MESA—Carlos Silva is telling everyone – including his mother – that he is back to being an effective major league pitcher.Silva helped the Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.When the Cubs wanted to send Milton Bradley to Seattle, Silva was the high-priced underachiever the Mariners insisted the Northsiders take in the deal.The Cubs hoped he’d pitch as he did during his four seasons in Minnesota and not his two years in Seattle – where at 5-18 with a 7.01 ERA, Silva was one of the worst starters in baseball.After getting pounded in his first spring outing, he has pitched seven straight scoreless innings. Silva, who has two years and $25 million left on his contract, was especially strong Tuesday, limiting Texas to two hits and striking out three.Now Silva is closing in on a spot in the Cubs’ rotation. Jeff Baker hit a homer and the other three Cubs runs came in the third off starter Neftali Feliz, a 21-year-old righty who is a longshot to make the rotation.Xavier Nady had a two-run double off Feliz and Marlon Byrd followed with an RBI single against his former team.There were 23 strikeouts in the game, 12 by Texas batters. Chris Davis, whose .538 average entering the game was the highest in spring exhibitions among all qualifiers, struck out three times. Texas is batting .185 in losing its last four games.

NOTES—Ted Lilly (offseason shoulder surgery) could be back well before May 1 that had been mentioned often by Lou Piniella. Lilly is scheduled to pitch batting practice Thursday and then again a few days later. He’d then work a simulated game. After that would come a spring exhibition outing, followed by two minor-league starts. With no setbacks, Piniella said, Lilly could be pitching for the Cubs by mid-April. … Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler, out since Friday with a sprained right ankle, is expected to miss at least another week. … An MRI of Texas RHP Warner Madrigal’s sore right forearm showed no damage but the Rangers didn’t know when he’d pitch again. … Piniella said Kevin Millar, a candidate to be Derrek Lee’s backup, will get some time in LF to see if he can handle the position.

TUCSON—The Cubs figured it was going to be a long day when their bus broke down on the side of the highway heading to Hi Corbett Field.Turns out, the rest of the afternoon was rather short.The adventurous 3 1/2-hour bus ride down from Mesa took way longer than the actual exhibition game. The Colorado Rockies needed just more than two hours – warp speed by Cactus League standards – to beat the Cubs 5-2 on Monday.Starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano caught a break – his cousin was following the bus in a car, so they drove with catcher Koyie Hill to the park. Zambrano had plenty of time to relax, unwind and warm up while his teammates waited for the bus to be fixed.Lou Piniella wasn’t with the team on the bus. He was driving separately with pitching coach Larry Rothschild as the two talked a little shop, discussing the pitching staff.About an hour later than expected, the team came sauntering onto the field – much to Zambrano’s delight.With the wind briskly blowing out, Zambrano felt as though he was back home at Wrigley Field. He gave up four doubles, including one by Carlos Gonzalez that the right-hander figured Sam Fuld was surely going to catch, only to have the ball bounce high off the wall in center.Zambrano threw 43 pitches in his third outing of the spring, allowing one run in four innings. That was better than his previous outing, when he yielded five runs over three innings.On this day, though, Zambrano had his sinker working.Zambrano also helped himself at the plate with an RBI double.Jeff Francis went four innings for Colorado and gave up two runs. The lefty is working his way back into shape after missing last season following arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder.

NOTES—Ted Lilly is expected back at camp Thursday. Lilly left to join his wife, who gave birth to a son Sunday. … Piniella said Derrek Lee (left foot) and Aramis Ramirez (sore right triceps) probably won’t play Tuesday against Texas. … Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki hit his first homer of the spring in the sixth.

GLENDALE—Zack Greinke got the best of a matchup with Mark Buehrle and the Kansas City Royals earned a 9-1 win over the  White Sox on Monday night.Greinke, unscored upon in his first two spring training outings, was effective again, allowing one run and two hits in four innings.The 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner struck out three and retired the side in order in three innings, throwing 41 of his 61 pitches for strikes.Buehrle, the Sox opening day starter, gave up three runs and nine hits in four innings in his second start of the spring. The runs were the first Buehrle has allowed.Both pitchers worked quickly, though they did allow a few hard-hit balls. Buehrle allowed a run in the third inning and two in the fourth.Greinke allowed a double to Andruw Jones and a triple to Alejandro De Aza in the second inning, but was unscathed beyond that.De Aza, an outfielder with only 67 major league games of experience who is trying to win a spot on the final roster, continued his strong spring. De Aza didn’t play in 2008 because of a bad left ankle sprain and missed four months with a sprained right ankle in 2007. On Monday, he raised his hitting streak to six games and is batting .462 with seven RBIs.Yuniesky Betancourt was 3 for 3 with two doubles and three runs scored to lead the Royals, who had 17 hits. David DeJesus went 3 for 3 and Scott Podsednik went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

