SAN JOSE—After Ryane Clowe discovered that Corey Crawford is a pretty good goalie, he was quite happy to get another shot at him.Clowe scored his second goal of the game 3:52 into overtime to give the San Jose Sharks a 2-1 victory against the Blackhawks on Saturday night.Clowe one-timed a pass from Marc-Edouard Vlasic to the inside corner past Crawford, whose seven-game winning streak ended.Antti Niemi stopped 28 shots to beat his former team, the defending Stanley Cup champions, for the second time this season.Jordan Hendry scored for the Blackhawks, who lost for the second time in seven games since their previous meeting in San Jose on Nov. 24 — a 5-2 Sharks victory. Crawford made 28 saves, but failed to tie a rookie franchise record for consecutive victories.The Sharks were also helped by a quick whistle on what appeared to be a Blackhawks goal during the second period. Viktor Stalberg thought he had a go-ahead goal, but the referee blew his whistle to stop play before the puck entered the net.Both teams entered having each scored 18 goals in their previous five games.Niemi and Crawford were up to the task, and the teams combined for only six penalty minutes.Clowe’s goal gave the Sharks an early lead midway through the first period. He one-timed a pass from Jason Demers into the upper left corner. Clowe has points in six of seven games. Hendry, who played for the first time in 14 games, took advantage by scoring his first goal off an assist from Jake Dowell. Hendry flared the puck, but it found a hole between Niemi’s left skate and the post.Crawford stopped a point-blank shot from Patrick Marleau to keep the game tied midway through the third period.

NOTES—Jassen Cullimore and C Dave Bolland returned after missing a practice…..Vlasic has three assists in two games after going scoreless through the first 27 games of the season….Clowe was named the Sharks’ player of the month for November….John Scott assisted on Hendry’s goal, his first point in 21 games…..The Blackhawks had eight goals in their previous 24 power plays before getting shut out on two opportunities against the Sharks.

Derrick Rose had 21 points and seven assists, leading the Bulls over the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-82 on Saturday night for their season-best fifth straight victory.The Bulls (14-8) are six games over .500 for the first time since finishing the 2006-07 season with a 49-33 record.With a favorable schedule coming up, the Bulls have a chance to establish a comfortable lead in the NBA’s Central Division.Rose, known more for his whirling dervish forays to the basket than his outside stroke, set a career high with five 3-pointers. It was the third time this season he has made four or more 3s. He made that many just once during his first two NBA seasons.The long-range jumpers made for an efficient night for Rose, who shot 8 for 10 from the field. Luol Deng added 19 points and Carlos Boozer 17 for the Bulls who which outrebounded Minnesota 53-36.The Timberwolves entered the game leading the NBA in rebounds per game. The Bulls ranked third.Kevin Love had 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead Minnesota. Michael Beasley added 16 points.The Timberwolves (6-18) were flat-footed on defense for most of the night. Minnesota played at home against the Detroit Pistons on Friday, then flew into Chicago early Saturday morning.Minnesota opened the second half with a 9-2 run that trimmed the Bulls’ 21-point halftime lead to 14. However, the Home team responded with an 8-0 run of its own, highlighted by Rose’s third 3-pointer of the game.The Bulls went 5 of 7 from beyond the arc in the third quarter and led by as many as 26 points in the period. Their biggest lead in the game was 33.Minnesota never got closer than 19 the rest of the way. The Bulls were more aggressive all night, outscoring the Timberwolves 19-6 from the foul line.The Bulls also matched its season high with nine 3s, accomplished three times and made as many as nine 3s in a game only once last season.Boozer’s 13 first-half points led a balanced attack. Rose added 12 points and Deng 11.The Bulls held Minnesota to 35.6 percent shooting during the first two quarters. The Bulls led 58-37 at the break.With the outcome never really in doubt, the crowd at the United Center turned its attention to other matters: free food. Paying customers were to be rewarded with a free Big Mac if the Bulls scored 100 points.Kyle Korver’s 3-pointer with 4:57 remaining put the Bulls over the top and spurred the biggest cheer of the night.

NORMAL—Austin Hill scored 15 points Saturday night to lead Illinois State to a 53-43 victory over UIC.Hill was the only player in double figures for the Redbirds (7-3) in the low-scoring contest. Both teams were 18-of-49 from the field, or 36.7 percent. The difference was at the free-throw line, where Illinois State was 14-of-24 while UIC was 4-of-6.Paul Carter had a double-double for the Flames (4-6) with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Robo Kreps had 13 points for UIC.The Redbirds led 27-18 at halftime. Neither team was able to score in a 5-minute stretch during the first half.

