ATLANTA—Former Bull Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 29 points and the Atlanta Hawks opened the second half with a 20-4 run and beat the slumping El Toros 118-83 on Wednesday night.The Bulls, who have lost four straight and nine of 10, remained close only in the first period. Atlanta pushed its lead to double digits for good on a jam by Josh Smith with 5:17 remaining in the first half.Smith had 18 points, including an alley-oop jam to cap the decisive 20-4 run and push the lead to 30 points at 76-46 with 3:35 remaining in the third period.Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 19 points. James Johnson had 17 — all in the final period — and John Salmons added 16.Maurice Evans had 18 points as Atlanta’s reserves scored 66 points. Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams each had 12 points.The Hawks have won two straight for the first time since a seven-game winning streak from Nov. 7-20.Hawks backup forward Joe Smith dislocated his left thumb on a blocked shot less than a minute into the fourth period. He was escorted to the locker room.Smith had two blocks on the possession, first rejecting Kirk Hinrich’s shot against the backboard before sustaining the injury while stopping Joakim Noah’s attempt.There was no immediate update on Smith’s status.The Hawks led 56-42 at halftime before outscoring the Bulls 31-15 in the third period.Taj Gibson, who had 11 points, was the Bulls only reserve to score in the first three periods. Each team played backups through most of the fourth period.

NOTES—

Hinrich returned after missing six games with a sprained left thumb. The guard had the thumb wrapped and struggled with his shooting. He missed each of his nine shots and was on the bench with ice on the thumb in the final minutes. … Hawks C Jason Collins, playing in only his fifth game, hit a short jumper in the final minute for his first points of the season. He missed two free throws earlier in the final period…..The Bulls host Golden State Friday, Boston Saturday and the L.A.Lakers next Tuesday.

Remember those Nets that went 0-18 for the worst start in NBA history? Now, they’re on a roll.They’ve put together two wins in their last three games, including their first road victory Tuesday night when they beat the struggling Bulls 103-101 behind Brook Lopez’s 25 points and a clutch go-ahead basket from Devin Harris. The Nets, who finally cracked the victory column by beating Charlotte before losing to the Knicks, are now 2-19 — including 1-12 away from home.The Bulls have eight losses in nine games.Derrick Rose, who had 11 of his 27 points in the final quarter, drove and banked in a high arching shot to give the Bulls a 100-99 lead with 19.5 seconds remaining.But Harris answered with a driving shot of his own with Rose guarding him, putting the Nets back up 101-100 with 14.9 seconds to go. After a timeout, the Bulls couldn’t get the ball back to Rose, who had been driving to the basket or getting in the lane for good shots.Instead John Salmons missed a 3-point attempt before Rafer Alston made two at the free throw line with 6.3 seconds remaining, giving New Jersey a 103-100 lead.After Alston’s free throws, Rose was fouled with 2.1 seconds to go. He made the first and missed the second intentionally before Lopez grabbed the rebound — his 10th of the game — as the buzzer sounded.Chris Douglas-Roberts added 20 points and Harris had 17 for New Jersey.Douglas-Roberts had three baskets as the Nets began the second half with a 10-0 run to pull out to a 64-54 lead, and they increased it to 12 on a basket by Lopez, who would later pick up his third and fourth fouls in the third quarter.The Nets led 80-70 after three, and when the Bulls missed four straight free throws to start the final period, the boos began to pour down at the United Center.Then the Bulls went on a 9-0 run.Taj Gibson sank a jumper, Rose drove for a basket, Deng dunked and Salmons hit a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to one.Lopez picked up a loose ball to score for the Nets, but Deng hit another 3-pointer to tie the game at 82.Rose finally put the Bulls ahead with a basket at 94-93, but Harris responded with a drive, and Douglas-Roberts sank a jumper for a three-point Nets’ lead with 2:10 left.

NOTES—Entering the game, the Nets were averaging an NBA-low 87.6 points per game. The Bulls were two from the bottom at 90.4…..Gibson scored a career-high 20 on 8-of-12 shooting after he was replaced in the starting lineup by Brad Miller….The Bulls play the Hawks in Atlanta Wednesday night.

