OKLAHOMA CITY—Kevin Durant scored 30 points, Russell Westbrook added 28 points and 10 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the new-look Bulls 106-95 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.Durant and Westbrook each powered down two-handed dunks during a late 11-0 surge that put the game away. Neither team had led by more than eight before Oklahoma City started pulling away in the final 3 minutes.Westbrook raced down the court for his slam after Serge Ibaka swatted away Derrick Rose’s shot, then turned it into a three-point play. The next trip down the court, Durant blew by Luol Deng for his own jam. Jeff Green’s 3-pointer from the right corner made it 104-91 with 89 seconds left.Rose scored 28 points to lead the Bulls in Tom Thibodeaux’s debut as head coach. He had only four points in the final 21 minutes, his hot start cooled off by foul trouble.Free agent acquisition Carlos Boozer sported a cast on his broken right hand, but the rest of the Bulls’ overhauled roster kept it close throughout against reigning scoring champion Durant and the rest of the Thunder. The Bulls brought in eight new players after last season’s trip to the playoffs, while Daequan Cook was the only newcomer to get on the floor for Oklahoma City.The Thunder got a brief scare at the end of the third quarter when Durant fell hard on his rear end after being called for charging into Ronnie Brewer. He stayed down for a few moments before hobbling off the court. Trainers stretched his legs during the break between the quarters and then had him sit on an ice pack. Durant walked to the scorer’s table to check into the game with only 3 minutes elapsed in the fourth quarter.It wasn’t long before he got fouled on the fast break and hit a pair of free throws to put Oklahoma City up 88-87, and the Thunder wouldn’t trail again. Rose answered Durant’s jumper to get the Bulls within 93-91 with 3:26 remaining, but Oklahoma City closed it out from there.Jeff Green added 21 points and Eric Maynor scored 10 on a perfect shooting night – 3 for 3 from the field and 4 for 4 on free throws.Joakim Noah had 19 points and 18 rebounds, Taj Gibson added 16 points and 11 rebounds and Deng scored 13.Rose got the Bulls out to a hot start, hitting consecutive reverse layups in the midst of five made shots in a row, before heading to the bench with two first-quarter fouls. Oklahoma City then fired off a 13-4 run that featured dunks by Westbrook, Ibaka and Durant to finish the first quarter up by five. When Rose returned, he immediately started digging the Bulls out of an eight-point hole and put them back ahead 46-45 with a pair of free throws he earned by getting fouled on another reverse layup try.The Thunder led 59-54 at halftime after Green scored 10 points in the final 2:38 before the break, but then gave up an 8-0 run to start the third quarter.

NOTES—Thunder F Nick Collison missed the game with a stress reaction in his left knee…..Byron Mullens and Morris Peterson, acquired in a draft night trade, were also inactive….Bull’s jerseys have a patch on the right shoulder commemorating the 20th anniversary of the team’s first NBA title….. Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks was happy to see longtime NBA assistant Tom Thibodeaux get his shot as a head coach but not so fond of one experience playing under his tutelage with the New York Knicks during the 1996-97 season. “He was a jerk. I was like in my ninth year in the league and he put me with three rookies. I had to get there early at 4 o’clock and work out with the three rookies because he wanted me to set an example,” Brooks said. “I didn’t appreciate that.”

Marty Turco made 33 saves, and Viktor Stalberg scored the deciding goal to help the Blackhawks snap a two-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.Turco, signed to a one-year contract to replace Antti Niemi in the offseason, allowed only Justin Williams’ first-period goal. The Kings outshot the Blackhawks 15-8 in the third period, pressuring until Patrick Sharp scored his NHL-leading ninth goal of the season with 2:05 remaining.Jake Dowell also scored for the Hawks who improved to 6-4-1. Los Angeles dropped to 6-3-0 after winning five of its previous six.Stalberg made it 2-1 at 1:18 of the second period, backhanding the puck over goalie Jonathan Bernier’s left shoulder off a rebound in the slot.The teams traded goals in the first period. Dowell, the fourth-line center, beat Bernier with a backhander from the crease at 5:16. Williams answered by one-timing a pass from defenseman Davis Drewiske past Turco at 9:34. Drewiske’s feed caromed off the boards behind the net.Turco stopped Ryan Smyth’s deft poke of the puck in the slot, and a pair of chances by Alexei Ponikarovsky in the third period. Turco also made difficult saves on Smyth and Brad Richardson 18 seconds apart late in the second period. Richardson also missed a half-open net from 10 feet midway through the second.The Hawks best opportunity following Stalberg’s goal didn’t even result in a shot on goal. Sharp missed from 10 feet in front of Bernier 7:10 into the third period.