Jacob Pullen scored 19 points in a triumphant homecoming, and No. 5 Kansas State hung on to beat Loyola 68-60 on Saturday.The win was the fifth straight for the Wildcats (9-1), whose only loss was to No. 1 Duke.In this one, they were out of synch in the first half and nearly blew a 14-point lead in the second – barely escaping against a team that hasn’t beaten a top-five opponent in 26 years.It wasn’t an easy day for Pullen, a senior from Maywood. His mom works as a database manager at Loyola, and with a large group of family and friends watching, he shot just 5 of 17 but pulled down nine rebounds in his only college appearance in Chicago.Pullen was adamant he was not overwhelmed by it all, saying basketball is “the only thing” that doesn’t make him nervous.Martavious Irving scored 12 points and Curtis Kelly added 10 for the Wildcats, who won despite going 21 of 35 at the foul line and being outrebounded 45-38.Kansas State blew out the Ramblers last season. No such luck this time.Ben Averkamp scored 17 for Loyola (8-3), which last beat a top-five team with a one-point win over then-No. 4 Illinois on Dec. 22, 1984. The Ramblers nearly pulled this one out even though they were a miserable 20 of 64 from the field and 4 for 19 from 3-point range.

 

NOTES—The sellout crowd was 22,760…..The Bulls were 8-17 from behind the three point arc(Rose and Kyle Korver each hitting three and Luol Deng a pair), while the Lakers were just 3-13…..The Bulls host Minnesota Saturday night.

LES

Former Cubs player and broadcaster Ron Santo was remembered with smiles and happy memories Friday as friends and colleagues praised his unbridled optimism in the face of health problems and the heartbreaking failures of his beloved team. Santo embodied three virtues in particular — joy, hope and courage, Monsignor Daniel Mayall told a quiet crowd gathered on a cold day for the funeral service at Holy Name Cathedral. Mayall suggested most would remember Santo’s joy, from clicking his heels after those 1969 wins at Wrigley Field to his unabashed rooting during WGN Radio broadcasts of Chicago games over the past 21 years.

Ron Santo’s family mourns at the Holy Name Cathedral

“Yes! All right! Oh, no! Ah, jeez! Unbelievable!” Mayall said to laughs, reminding everyone of the familiar Santo outbursts that could be expected to come crackling over the radio, depending on the Cubs’ fortunes.

“Joy was a virtue for Ron … joy was part of his life, every day and every season. … Ron Santo was a joyful man,” Mayall said.

Santo’s long battle with diabetes cost him both his legs below the knees, but he ultimately died of complications from bladder cancer at the age of 70 in Arizona on Dec. 3.

The service drew several hundred people, including Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg, Ferguson Jenkins, Randy Hundley, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Jesse Jackson Sr.

Santo’s casket was carried solemnly outside and the procession headed north on Michigan Avenue as fans and well-wishers gathered on the sidewalks. Many applauded as the procession passed by Wrigley Field.

“He inspired other people to play their best, do their best,” said Banks, a Hall of Famer Banks who was one of the pallbearers.

A nine-time all-star in his 15-year career, Santo hit .277 with 2,254 hits, 342 home runs and 1,331 runs batted in. He also won the Gold Glove award five times despite playing with diabetes.Santo was widely regarded as one of the best players not to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The sadness with which he met the news year after year that he been passed over strengthened his bond with the fans, but nothing brought them closer to Santo than his work in the radio booth over the past 21 years.He never hid the fact that he was pulling for the Cubs right along with the listeners and feeling their pain whenever something went wrong. It was Santo who famously screamed “Oh noooooooo!” after left fielder Brant Brown dropped a fly ball in the bottom of the ninth in September 1998 with the Cubs’ playoff hopes teetering.In many ways, he was the heart of the organization.Cubs owner Tom Ricketts called Santo the ultimate “fans’ broadcaster” and Commissioner Bud Selig described how the Cubs – and specifically Santo – helped fill a void for him growing up in Milwaukee after the hometown Braves relocated to Atlanta.Selig, quoting from an essay written by former Commissioner Bart Giamatti, said baseball “breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart.”

“I’ve often said that baseball must provide hope and faith,” he said. “Ron personified that spirit with an array of challenges that would test the courage of the bravest amongst us. Ron Santo never lost hope, he never lost faith in himself, in the city of Chicago, in his beloved Cubs and in the game of baseball.”

