought of playing the Anaheim Ducks, for one simple reason: "Home-ice advantage," the Blackhawks chairman said with a smile, relishing the thought of four home games against the upstart Ducks.
Aramis Ramirez is checked out by Lou Piniella after injuring his left shoulder Friday.
The annual, ongoing soap opera that is Chicago Cubs baseball already is in midseason form. Much hand-wringing and talk-radio hyperventilating among the Cubbie faithful over the team's injuries and bullpen woes -- despite the fact that virtually all teams at some point have injuries and bullpen woes.
Dave Bolland celebrates his third-period goal with Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith.
It was right around midnight Chicago time, the dawning of Mother's Day, when Dave Bolland took a nifty pass from Patrick Kane and poked in the goal that propelled the Blackhawks to a dramatic 4-2 victory in Game 5 of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal at Vancouver.
The Hawks celebrate Andrew Ladd's game-winning goal in OT. (Tom Cruze/S-T)
If seeing is believing, what I witnessed Thursday at the United Center made it even more clear how the Blackhawks have made a remarkably rapid transformation from one of the worst-run franchise in sports to one of the best. And I'm not even talking about what happened on the ice.
In this April 25, 2009 file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers' Manny Ramirez pulls off his helmet after flying out against the Colorado Rockies to end the top of the eighth inning of the Dodgers' 6-5 victory in Denver. (David Zalubowski~AP)
Manny Ramirez, the slugging left fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is being suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball for a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.
Ramirez's test result and suspension were announced today and Ramirez released the following statement:
"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a
medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me.
Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the
policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say
anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and
passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.
"I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates,
the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me
and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole
situation." - Manny Ramirez
Citing a source familiar with the matter, The Times reported Ramirez is expected to say the positive test results were a result of medication received from a doctor for a personal medical issue.
If his suspension begins Thursday, Ramirez would be eligible to return to the Dodgers' lineup July 3 game.
In his first full season as a Dodger after a deadline deal with the Boston Red Sox in 2008, Ramirez is batting .348 with six home runs and 20 RBIs. Los Angeles has bolted to a major-league best 21-8 record.
Ramirez is a career .315 hitter with 516 homeruns and 1,745 RBI. The perennial All-Star outfielder has been besieged by team and clubhouse scandals in recent seasons, however, and was ousted from Boston after his most-recent spat with management.
MLB's drug testing policy stipulates a 50-game penalty for the first positive test, 100 games for a second positive and a lifetime ban after that.
Ramirez will lose about $8 million in salary while sitting out his suspension. He had signed a two0year, $45 million contract after a contentious negotiation with the Dodgers in the off-season.
This is Ramirez's 14th year in the league and first full-season in the National League after beginning his career with the Cleveland Indians and helping the Red Sox to their first World Series title since 1918.
Ozzie Guillen holds court with the media Wednesday at the Cell. (Tom Cruze/S-T)
It's only early May, but Ozzie Guillen isn't happy. The White Sox skipper blistered his troops after Tuesday's 11-inning, 8-7 loss at Kansas City, the team's fourth straight. And as Sun-Times beat writer Joe Cowley reports, he sent a message Wednesday by benching struggling shortstop Alexei Ramirez.
Nikolai Khabibulin dives but can't stop a first-period goal by Mason Raymond.
''ONE GOAL'' is the clever slogan the Blackhawks have bombarded us with this season. Unfortunately for John McDonough's marketing machine, it also represents their meager offensive output in Game 3 vs. Vancouver on Tuesday night. The dreary 3-1 loss to the opportunistic Canucks marked the first time the Hawks failed to tally at least twice in this postseason, and it suddenly sets up a must-win scenario in Game 4 Thursday at the United Center.
My first thought upon hearing speculation about Brett Favre resurfacing in Minnesota was that it was media-driven nonsense. After all, ESPN virtually adopted an All-Favre format last summer when the longtime Packers quarterback came out of retirement, wreaked havoc in Green Bay's training camp and finally got himself traded to the New York Jets. So leave it to the World-Wide Leader to milk the Favre-to-the-Vikings angle once news hit last week that the Jets had released him from the reserve/retired list, freeing him to sign anywhere.
Bulls forward Joakim Noah's face shows his frustration late in Game 7. (AP)
They didn't quit. The Bulls certainly could have been forgiven for doing so, down 14 at halftime on the home floor of the defending NBA champions, having been outscored 29-11 and thoroughly outclassed by the Boston Celtics in the second quarter Saturday night.
Boston's Ray Allen drives on Bulls guard Derrick Rose during Game 5.
We've watched all the highlights, we've read all the rave reviews about this epic Bulls-Celtics series. Now, in a few hours, we find out whether Game 7 can provide an appropriately dramatic encore and, more importantly, whether the Bulls can cap their remarkable run by eliminating the defending champs and moving on to Orlando.