NOTES—Tomas Kopecky returned to the Hawk lineup after missing a game because of an upper-body injury. …Brian Campbell, on injured because of a sprained right knee since early in the preseason, might play as early as Saturday night at Minnesota. … Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty missed his fourth game because of a concussion.

The Bears used their late momentum and a 48 yard Cutler to Earl Bennett pass to get to the Washington 1.The Bears(4-3) challenged the call that Bennett was down by contact,but the call on the field was confirmed.For once,Cutler tried a quarterback sneak,fumbled and London Fletcher recovered for Washington.It looked like Cutler may have broken the plain of the goal line,but Lovie Smith chose not to challenge the call on the field,claiming later that he didn’t want to risk losing his last challenge.Big mistake as it turned out since this would be touchdown could have made a hude difference. McNabb then quickly hit Moss for 12 to the 13 to get out of the hole. Then McNabb lost the ball on second down,but recovered it himself at the five.A would be interception and TD by Moore was nullified when the Redskins were called for delay of game,so with no play it was half the distance to the goal and moved back to the 3.McNabb then hit Davis for 11, out to the 14.On third and nine, a pass to Moss was shy of a first down at the twenty, so Smith punted out at the Washington 47.On first down, Cutler under threw Hester and Hall made a diving interception,his first, at his 39.On a third down, McNabb overthrew everyone except Daniel Manning who picked it off at the 22.Taylor broke a 12 yard run on first down to the 34,then he got 12 more to the 46.Cutler followed that with a screen pass to Forte for 18 for the Bears third straight play for a first down-this to the Redskins 41.On a third and two, Cutler hit Hester to finally convert a ‘third down’ at the 26. Forte next broke an 11 yard run through the middle to the 16.Then came yet another brutal play when Cutler tried to hit Knox but Hall jumped in front up him,intercepted it and ran 92 yards untouched to give the Redskins the lead back 17-14 with 1:36 left in the third quarter.This proved to be the only points anyone scored in the second half,and won the game for Washington.Gano’s kickoff was returned by Manning to his 16.As the fourth period started,the Bears had a second and twelve at their 29 after Cutler was sacked for the fourth time.On a third down,Greg Olsen grabbed a pass than popped away,but he re-caught it at the 48 of Washington.Hester then pulled in a four yard pass,and Forte on a sweep right,got 11 to the Redskins 35.A short pass to Forte was caught,then fumbled and recovered by Washington’s Brian Orakpo at the 25.Two carries(9 & 22 yds) by Torain moved the ball to the Bears 44.Torain then added 23 more yards to the Bears 21.He then fumbled(forced by Pisa Tinoisamoa)and hit bounced right into the hands of Peanut Tillman at the 13 and he was tackled back at the 7.After an incompleted pass,Cutler threw one right to Hall(his third pick of the game)at the 13.Torain was then carrying the ball forward,coughed it up and batted it out of bounds at the 4, before the Bears could recover it.The result was a ten yard penalty back to the 14.On second down,McNabb was incomplete on a pass intended for Moss.He was then sacked by Idonije and Gano hit the left upright with his 37 yard field goal try,giving the Bears the ball back at their own 27.On a third and long,a pass was tipped high in the air and grabbed by of all people Chris Williams-his first NFL reception,but it was well shy of a first down and Maynard had to punt to the Washington 47 with 6:12 left in the game.They got one first down,but then had to punt and Smith put it out of bounds at the Bears 19 with 3:31 to go and two time outs left for the Bears. Cutler hit Knox for 12 and then 16 to get the ball out to the bears 47. Then Hall got his fourth pick of the day at the Skins 13.That pretty much ended it as Washington was able to run out the clock. 