NOTES—Bobby Jenks was expected to pitch Monday night but instead threw a bullpen session earlier in the day. Jenks has struggled so far in spring training, having allowed seven earned runs and three walks in his first two appearances. Jenks has an ERA of 37.80. It’s not clear if the strained calf he dealt with late last season remains an issue. … The White Sox committed three errors in the game.

NEW YORK—Two-time MVP Alex Ovechkin was suspended Monday for the Washington Capitals‘ next two games because of a reckless hit.The forward drove the Blackhawks Brian Campbell into the boards from behind in the first period Sunday at the United Center and received a major penalty and a game misconduct.With Ovechkin, who is leading the league in points with 96, kicked out of the game, the Capitals later came back from a 3-0 third-period deficit to win 4-3 in overtime.Because he also was suspended for two games earlier this season, Ovechkin is now considered a repeat offender under the collective bargaining agreement. He’ll forfeit more than $232,000 in salary based on the number of games in the season instead of the number of days. Ovechkin was suspended for two games Dec. 1 for a knee-to-knee hit on Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason. Ovechkin will miss games Tuesday at Florida and Thursday at Carolina. He can return Saturday at Tampa Bay.

“We have no problem with the way Alex tried to finish his check,” Capitals general manager George McPhee said in a statement. “Unfortunately, an injury resulted. We are disappointed with the suspension but do not want to comment further.”

Campbell stayed down for several minutes before he was able to leave the ice with trainer Mike Gapski at his side and then headed to the locker room. He did not return to the game.Campbell, out with what the team is calling an upper-body injury(is been reported however that it’s a broken cllar bone), will miss the team’s three-game road trip this week out West that starts Wednesday night in Anaheim and likely is out for the season. Campbell has seven goals and 31 assists on the season. The Capitals showed Sunday why they have the NHL’s best record and highest-scoring offense. They had three goals in the third period before Nicklas Backstrom scored unassisted in overtime for the win. The Capitals said Ovechkin missed practice Monday because he had to be on the phone with Colin Campbell, the NHL’s director of hockey operations, to discuss the hit.

 PHOENIX—Spring Training is always fun,and with the weather a bit better the past few days,it helped. The White Sox have very little competition in camp.The starting rotation is set and the bullpen as well. The addition of J.J.Putz should make the pen much deeper and should help a guy like Scott Linebrink. Bobby Jenks is an early concern since he has been lit up,but it’s still early. Gordon Beckham looks comfortable at 2B and will no doubt bust out of his slight funk at the plate.Jake Peavy was dominant in his weekend start.

***The Cubs have had some good and some bad,but some things Lou Piniella can build on. First up, I have to agree with Lou that Starling Castro,while very talented, does not appear to yet be ready,but after a month of two at Iowa,could help THIS season. Alfonso Soriano has not looked good so far either in LF or at the plate,but he could break loose at any time. Ryan Dempster has been pretty good,Carlos Zambrano has good stuff,but I saw him have a tough five run inning against the Giants. Randy Wells was almost unhittable until Sunday when the Angels got to him for three runs. The bullpen will have lots of pressure on it. Carlos Marmol is the closer-period,and simply must throw strikes. John Grabow will be a key set up man. Question is,will Sean Marshall start or return to the pen as a left handed middle guy?

***Alex Ovechkin on the Washington Capitals deserves a big time suspension for his cheap shot on the Blackhawks Brian Campbell that caused a broken collar bone Sunday. That said, do you trust Gary “Beavis” Bettman to issue the correct ruling on this? Not me.

***The Blackhawks were a bit lucky over the weekend,as they lost twice,but lost no ground to San Jose in the battle for the top seed in the West. Sunday,the Hawks blew a 3-0 lead to Washington and lost 4-3 in overtime, but San Jose fell to Anaheim 4-2 in regulation play, meaning that the Hawks got a point and the Sharks got none.