Santo battled serious medical problems after he retired as a player, having surgery on his eyes, heart and bladder after doctors discovered cancer. On his legs alone, he underwent surgery more than a dozen times before they were amputated below the knees — the right one in 2001 and the left a year later. He showed up in spring training in 2003 with one of his prostheses wrapped in Cubs’ colors, and he was active in fundraising for diabetes research, with his Walk-for-the-Cure raising millions of dollars.Being in the radio booth was soothing for Santo.He found comfort at the ballpark, a respite from his various ailments, and he once said his association with the team probably prolonged his life – just not long enough to see the Cubs win the World Series. That hasn’t happened since 1908, and they last captured the pennant in 1945, when Santo was 5.

Former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood was asked if he ever had to console Santo after a Chicago loss and he said: “All the time.”

Santo never hid his disappointment over being passed over for the Hall of Fame. In 2003, the Cubs hoisted his retired No. 10 up the left-field foul pole, just below Banks’ No. 14, and he said then that it meant more to him than the Hall of Fame.

“With the adversity that I have been through if it wasn’t for all of you, I wouldn’t be standing here right now,” he told the cheering crowd at Wrigley that day.

Mayall, the monsignor, said Cubs fans “breathe hope.”

“Ron was the voice of the Cubs, but he was also the voice of hope. … Ron was the poster boy for hope,” he said. “If you think we miss him now, wait until we turn on the radio for that first pitch in March.”

CLEVELAND—Derrick Rose scored 29 points, including a three-point play that put his team ahead for good with 19.6 seconds to go, and the Bulls beat Cleveland 88-83 on Wednesday to hand the Cavaliers their sixth straight loss.The losing streak matches Cleveland’s longest since it dropped six in a row from Nov. 28 to Dec. 8, 2007.Thanks primarily to Rose, who scored nine points in the fourth quarter, the effort didn’t pay off with a win.Anderson Varejao’s free throw gave Cleveland an 83-82 lead with 26.2 seconds to play. Following a timeout, Rose drove into the lane, was fouled by Mo Williams and made the layup, putting the Bulls ahead.Rose’s free throw made it 85-83 and Cleveland called timeout.Williams missed a jumper from the corner and Daniel Gibson’s rebound shot rimmed out. Joakim Noah was fouled and made both free throws with 6.2 seconds to play.Ronnie Brewer stole the inbounds pass and made one free throw.Luol Deng and Noah had 13 points apiece for the Bulls who’ve won three straight. Still, Rose didn’t feel like celebrating.Antawn Jamison, one of the players moved into a starting role, scored 21 to lead Cleveland. Although he was happy about the change, he realizes the bottom line is all that matters.Jamison, who has also questioned the team’s effort, saw improvement in that area.Thanks to a snowstorm that hit the area and snarled downtown traffic, several Cavaliers players got to the arena later than usual. All showed up before tip-off. The Bull’s team bus was also struck in traffic, even though their hotel was located only a couple of miles from Quicken Loans Arena. The arena, which seats 20,000, was approximately half-full.Varejao scored 17 points for Cleveland while Gibson, also moved into the starting lineup, had 14.Kyle Korver scored 12 points, all in the fourth quarter, for the Bulls.Scott benched forwards J.J. Hickson, who played only 9 minutes, and Joey Graham while starting Jamison at one forward spot and Gibson at shooting guard. Anthony Parker was moved from shooting guard to small forward.Carlos Boozer, who scored 54 points in his previous two games, had just four.The Bulls host the Lakers on Friday night.

Even without Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa, the Blackhawks can generate offense.They proved that Wednesday night, beating the Dallas Stars 5-3.Rookies Bryan Bickell and Jeremy Morin scored goals and the Blackhawks were able to hang on after building a three-goal lead in the second period, then watching Dallas cut the lead to a goal.The Hawks led 4-1 after Troy Brouwer’s goal 2:21 into the second, but Dallas rallied behind goals late in the period by Brandon Segal and Loui Eriksson 1:05 apart. Quenneville immediately called time to focus his players, then had plenty to say to them between periods.The Stars took 13 of their 31 shots in the final period, but goalie Corey Crawford turned them all away.Dallas coach Marc Crawford was angry that a potential penalty shot infraction went uncalled in the final minute. Brent Seabrook’s stick slid out of his hands, and Crawford thought he was trying to knock the puck away from Trevor Daley. Nothing was called, prompting Crawford to scream obscenities at the officials as they went to their locker room.