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Antoine Vermette scored on a deflection at 6:29 of the third period to snap a tie, and the Columbus Blue Jackets rebounded from an early two-goal deficit to defeat the Blackhawks 3-2 on Saturday.Vermette got the game-winner from the left side of the slot by redirecting Marc Methot’s shot from the right point over Corey Crawford’s right shoulder.Vermette assisted on R.J. Umberger’s power-play goal earlier in the third that tied it at 2. Derick Brassard scored late in the second period for the Blue Jackets, who dominated the third and outshot thye Hawks 20-8 in the period.Columbus goalie Steve Mason made 30 saves.Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and assist for the Blackhawks, who lost their second straight.Crawford, the Blackhawks’ backup goalie, made 37 saves in his third start this season.Both teams played their third game in four nights. The Blackhawks have played a league-leading 10 games this season.Sharp opened the scoring 7:23 in when he slipped unchecked to the edge of the crease and tapped Toews’ feed into a wide-open net. Toews’ power-play goal with 5:15 left in the first made it 2-0. With Mason down and Methot trying to cover a loose puck, Toews scored from the goalmouth scramble.Brassard cut it to 2-1 with 35.7 seconds left in the second. Jakub Voracek’s centering pass from the right corner deflected off Nick Boynton’s stick and directly to Brassard, who was racing down the slot.Seven seconds later, Troy Brouwer received a major penalty for boarding after he hit Columbus’ Fedor Tyutin from behind and sent him headfirst into the boards.Tyutin returned in the third period, and set up a power-play goal at 1:33 that tied it 2-2. His drive from the right point appeared to strike Umberger, who was in front of the net with Niklas Hjalmarsson.

NOTES—Brian Campbell skated on Saturday for the first time since spraining his right knee in an exhibition game on Oct. 1. … Blackhawks RW Tomas Kopecky sat out with an upper-body injury. His roster spot was filled by C Evan Brophey, who made his NHL debut on the Hawks fourth line after being recalled from Rockford of the AHL earlier in the day. … Columbus D Kris Russell missed his third game with a lower-body injury; D Mike Commodore missed his fifth with an upper-body injury and RW Jared Boll missed his sixth with a lower-back injury. The three are listed day to day.