CHAMPAIGN—Demetri McCamey scored 23 points and had five assists to lead Illinois past Vanderbilt 79-68 on Tuesday night.McCamey buried a pair of free throws with less than a minute left that finished the Commodores. But his 8-for-10 shooting fired the Illini offense much of the night. He’s averaging 12.6 points and 5.6 assists a game this season for Illinois (7-2).The Illini rode the outside shot of 7-1 center Mike Tisdale and the passing and shooting of McCamey to a game-opening 9-0 lead and a 46-36 edge at halftime that the Commodores couldn’t overcome.Vanderbilt (6-2) was led by 12 points each from Brad Tinsley and Jeffery Taylor. Illinois limited Taylor, who is averaging 15.4 points a game, to just two in the first half.

**Anybody buying into the garbage that Sunday’s Bears win over a horrible Rams outfit was the type that could turn them around? This one was just as ugly as the November 1 win over Cleveland. Bears players and Coaches was insulted after fans and reporters correctly called that Cleveland game meaningless. Well,guess what? This one was just as bogus!

***Yet former QB Trent Green said on Sundays FOX-TV telecast of the Bears-Rams game that if the Bears beat the Packers next week,they would be right in the playoff hunt. Yeah,right! Like they are going to beat Green Bay,Baltimore(on the road),and Minnesota in a row.Anyone who saw the Bears win a close one from that awful Rams team Sunday,would have a tough time having any confidence this team can beat any of those clubs.

***The Rams are right on a par with the Browns,Bucs,Lions,Raiders,Chiefs and Redskins in comprising the drudge of a rather weak NFL.

***Northwestern getting an invitation to the Outback Bowl in Tampa New Year’s Day is a pleasant surprise since the Outback and Capital One(nee Citrus)Bowl in Orlando screwed the Wildcats both last year and in 2000(01),forcing NU to accept an Alamo Bowl bid. Now the folks in San Antonio do a nice job,but let’s face it, a New Year’s Day Bowl in Florida is a better trip. The Wildcats will face Auburn for the first time ever,and the Tigers almost beat #1(now)Alabama a bit over a week ago.

***Northwestern has not won a Bowl since their first ever Jan of 1948(20-14 over California in the Rose Bowl). They are 0-6 since-starting with their tough loss to USC in the Jan 1996 Rose Bowl.Auburn will likely be a double digit favorite in this one.

***Texas beating Nebraska Saturday night was a big time BUMMER! Not that I could ever care less about the Cornhuskers. But like any,I wanted the B(C)S to be thrown into a tizzy. Once the Longhorns won, the clowns who run the B(C)S probably were popping the corks on Dom Perignon. Watching Alabama and Texas play for the so called National Title will be a big time bore.

***It sure won’t be anything like the January 1,1965 Orange Bowl when then #1 Bama and Joe Namath were upset by Tommy Nobis and Texas.

***The Bulls didn’t come close to looking like a legit NBA team Saturday night against a mediocre Toronto outfit. Of course,the Raptors have Chris Bosh who is better right now than any Bull-including Derrick Rose whom we can hope at this point that he is not in the process of having a blah ‘sophomore’ season like Geovany Soto or Matt Forte.

LES

The Bears found a team they are better than, at least by a small margin.Despite having no big statistical advantages,and even with Lance Briggs among those inactive, the Bears beat the awful St.Louis Rams 17-9 by holding the bewildered visitors out of the end zone.On a chilly,but sunny early December afternoon,two franchises who played for the NFC Title here 24 years ago, faced off as two of the worst teams in the NFL.

Jay Cutlers first pass,on the Bears second series,was a 48 yarder to Devin Hester at the Rams 37.One play later,Johnny Knox was interfered with by Quincy Butler in the end zone. After a pair of Matt Forte no gainers, he found a hole off left guard and the Bears had their first lead(7-0)since the Philadelphia game November 22. After stopping the Rams, the Bears(5-7) took their at their own 6, and on third down, Cutler found Earl Bennett in stride and he got to the St.Louis 20, before fumbling out of bounds.It was 71 yard pass play. An 11 yard pass top Knox put the ball at the 9.But after a catch by Hester with only one foot in bounds in the end zone, Robbie Gould kicked a 27 yard field goal.In the second quarter, the Rams(1-11) failed to take advantage of great field position. Kyle Boller hit Brandon Gibson on a third and 19,but Zack Bowman knocked the ball loose, Al Afalava had it bounce into his grasp and he returned it to the St.Louis16.The Bears did not move the ball,and lined up for a field goal,but holder Brad Maynard tossed a shovel pass to Greg Olsen. He was stuffed well short of a first down,so the Bears came up empty and the Rams took over at their own 10 and marched 88 yards in 14 plays using 6:16,but they had to settle for a 10 yard Josh Brown field goal with 1:14 left,and it was 10-3 Bears at halftime.

