A battle between two of the AFL’s best lived up the hype Friday night, with the Tampa Bay Storm outslugging the Rush 68-60 at the St. Pete Times Forum.The loss prevented the Rush (9-4) from becoming the first AFL team to clinch a playoff spot this season,they will now have to wait until next week to try to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth-consecutive year when the Rush hosts Arizona Saturday, July 10 at Allstate Arena.

“Tampa Bay has been playing really well, especially at home,” said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. “I thought we also played well tonight, but we made a few mistakes – and those mistakes turned out to be the difference in the ballgame.”

It was an evenly matched game throughout, with the teams trading touchdowns the entire evening. But in the end, the difference proved to be two Rush missed extra points and a Rush fourth quarter fumble that was returned by the Storm (9-3) for a touchdown.Trailing by eight early in the fourth quarter, Rush QB Russ Michna led the team on a 10-play drive, culminating with a two-yard touchdown run from Clifton Smith to pull the Rush to within two-points, 55-53. With Rush kicker Chris Gould already having missed two PAT attempts in the game, the Rush tried for the two-point conversion to tie the game. However, the conversion attempt failed and the Rush remained down by two.On the following possession, Tampa Bay QB Brett Dietz connected with Tyrone Timmons for a touchdown and a 62-53 Storm lead with just 2:42 left in the game.On the following possession, Rush wide receiver Syvelle Newton fumbled trying to gain extra yards after a catch. The ball popped into the hands of Storm defensive back Erick McIntosh, who returned it 28 yards for a TD to put Tampa Bay up 68-53 with 46 seconds left in the game.A late TD pass from Michna to Alan Turner with 1.6 seconds remaining made the final score 68-60.The first half was a see-saw battle that saw seven lead changes and both teams score touchdowns on all five of their possessions.The Rush got off to a quick start as quarterback Michna (26-38, 334 yards, 7 TDs) connected with Alan Turner for a 42-yard touchdown on the very first play of the game.After a Tampa Bay score tied it up, the Rush regained the lead on the next possession when Michna and Turner connected for a second time on a 10-yard score. A missed Chris Gould extra point made it 13-7. The miss put an end to Gould’s team record 35-consecutive made extra point attempts.The missed extra point would prove costly and, on the next Tampa Bay possession, the Storm took its first lead of the game as Dietz connected with Hank Edwards for the second time on an 8-yard score.After the two teams traded scores the following two possessions, Timmons’ 23-yard reception from quarterback Brett Dietz gave the Storm a 28-27 lead. However the Rush quickly responded as Clifton Smith rumbled in from three yards out to put the Rush on top 34-28.A one-yard touchdown on the next Storm possession gave Tampa Bay a 35-34 lead going into the half.

The salary purge and roster revamping of the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks continued Thursday when they sent forward Andrew Ladd to the Atlanta Thrashers.The move came a day after the Hawks traded versatile forward Kris Versteeg to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last week, they dealt popular playoff star Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel and Ben Eager to Atlanta and shipped Colin Fraser to Edmonton.

“We’ve had a strategy in place going back a long time knowing the salary cap is part of our game and it’s going to cause us to have to make some moves,” general manager Stan Bowman said Thursday.

“We’ve had a plan in place and been able to accomplish exactly what we set out to do from the very beginning. We’ve shown we can embrace change when necessary. In this case, it was necessary to make moves to make sure we are reloaded for the future.”

For Ladd, who was a restricted free agent, the Blackhawks acquired defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy and a second round pick in 2011.The 24-year-old Ladd has played on two Stanley Cup winners in his young career. He came to the Blackhawks from Carolina in a 2008 trade for center Tuomo Ruutu.Ladd missed the first three games of the Finals and then returned for the last three while playing with a fractured shoulder and torn ligaments against the Flyers. He was also on a Stanley Cup winner with Carolina in 2006.Bowman said he talked with Ladd’s agent but no deal could be reached.