“You can’t miss a call like that at the end of the game,” Crawford said. “There’s no excuse. It’s a penalty shot in every sense of the word. You’ve got to be focused in on that.”

Dallas had one power play to six, but the Blackhawks squandered them all.It was the second straight win and fifth in the last six games for the Stanley Cup champions.The Blackhawks evened their home record at 8-8-0 and moved into fourth in the Western Conference with 34 points. Dallas, second in the Western Conference, is 0-1-1 after winning six straight. Bickell and Jonathan Toews scored first-period goals, with two other shots ringing off the posts.Bickell shrugged off a check from Dallas defenseman Matt Niskanen in the slot and beat Andrew Raycroft with a wrist shot to the glove side at 3:18. Toews scored his 13th goal of the season with a wrist shot from deep on right wing that deflected off Dallas defenseman Stephane Robidas in crease.The Hawks expanded the lead to 4-1 with goals by Morin and Brouwer early in the second period.Jeames Neal had the Dallas goal, and the Stars rallied late in the second period with goals 1:05 apart by Segal and Eriksson. Segal beat Crawford with a screened 55-foot wrist shot, and Eriksson converted Brad Richards’ pass into a score from the right-wing crease.Patrick Sharp scored an empty-net goal in the last second.The Blackhawks were playing their first game without Kane, whose sprained left ankle will keep him out for up to three weeks. Hossa missed his fourth straight game.

NOTES—Dallas outshot the Blackhawks 31-25….The Blackhawks placed  Hossa on injured reserve while bringing up rookie forwards Morin and Rob Klinkhammer. Morin played five games for the Blackhawks earlier this season….Crawford, the Hawks’ backup goalie, has started six of the last eight games, and got the nod ahead of former Dallas goalie Marty Turco.

Carlos Boozer is gaining confidence with each game with his new team. Boozer scored 13 of his 29 points in a big third quarter and the Bulls beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-90 on Monday night.Boozer got a big free-agent deal from Chicago in the offseason, but missed the team’s first 15 games with a broken right hand. He appears to be picking up steam since he returned in Wednesday night’s 107-78 loss to Orlando, scoring five, 12 and 25 points in his first three outings before taking down the Thunder.Luol Deng added 19 points for the Bulls (11-8), which outscored the Thunder 29-18 in the pivotal third. Derrick Rose had 11 points and nine assists, but shot 3 for 13 from the field.Boozer and Joakim Noah had 12 boards apiece as the Bulls outrebounded the Thunder 52-39 and enjoyed a 19-11 edge in second-chance points.Kevin Durant led the Thunder (14-8) with 29 points, but played only three minutes in the third quarter. Nenad Krstic added 18 points in 22 minutes for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook had 15 points and seven assists, shooting 7 for 18.Rose and Westbrook each had their moments in a matchup of two of the up-and-coming point guards in the NBA.Westbrook heated up midway through the third, scoring seven points in one nice stretch, but Rose and Boozer powered the Bulls to an 82-66 lead entering the fourth.Boozer made a pair of acrobatic shots in the lane after getting fouled. Rose hit a whirling triple-pump layup, then closed the quarter with a banked 30-footer at the buzzer. After a tight first quarter, both teams put together runs in the second.Kyle Korver hit back-to-back 3-pointers during a 13-4 Bulls surge, capped by Deng’s 3 that upped the lead to 11 with 5:09 left in the half.Oklahoma City responded with an 8-0 run of its own, getting a 3-pointer from former Bull Thabo Sefolosha after a Korver turnover and a pull-up jumper from Westbrook.The Bulls improved to 2-2 since Boozer’s debut, and the quality of play seems to improve with each outing.

ROSEMONT—Freshman Brandon Young scored 31 points, making all six of his 3-point attempts, and DePaul overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to beat Central Michigan 71-62 on Sunday night.DePaul (3-4) forced Central Michigan into 28 turnovers, 17 coming in the second half.Young took over midway in the second half, hitting a 3-pointer, stealing the ball and setting up Jimmy Drew for a layup, and finally hitting another 3 to give DePaul a 50-48 lead with 9:17 left.That was DePaul’s first lead of the game, and the Blue Demons went ahead for good when Young’s sixth 3-pointer made it 61-58 with 5:40 left. They outscored the Chippewas 14-4 the rest of the way.Jalin Thomas scored 19 points for Central Michigan (2-5).Tony Freeland added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Demons.