The Rams tightened the score on their second drive of the third quarter-helped by a 15 yard`face mask penalty on Peanut Tillman.Brown kicked a 48 yard field goal.Earlier,Hester suffered a calf injury and did not return.The Bears answered,helped by two Rams penalties,including a ‘horse collar’ call,and they went 76 yards in 13 plays. Cutler hit a wide open Bennett for a three yard TD with 1:23 left in the quarter.The Rams added a third field goal by Brown,from 50 yards out with 10:10 to go in the fourth. That was it.

NOTES—With temperatures 36* at game time, there were 7,346 no shows…..The Bears only out gained the Rams 248-233…..Stephen Jackson had 112 yards for St.Louis while Forte rushed for 91 yards and 1 TD…..Cutler was 8-17 for 143 yards,1 TD and zero interceptions.His passer rating was 96.0……Boller was 17-32 for 113 yards and 1 interception…..Jamar Williams,playing in place of Briggs, had 18 tackles-13 of them solo.

LES

PITTSBURGH—Kris Versteeg scored 2:38 into overtime and the Blackhawks snapped the Pittsburgh Penguins’ five-game home winning streak with a 2-1 victory Saturday.Versteeg took a pass from Brian Campbell while standing in front of Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, and had his initial shot stopped. He got the rebound and knocked it past Fleury for his ninth goal. That lifted the Hawks to their 10th win in 13 games (10-2-1).Former Penguins forward Marian Hossa, booed every time he touched the puck, scored 7:37 into the game. It was his third goal in six games with the Blackhawks since returning from a shoulder injury.Jordan Staal tied it for Pittsburgh with 1:32 left in regulation after Antti Niemi had stopped the Penguins’ first 31 shots. He fell just short of his third shutout in six starts this season.The Penguins played without captain Sidney Crosby, who didn’t play because of a sore groin. Crosby had seven goals and four assists in his previous three games, all Pittsburgh victories.Even without him, the talented teams had a bevy of young stars trading chances in an entertaining and physical.There was a playoff feel in the matchup of two clubs with the second-best records in their conferences.Hossa has been a villain in Pittsburgh since he left the Penguins and signed with the Detroit Red Wings two summers ago. Upon joining the Red Wings, the team that beat the Penguins in the 2008 Stanley Cup finals, Hossa said Detroit gave him the better chance to win a title.After Patrick Kane used his speed to gain the zone, Campbell took a shot from above the left-wing circle. The rebound bounced off Fleury’s chest and fell at the feet of Hossa, who came in from the right wing and scored.Niemi was 1:32 away from making that stand until Evgeni Malkin’s shot from the point hit a Hawk defenseman and deflected right to Staal, who slammed the puck into an open net for his eighth of the season and second in two games.Pittsburgh, which came in having won three straight, six of seven and eight of 10, fell to 16-2-1 when having at least 30 shots.Without Crosby, the Penguins had won 11 of their previous 14 — and seven consecutive at home — but they fell to 21-11-7 when he is out of the lineup.

NOTES—

It was the Hawks first win in Pittsburgh since Feb. 22, 1997. … Staal played in his 250th consecutive game, the fourth-longest streak in team history. … The Blackhawks improved to 16-3-3 when scoring first, 11-1-1 when leading after one period and 10-1 after 2. … The Penguins had only 23 seconds of power-play time.