***The Bulls are falling ore and more out of the last playoff birth in the East. Charlotte,Miami and the Milwaukee Bucks all keep winning.The Bulls have lost 7 in a row and with Derrick Rose,Joakim Noah and Luol Deng all hurt, there is little offense.

LES

The bad news is the Blackhawks lost for the second day in a row. Worse, they blew a 3-0 lead and bowed in overtime. Worse yet, they could’nt take advantage of Alex Ovechkin’s D.Q. and five minute penalty. Olympian Nicklas Backstrom raced up the ice and scored with 1:50 left in overtime Sunday and the Washington Capitals completed a remarkable comeback without star Ovechkin to beat the Hawks 4-3. Backstrom skated up the side, went around Brent Seabrook in the left circle and beat Antti Niemi for his second goal of the game.Ovechkin, the two-time MVP and the league’s leading scorer this season, got a game misconduct in the first period for knocking Brian Campbell into the boards.Washington fell behind 3-0 after two periods but rallied with a quick three-goal spurt in the final period to tie the game, showing why it has the NHL’s top record and also is the highest scoring team in the league.Jonathan Toews scored twice for the Hawks.

PHILADELPHIA—Chris Pronger scored with 2.1 seconds remaining to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Saturday.The defenseman took a pass from Claude Giroux and beat a diving Cristobal Huet to the glove side to cap a flurry of scoring that saw all five goals tallied in the final period.The Flyers had tied the game with 2:04 left in the third period when Scott Hartnell corralled a Kimo Timonen pass near the blue line and beat Huet’s stick side for his first goal since Jan. 30.Simon Gagne opened the scoring for Philadelphia 1:18 into the third, getting his sixth goal in seven games when he stopped a Dan Carcillo centering pass in the left circle and fired a wrist shot past a diving Huet.Kris Versteeg tied the game 1:43 later, after a Flyers penalty by Danny Briere set up a Hawk power play. Goalie Michael Leighton stopped Marian Hossa’s shot, but Versteeg poked in the rebound for his third goal in four games.Hossa gave the Blackhawks the lead after taking a feed from Troy Brouwer near the right face-off circle, and rifled a shot high to Leighton’s stick side with 7:09 left in the game.

INDIANAPOLIS—Evan Turner rescued No. 6 Ohio State for the second straight day in the Big Ten tournament.He scored 12 of his 31 points after regulation, helping the Buckeyes pull away for an 88-81 double-overtime victory over Illinois in the semifinals.Turner finished with a triple double — 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 turnovers. The conference player of the year also had six assists and two steals, enough to give the Buckeyes their sixth straight victory and a trip to Sunday’s title game.A day earlier, Turner was at his dramatic best. He dribbled upcourt and sank a 37-footer at the buzzer to send Ohio State past Michigan 69-68 in the quarterfinals.Illinois (19-14) was led by Demetri McCamey, who scored 19 of his 22 points after the first 20 minutes, and Mike Davis with 13 points and 18 rebounds. Davis fell one rebound short of matching Greg Oden’s single-game record for rebounds.The Fighting Illini will now have to wait to see whether they’ve done enough to impress the NCAA selection committee to warrant one of the 34 at-large bids.Illinois twice had chances to win at the buzzer but both shots came after the clock ran out. Davis had an open layup at the end of regulation, but it rolled off the rim. D.J. Richardson had a 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime, but officials waved off the attempt, too.It was a wacky game.Ohio State went through a 7-minute, 16-second scoring drought in the first half when Illinois turned a 15-7 deficit into a 21-15 lead. Then early in the second half, the Buckeyes went another 4:32 without scoring a point, falling into a 45-35 hole.But Ohio State rallied round Turner, who scored seven points in a 20-0 run that gave the Buckeyes a 59-50 lead with 8 minutes left in regulation.Then Illinois charged back with six straight points and finally took a 64-61 lead when McCamey hit a 3 with 1:17 to go. William Buford tied the score with a layup, McCamey hit two free throws and Turner drove in for a reverse layup with 12 seconds left to make it 66-66.In the first overtime, Illinois took a 75-71 lead on Tyler Griffin’s tip-in with 86 seconds to go. But Turner scored the final four points and Richardson couldn’t get his shot off in time.Turner took control in the second overtime. After Jon Diebler opened it with a 3-pointer, Turner made back-to-back layups to give Ohio State an 82-77 lead and Illinois never got another chance to tie it.