“It became apparent that it wasn’t the right mix in terms of salary and our situation here,” Bowman said. “But I certainly wished him well. He was a big part of it and a great kid, but we had to do what we had to do going forward. .. We know what our situation was and we made the move that gives us the most flexibility both in the summer and as we go into next season.”

Ladd had 37 goals and 62 assists in 184 regular-season games over parts of three seasons with the Blackhawks, including 17 goals and 21 assists last season.In 36 playoff games for the Hawks over the past two seasons, he had six goals and four assists.Vishnevskiy, 22, had two assists in five games with the Dallas Stars over the past two seasons. He spent most of last season in the American Hockey League with the Texas Stars and Wolves. He was acquired by the Thrashers(the Wolves Parent team) from the Stars last February.Bowman said he’d talked briefly with the agent for pricey backup goalie Cristobal Huet, who just finished the second year of a four-year, $22.45 million contract. Huet was beaten out by first-year goalie Antti Niemi, who is a restricted free agent the Blackhawks plan on re-signing, as is young defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson.Bowman said the Blackhawks could also be players in the free agent market. Their flurry of moves, he said, gives them a young surrounding cast of prospects for the team’s core that includes Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith, all of whom have-long term deals.

NOTES—Another less than sellout crowd was announced at 36,880…..Ryan Dempster(6-6)faces Bronson Arroyo(7-4)Friday afternoon in game two of the series.

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When they play the Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates hardly resemble a last-place team.The numbers are almost staggering. When Brad Lincoln pitched seven strong innings Wednesday for his first major league win, lifting the Pirates over the Cubs 2-0 it was Pittsburgh’s ninth win in 12 tries against the free falling Northsiders. Those nine wins represent one-third of the Pirates’ victory total (27) this season. And closer Octavio Dotel, who pitched a scoreless ninth, has seven of his 16 saves against the Cubs.Unfortunately for the Pirates — and maybe fortunately for the Cubs — the teams meet only three more times this season.Pittsburgh broke a scoreless tie in the eighth with two unearned runs when Andy LaRoche reached on Aramis Ramirez’s error with one out, Andrew McCutchen singled and Garrett Jones drove a ball off the ivy in left-center for a run-scoring double against reliever Andrew Cashner (0-3).After an intentional walk to Ryan Doumit loaded the bases, reliever Sean Marshall struck out Pedro Alvarez, but walked Lastings Milledge to make it 2-0.Lincoln (1-2) allowed just four hits in seven innings, the longest outing of his career in just his fifth major league start. He walked one and struck out six. Joel Hanrahan pitched the eighth before Dotel finished up the five-hit shutout.It marked the sixth time in the past 11 games the punchless Cubs have scored one run or fewer. They had a leadoff man on base five times Wednesday, but couldn’t come through with a clutch hit. And in the three-game series against the Pirates, they managed just four runs.

“This game here was a nice little synopsis of what our season has been like,” Piniella added. No kidding! With the wind blowing in at 16 mph, Alfonso Soriano’s long drive to left stayed in and was caught by Jose Tabata in the fifth. Soriano had homered twice Tuesday night.One out later, Starlin Castro lined a double over first base to put runners at second and third before Lincoln struck out pinch-hitter Tyler Colvin.Former Pirate Tom Gorzelanny, making his first start since May 26 and back in the rotation with Carlos Zambrano on the restricted list following his outburst at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday, pitched five shutout innings for the Cubs, allowing four hits before being lifted for Colvin.

NOTES—LaRoche made his fourth career start at second base. Infielders Neil Walker (concussion) and Bobby Crosby (concussion-like symptoms) are both out….The Pirates finished their nine-game road trip to Texas, Oakland and Chicago at 2-7 — both wins at Wrigley Field.