Chris Bosh had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 110-78 victory over the Bulls on Saturday night.Coming off an overtime victory in Washington on Friday night that snapped a five-game losing streak, the Raptors had it easy this time.They led 37-16 after the first quarter, with Bosh again leading the way after scoring 31 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the night before.He had 13 points in the opening quarter alone and hit 9 of 12 shots overall in just 22 minutes, sending the Bulls to their seventh loss in eight games.One night after getting danced on by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 101-87 loss, the Bulls never could get going against the Raptors. They shot 39 percent against a team that was next-to-last in opponents’ scoring and gave up 146 points in a loss to Atlanta earlier in the week.John Salmons and Jannero Pargo scored 13 apiece to lead the Bulls while Brad Miller added 11.Luol Deng finished with nine points after averaging 20 in his previous six games. Derrick Rose had nine points and five assists, and Joakim Noah had another frustrating night after jawing with the dancing James in Cleveland.This time, Noah directed his anger toward officials, resulting in technical fouls in the first and third quarters and an early exit.The Bulls had checked out of this one long before that.Bosh set the tone, scoring on a layup and swatting one by Rose in the opening minute of a dominant first quarter that saw the Raptors build a 21-point lead. DeMar DeRozan added all of his 11 in the period, and the Raptors converted 12 of 21 shots.The Bulls, meanwhile, kept settling for jumpers and were 5 of 17. Throw in six of their 14 turnovers and it added up to one of their ugliest quarters this season.

NOTES—

The Raptors hit 23 of 26 free throws. … Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro didn’t notice the Cavaliers carrying on Friday, but he did like seeing Noah stand up to a superstar. “I was happy for Joakim,” he said. “I thought it was the right thing. Everybody was feeling the same way, I think. But we have to play better and not put ourselves in that situation.” … The Bulls continue to take a cautious approach with G Kirk Hinrich, who missed his fifth straight game with a sprained left thumb. “He wants to be out there,” Del Negro said. “It’s an unfortunate injury.”

NASHVILLE—A.J. Ogilvy scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half as Vanderbilt survived for a 67-54 victory against DePaul on Saturday.The Commodores (7-1) went ahead for good when Ogilvy hit two free throws with 15:33 left for a 37-36 margin, sparking a 13-3 run. Ogilvy scored six points during the stretch and Brad Tinsley’s 3-pointer gave Vanderbilt its biggest lead, 48-38, with 10:05 left.DePaul (5-2) cut the deficit to 53-49 when Jeremiah Kelly nailed a 3-pointer with 4:41 to go. But Vanderbilt ended the game on a 14-5 spurt.Ogilvy was 13-for-15 from the free throw line, but his teammates shot just 7-for-15 from the line for a 66.7 team percentage.The Blue Demons were just 35.7 percent (5-for-14) at the free throw line.Jeffery Taylor added 18 points for Vanderbilt, which outrebounded DePaul 41-33.Will Walker led the Blue Demons with 17 points.

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CHAMPAIGN—Demetri McCamey made the most of his foul-limited minutes, scoring 23 points to help Illinois escape with an 84-77 win over Boise State on Saturday night.The Broncos managed to chip away at the Illini’s double-digit second-half lead, using a 13-4 run to get within two points with 20 seconds left in the game.Illinois (6-2) converted all six of its free-throw attempts in the final seconds to seal the win.The Illini offense struggled with McCamey and center Mike Tisdale in foul trouble and on the bench in the first half. McCamey played just nine minutes and Tisdale seven in the first half. McCamey played 26 minutes in the game, going 8-for-11 from the field.Forward Mike Davis picked up the slack, scoring 10 of his 16 points in the first half while grabbing seven of his team-high 12 rebounds.Ike Okoye led the Broncos (4-3) with 20 points and nine rebounds. LaShard Anderson scored 14, Robert Arnold had 13 and Anthony Thomas 10 for Boise State.Illini freshman D.J. Richardson scored seven straight points to give Illinois an early 14-11 lead. Richardson finished with 14 points and four assists. Tisdale and Brandon Paul scored 10 points apiece.

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NORMAL—Dinma Odiakosa had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Illinois State to its seventh straight victory, 75-62 over Central Michigan Saturday night.Osiris Eldridge scored 13 points, Lloyd Phillips had 12 and Alex Rubin 10 for the Redbirds (7-0), who were 21-for-26 from the free-throw line.Robbie Harman scored 18 points for Central Michigan (3-5). Marko Spica had 13 points and six rebounds for the Chippewas, and Amir Rashid also scored 13 points. Harman had five 3-pointers, the only ones of the game for Central Michigan.The Redbirds led 37-31 at halftime and maintained the lead the rest of the way, with the Chippewas getting within 39-37 early in the second half. A 3-pointer by Phillips gave Illinois State a 10-point lead with just under six minutes to play.