LAS VEGAS—Tom Gorzelanny proved he could pitch out of a jam, even though it was one of his own creation.The 6-foot-2, 205-pound left-hander held the White Sox to no hits over the first three innings of the Cubs 6-5 victory Friday night.Gorzelanny, who joined the team last season, left after three innings with the Cubs leading 3-1. That caused mixed reviews of a pitcher who is trying to secure the Cubs’ fourth or fifth starter spot.  “You like seeing the no hits, but you don’t like to see the one run,” Cubs bench coach Alan Trammell said. Trammell managed the split-squad Cubs in place of manager Lou Piniella, who didn’t accompany the team to Las Vegas.Gorzelanny’s wild pitch with the bases loaded in the second allowed Andruw Jones to score and trim the Cubs’ lead to 2-1. Gorzelanny walked the bases loaded but also struck out the side in the inning. He ended with four strikeouts, three walks and an earned run over three innings, throwing 52 pitches – 30 for strikes.The Cubs won the game on Josh Vitters’ two-run triple in the seventh inning that put them ahead to stay.Vitters’ hit gave the Cubs a 5-4 lead and he scored on Mike Fontenot’s single to stretch the lead to two runs. Fontenot finished with three hits and two RBIs.Alejandro De Aza‘s second RBI single pulled the White Sox within one in the eighth.The White Sox scored three runs in the sixth – capped by De Aza’s first RBI single – to take a 4-3 lead, their only advantage of the game.

TEMPE—Jake Peavy’s first spring training outing looked more like a regular-season start.He was that sharp, and showed no signs of fatigue from jamming at his late-night “Woodjock” charity concert Thursday that drew some 1,200 people.The White Sox also looked impressive at the plate in a 10-7 victory against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, getting two-run homers from Gordon Beckham and Alex Rios in a split-squad game.Peavy finally got to take the mound in the desert. His first scheduled start Sunday was rained out, though he still made the most of the day by throwing a bullpen session in the cage against live hitters.The 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner for San Diego has said the right ankle trouble that limited him last season is a thing of the past – and it sure seems that way.Peavy struck out three in three scoreless innings, allowing two hits in an efficient 38-pitch performance.Peavy said. “I was able to Peavy stuck mostly to fastballs, throwing about six off-speed pitches and five in a row at one point. He had a scare with two out in the first, when Torii Hunter’s hard-hit single up the middle glanced off his left shoulder.After Hunter’s single, Peavy recorded five straight outs before allowing his only other hit, to Gary Patchett.Beckham hit an RBI double in the first and his first homer of the spring in the second as the White Sox staked Peavy to a 5-0 lead. The Sox produced seven straight extra-base hits after Jordan Danks led off the game with a single.Bobby Jenks doesn’t look ready. He followed up a shaky inning against the Dodgers on March 6 – two earned runs, two hits, two walks – by getting clobbered for five runs and four hits in 2-3 of an inning.Peavy is eager to get in a couple more spring starts and then move on to the real thing. He said the White Sox consider themselves the favorites in the AL Central.

NOTES—Peavy wasn’t sure yet how much money his concert raised for several different charities, but he hopes to make it an annual thing during spring training. “I’m not sure of the amount but I got a big thumbs up when I walked out,” Peavy said. “I want to thank everybody for coming out. It was an incredible event. I’m happy to have my name on it.” … Angels RHP Scot Shields allowed one hit in one inning with a strikeout in his first outing since left knee surgery last June. “The knee felt good,” the reliever said. “I get nervous every time I pitch. I don’t care where it is or who it is. But there was a little something extra there today.” … Manager Ozzie Guillen and the other half of the White Sox flew to Las Vegas for two games against the Cubs. Bench coach Joey Cora managed the Sox in this one. … Beckham entered the game batting .143. … White Sox OF prospect Jared Mitchell, selected 23rd overall last June out of Louisiana State, was taken to the hospital for X-rays after hurting his right ankle making a spectacular catch against the wall on Juan Rivera’s deep fly ball to start the sixth. Cora said he didn’t believe Mitchell broke a bone but more tests were needed on the ligaments.
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PHOENIX—The Cubs split their squad,taking most regulars to Las Vegas,and it showed against the Milwaukee Brewers who took advantage of bad fielding and a roughfirst inning by Jeff Samardzija. The Crew also started long time Cub nemisis Doug Davis and the result was a 12-3 rout. Rickie Weeks started with a double down the LF line and scored when rookie Starling Castro air mailed a throw over Brian LaHair’s head at 1B. It was ruled a single and an error as Alcides Escobar took second. Two outs later,Jim Edmonds,who helped the Cubs two years ago,but who has come ouit of retirement with Milwaukee,blasted a long homer to dead CF. Gregg Zaun followed with one of his own to RF. Samardzija did settle down in the second inning,even escaping a two on jam. Tyler Colin tripled oiff the wall for the Cubs in the 2nd off Davis and scored on a sac fly by Alfonso Soriano. The Brewers busted it open with a five spot in the 5th.