EVANSTON—Close but no cigar for the Northwestern Wildcats who tried to pull off what would have been a nice upset.#8 Michigan Stated scored three touchdowns in the final quarter and rallied from an early 17-0 hole to beat the Wildcats 35-27 at Ryan Field.On a wet day,MSU received after Northwestern won the coin toss and chose to defer.The Spartans punted their first two possessions while NU did once,but on their second series,the Wildcats drove 72 yards in ten plays,keyed by a Dan Persa to Rashad Lawrence 44 yard third down pass to the MSU 13. After an incomplete pass,Persa ran around right end for seven to the six and then hit Jeremy Ebert to the three for a first and goal.Persa then kept it for three and a touchdown.On the next MSU possession, Edwin Baker fumbled after a 3 yard gain and NU’s Bryce McNaul recovered at the Cats 47. Ebert took a lateral from from Persa and hit Ebert for 28 yards to the MSU 25.Adonis Smith ran for 11 to the Spartan 15. Persa than found Demetrius Fields who ran to the MUS 1.But NU failed to take advantage of the chance when Jacob Schmidt was stuffed at the line and coughed it up.Johnny Adams recovered for MSU at the 2.Michigan State was again three and out and punted. The Wildcats started at the MSU 39.The first quarter ended with NU at the Spartan 20.On a third down,Persa was sacked and Stefan Demos kicked a 37 yard field goal for a 10-0 Wildcat lead with 12:42 remaining in the half.After a nice drive,the Spartans came up empty when Dan Conroy’s 38 yard field goal try was wide right. On first down Mark Vernic on an end around picked up 29 to midfield. Persa then hit Ebert for 12 and ran for 22 to the MSU 11.Drake Dunsmore ran to the five and Smith to the just inside the 1 for a first down.Persa was stopped on a sneak, then scored on second down to make it 17-0 with 6:07 left in the second quarter.The Spartans got their offense going and drove 68 yards in 8 plays with Kirk Cousins finding Mark Dell over the middle from 7 yards with 2:49 left and it was 17-7 NU at halftime. The second half did not start off well for Northwestern. They went three and out with their opening possession and a weak punt allowed Michigan State to start gave Michigan State the ball to start at the NU 48. It State just three plays to score with Bennie Fowler breaking a 22 yard run off right guard to cut the lead to 17-14.The Cats again failed to move the ball with Persa getting sacked on a third and three.Brandon Williams punted this time to the MSU 42.Each team was forced to punt before the Cats regained some momentum with an 80 yard,15 play drive that took 5:22 off the clock.Some nifty running by Peas keyed everything and he finished it off with a 6 yard TD run in which spun away from two would be tacklers to make it 24-14.Michigan State started a drive as the third quarter ended and faced a fourth down at the NU 35 and took a delay of game penalty to give the impression they wanted to punt the ball inside the ten,but Aaron Bates faked and threw a pass to Fowler at the 15 for a first down.This was a play that MSU Coach Mark Dantonio called “Mouse Trap” and it fooled the Cats to be sure. On the next play Cousins hit Dell on the near side of the end zone for his second TD of the game to again bring Michigan State with within seven. Fields returned the kickoff to the NU 43.Persa hit Charles Brown for 28 and then ran for 15 to the MSU 14. The drive died with another sack and Demos kicked a 41 yard field goal to increase the Cats lead to 27-21 with 9:47 remaining.That would be the final NU points of the day.Demos kicked off out of the end zone and MSU went three and out. Bates punted into the strong wind and it died at midfield,but the Wildcats also did nothing and Williams punt was fair caught at his own 12 with 7:18 remaining.MSU’s winning drive lasted 5:18 and Cousins was hot when he needed to be.He finished the drive with 2:00 on the clock with a 9 yard strike to B.J.Cunningham,who made a diving grab.The Cats still had all of their timeout left,but turned the ball over on downs as Persa was under severe pressure,and off target. The Spartans put it out of reach with Baker breaking a 25 yard TD run with 1:07 left.

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CHAMPAIGN—Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase turned a quiet 123 yards of passing into a pair of touchdowns and the Fighting Illini returned interceptions for two more Saturday in a 43-13 rout of Indiana.Illinois (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) led 27-10 at the half and held on through a sloppy, mostly defensive second half, all with the help of five Indiana turnovers.The Illini talked all week about two keys to the Indiana game: blunting the effectiveness of quarterback Ben Chappell and, after losing the turnover battle and the game a week earlier at Michigan State, finding a way to separate the Hoosiers from the ball.In a first half they couldn’t have drawn up much better, the Illini did both.Chappell averages just shy of 310 yards a game and is almost never sacked. He spent the first 30 minutes Saturday under pressure and, while sacked just once – a loss wiped out by a face mask penalty – he was hurried and hit often.The senior quarterback had 178 yards at halftime, and Indiana had 227 total yards to Illinois’ 164.But the Illini forced three first-half turnovers, two of them Chappell interceptions and all of which led to points.The first was a pick by defensive back Tavon Wilson deep in Hoosier territory that set up a Derek Dimke field goal for a 3-0 first-quarter lead.The second and third were due in large part to Justin Staples, playing in the freelance pass-rushing position Illinois calls a bandit.First, Staples stripped the ball out of Wildcat quarterback Dusty Kiel’s arms, wrestling it away for linebacker Ian Thomas to grab at the Indiana 23. The Illini turned that into a 17-yard touchdown pass from Scheelhaase to Jarred Fayson and a 17-7 lead midway through the quarter.Minutes later, Staples hit Chappell as the quarterback threw the ball, forcing it off target for backup defensive back Patrick Nixon-Youman to pick off on the run. Nixon-Youman glided 68 yards down the left sideline for another TD and, with 7:07 to play in the first half, a 24-7 lead.A pair of late field goals made the score 27-10 at the half.Illinois padded its lead at 29-10 with a third-quarter safety, blocking a Chris Hagerup punt in the Hoosier end zone.Indiana pulled backed to within two touchdowns at 29-13 on Mitch Ewald’s 21-yard field goal with 1:53 to play in the third quarter, but the Hoosiers never looked like they had the pieces still missing from a comeback in them.The Hoosiers last four possessions ended with a punt, a pair of interceptions – one of them another return for a touchdown, this one 75 yards by Jonathan Brown – and the end of the game. Chappell finished 26-48 with 279 yards and a touchdown for Indiana (4-3, 0-3) but threw three interceptions that buried the Hoosiers. Receiver Ted Bolser had four catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.