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MILWAUKEE—Geoff McKammon scored 18 points and Courtney Stanley added 13 to lead Loyola to a 69-64 victory against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday night.Terrance Hill had 11 points for the Ramblers (5-2, 1-1 Horizon League).Ricky Franklin scored 17 points and Lonnie Boga had 12 for Wisconsin-Milwaukee (6-3, 1-1).Boga’s layup tied the game at 44-44 with 11:37 remaining, but McKammon nailed a 3-pointer and two free throws and Hill made two field goals over the next three minutes to give Loyola a 53-49 lead. The Ramblers maintained that small cushion the rest of the way.

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GREEN BAY—Rahmon Fletcher had 24 points to lead Wisconsin-Green Bay past UIC 85-59 Saturday night.Bryquis Perine added 16 points and eight assists for the Phoenix (8-0, 2-0 Horizon League). Troy Cotton had 12 points, including two 3-pointers, and Randy Berry had a game-high 12 rebounds.Zavion Neely had 15 points to lead the Flames (1-5, 0-2). Jeremy Buttell added 10 points, including two 3-pointers, and K.C. Robbins added 10 points and nine rebounds.Green Bay led 41-21 at halftime following 63-percent shooting in the first half. The Phoenix shooting cooled to 46 percent in the second half while UIC shot a consistent 36 percent throughout the game.

CHAMPAIGN—Offensive lineman Devan Cunningham caught a deflected pass with 2 seconds left and stumbled into the end zone for a 2-point conversion, giving Fresno State a wild 53-52 victory over Illinois on Saturday.Ryan Colburn capped a 67-yard drive by hitting Jamel Hamler for the last touchdown. Hamler caught the ball at the 5 and stretched across the goal line just as his knee hit the turf.Fresno State coach Pat Hall called a timeout and huddled with his offense, opting to go for the win rather than kicking the extra point and forcing overtime. The Bulldogs lost a double-overtime heartbreaker at Wisconsin earlier in the season.Colburn rolled right with the ball and, under heavy pressure, flung a prayer toward Hamler just inside the goal line that was batted away and brought down by Cunningham. The 350-pound line leaned through a crowd of players at the 2-yard line and landed on the orange endzone turf.Officials review the play and ruled that an Illinois defense back had tipped the ball, not a Fresno State player, allowing anybody to catch it.Colburn finished 13 of 31 for 183 yards with three total touchdowns for Fresno State (8-4), as the teams combined for 964 yards of total offense — 564 of it on the ground. Their 105 combined points set a new scoring record for 86-year-old Memorial Stadium.Fresno had 233 yards rushing, including 173 on 32 carries by Ryan Mathews.Illinois (3-9) was led by sophomore back Mikel LeShoure, who carried the ball 11 times for 184 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown pass from Juice Williams, Ron Zook’s first marquee recruit at Illinois, who ended his career with three losing seasons in his four as a starter. He was 8 of 16 for 211 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and ran for 56 yards on 14 carries.The Illini gouged the Fresno State defense for 331 yards on the ground, and led 28-21 at halftime after Arrelious Benn swiped the ball from defensive back Desia Dunn for a 58-yard touchdown pass.Fresno scored the first 10 points of the second half, then traded scores blow-for-blow with the Illini in a half in which the defenses were conspicuously absent.Fresno State is likely headed to the New Mexico Bowl or Hawaii Bowl, while Illinois wraps up its second straight losing season. Illini athletic director Ron Guenther has said Zook’s job is safe, but also said other coaching staff changes may be needed.

The Blackhawks started their eight game home winning streak against Nashville,and the Predators ended it with a 4-1 win Friday night in the United Center. Preds Goalie Dan Ellis was the difference with 34 saves. The Hawks only goal was a spectacuar one by Jonathan Toews at 11:50 of the game,but even though the Hawks kept up the pressure all night,either Ellis came up big,or the Hawk shooters simply misfired.Nashville tied it at 17:04 of the first period on a slapshot by Dan Hamhuis. The only second period talley was on a shot by Jason Tootoo that hit Martin Erats leg and deflected past Cristobal Huet who was screened. That proved to be the game winner. Tootoo and Joel Ward each scored in the final three minutes of the game,clinched it.

NOTES—The Hawks have their only meeting of the season with defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh on the road Saturday night…..The Hawks outscored Nashille 35-23.

LES