NOTES—Attendance was 7,968…This split Cubs team hosts the Reds at Ho Ho Kam Park Saturday….The only other Cub regular other than Soriano here was Aramis Ramirez.

LES

MIAMI — The Heat-Bulls rivalry came back to life Friday night, replete with three technicals, a flagrant foul, and an ejection — all on the same possession.Fighting words followed, too.Yep, playoff time must be near.Jermaine O’Neal scored a season-high 25 points, Quentin Richardson added 23 and the Miami Heat beat a Bulls team playing without its three top scorers 108-95 — not only sending the Bulls to their seventh straight loss, but sending their emotions boiling over as well.  “Typical,” Dwyane Wade said of another heated Chicago-Miami matchup. “Nothing out of the ordinary happened tonight.” Well, not until the 4:43 mark of the fourth quarter.Wade drove the lane, got fouled by Brad Miller, and the downward spiral for the Bulls quickly got underway. Wade started jawing at someone, Kirk Hinrich argued the foul call, and the whistles just kept coming. Hinrich got a technical, Miller was issued another one after questioning why his foul was deemed flagrant, and moments later, Hinrich earned technical No. 2 and drew an automatic ejection.The sequence began with the Heat leading 87-77. After six free throws and Wade’s floater from the left baseline 18 seconds after the initial whistle of the possession, Miami was up 95-77. Let the postgame back-and-forth begin.Said Miller: “They were trying to be tough guys, and we get to see them again.”
Countered Wade: “Brad can stop crying.”
By the way, the teams play again in Chicago on March 25.
“That’s going to be a very compelling game when we play in Chicago,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “There’ll be a lot of stakes for that game and I think both teams will be motivated for that one.”
Wade scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half for Miami, which extended its season-best home winning streak to five games and passed idle Toronto for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Heat are now 2½ games clear of the No. 9 Bulls in the playoff chase.
James Johnson and Jannero Pargo each scored 20 for the Bulls, who lost their seventh straight and played without Derrick Rose (sprained left wrist), Luol Deng (strained right calf) and Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis in left foot). Rose could be back when the Bulls try to snap their longest losing streak since 2005-06 at Memphis on Tuesday.Until then, this loss might sting the Bulls more than a little bit.  “I was just standing there with my damn arm up and he comes like he always does and I just don’t fall down,” Miller said of the play where Wade drew the flagrant. “You get a flagrant for taking a hit, and that’s the joy of certain people against certain people.”
Replays appeared to show Hinrich brushing referee Tom Washington on the arm while pleading his case with referee Bennie Adams after the second technical, meaning a suspension could be forthcoming.Vinny Del Negro said he didn’t expect that to happen.The Heat beat the Bulls in the first round of the 2006 playoffs on their way to the NBA championship, then opened the next season by getting drubbed at home by 42 points against Chicago. The Bulls swept Miami out of the playoffs that season, and the 2008-09 series had some memorable moments as well, like Wade making a running 3-pointer to beat the Bulls in double overtime on March 9, 2009.Miller had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, and Flip Murray added 15 points off the Bulls’ bench. Mario Chalmers scored 17 on 6-of-9 shooting for Miami, which played without Michael Beasley (left thigh bruise).

NOTES—Richardson had four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes….O’Neal didn’t score in his final nine minutes of court time, meaning his 25 points came with him logging 24 minutes…..The Bulls are now 4-17 all-time at AmericanAirlines Arena….The Bulls have given up at least 100 points in 10 straight games.

Jermaine O’Neal comes through with a season-high 25 points, which helps propel Miami to a crucial win. (AP)