EAST RUTHERFORD—Ricky Dobbs scored three touchdowns and Alexander Teich ran for 210 yards to lead Navy to its third victory against Notre Dame in the last four seasons, a 35-17 rout on Saturday at the New Meadowlands Stadium.The 84-year old series, which Notre Dame (4-4) once owned like no other in college football history, now belongs to Navy (5-2).In 2007, the Midshipmen snapped their NCAA record 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame with a 46-44 win in overtime at South Bend. Last year, Navy did it again, winning 23-21 at Notre Dame Stadium, the first of four straight losses that ended the Charlie Weis era.These were the type of losses Notre Dame faithfully figured would stop when Brian Kelly was hired as coach. Instead, it was the Irish’s most lopsided loss against Navy since 1963.

ARLINGTON—The Texas Rangers reached the World Series for the first time, with Vladimir Guerrero driving in three runs and Nelson Cruz homering in a 6-1 win over the New York Yankees on Friday night in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series.Guerrero hadn’t driven in a run in the ALCS until an RBI grounder in the first inning of the clincher, the biggest victory in the franchise’s 50 seasons. He added a two-out, two-run double in the fifth to chase Yankees starter Phil Hughes before Cruz followed with his fifth postseason homer.Colby Lewis allowed three hits and one run in eight innings against the defending World Series champions.Texas opens the World Series at San Francisco or Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

ST. LOUIS — Roman Polak broke a broke a third-period tie, and David Perron scored twice to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks 4-2 on Friday.Patrik Berglund also scored, T.J. Oshie had two assists and Jaroslav Halak stopped 23 shots as the Blues avenged a 3-2 overtime loss in the United Center Monday night.Patrik Sharp and Brent Seabrook scored for the Blackhawks. Marty Turco stopped 24 shots in the loss that snapped Chicago’s winning streak at four. Polak’s shot from the right circle with 8:59 left in the third appeared harmless, but found its way through Turco, with the Blues’ David Backes setting a screen in the crease.Perron opened the scoring at 6:31 of the first, finishing off Oshie’s feed after Duncan Keith’s giveaway behind the goal.Sharp tied it with a one-timer from the high slot 13 seconds into a power play, a shot over Halak’s right shoulder 10:13 into the first period.Perron, scored his second of the game 6:12 into the second period, converting another pass from Oshie with a backhander past Turco.However for the second time, the Hawks got the equalizer when Seabrook’s point shot caromed off Oshie’s stick and hopped over Halak just as a penalty to the Blues’ Erik Johnson expired at 9:35 of the second.Halak preserved a 2-2 tie with a key stop on Jonathan Toews from the slot early in the third period. Berglund iced the game by scoring with 1:03 to play, a power-play goal from the crease.

NOTES—Perron has four goals this season, all in the last two games. … Sharp has six goals in the last five games. … Oshie has at least a point in five straight games. … IndyCar and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick dropped the ceremonial first puck. … The Blues honored Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Night by wearing pink laces on their skates. … The Blues have played the Blackhawks more than any other team. Friday was the 271st meeting between the teams.