KANSAS CITY—Billy Butler and Jose Guillen homered and Zack Greinke survived a five-run eighth inning Wednesday night, leading the Kansas City Royals past the White Sox 7-6.Guillen also made a great catch of Mark Kotsay’s leadoff drive in the ninth against Joakim Soria, banging into the right-field wall and falling to the ground but keeping the ball in his glove.Greinke (4-8) won for the third time in four starts. He sailed into the eighth with a 7-1 lead, but a pinch-hit, bases-loaded triple by Brent Lillibridge keyed a comeback attempt.Soria relieved Greinke to begin the ninth and closed for his 20th save in 22 opportunities.Butler’s 422-foot solo shot in the first stopped Jake Peavy’s scoreless string at 21 2/3 consecutive innings, the longest active streak in the majors.Butler added an RBI single and Guillen hit a three-run shot in a four-run seventh as the Royals took two out of three from the White Sox, who had had won six straight series during a 16-3 surge, has lost three of four since an 11-game winning streak.Omar Vizquel’s one-out triple in the fourth nudged the 21-year veteran past Luis Aparicio for second on all-time among shortstops with 2,675 hits. Alex Rios followed with an RBI single that tied it 1.Peavy (7-6) was charged with three runs on seven hits in six innings, with two walks and five strikeouts. The loss ended a three-game winning personal winning streak for the veteran right-hander.Greinke ran into trouble in the eighth when four straight singles made it 7-2. The triple by Lillibridge and an RBI grounder by Alex Rios trimmed the lead to a run. Greinke gave 10 hits, with no walks and three strikeouts.Butler, raising his lifetime stats against Peavy to 4 for 9 with three home runs, drove a 3-2 pitch over the fence. Alberto Callaspo and Yuniesky Betancourt had RBIs in the sixth inning off Peavy.In the seventh, Butler’s RBI single was followed by Guillen’s 409-foot shot, two days after his career-best 21-game hitting streak had been stopped.

NOTES—KC outfielder David DeJesus, batting a team-best .331 but 0 for 11 against Peavy, got the night off. … Umpire Alfonso Marquez, who left Monday night’s game with shortness of breath and heat stress and was treated at a hospital, worked home plate. Marquez also sat out Tuesday night. … Reliever Erick Threets threw out Callaspo from a sitting position after fielding his hard grounder behind his back. … Greinke became the 12th Royal to pitch 1,000 innings.

The Blackhawks have continued to unload players from their Stanley Cup Championship team as they sent forward to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a five-player deal.Versteeg had 44 points in 79 regular-season games last season and added 14 points in the playoffs.The got forwards Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis. The Leafs also get the rights to left-winger Bill Sweatt. The Hawks have also dealt Dustin Byfuglien,Brent Sopel,Ben Eager and Colin Fraser.

KANSAS CITY—Gavin Floyd pitched into the seventh inning to earn his first win in five weeks as the White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Tuesday night.Floyd, who was 0-3 with a 2.79 ERA in six starts since beating Florida on May 22, held the Royals to three runs, one unearned, and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. In his previous two 2010 starts against the Royals, Floyd was 0-2, allowing 11 runs and 23 hits in 12 1/3 innings.Floyd (3-7) entered the game 0-4 in five career starts at Kauffman Stadium and 1-7 with a 5.53 ERA in 10 career starts against the Royals. He beat them for the first time since June 3, 2008.Royals starter Brian Bannister (7-6) was lifted after four innings, allowing four runs and eight hits on 90 pitches. Bannister lost for the second time in eight starts at Kauffman Stadium.The White Sox hit four consecutive singles in the third inning for three runs. A.J. Pierzynski and Gordon Beckham had run-producing singles, while Davan Viciedo scored on a grounder by Juan Pierre.The White Sox made it 4-0 in the fourth when Beckham doubled and scored on Alexei Ramirez?s two-out single.The Royals trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the fifth on Wilson Betemit?s double that scored Alberto Callaspo, who led off the inning with a single. Scott Podsednik?s single scored Betemit and Yuniesky Betancourt.The Royals loaded the bases on two singles and a walk in the eighth, but J.J. Putz, the third White Sox pitcher, retired Mike Aviles on a fielder?s choice grounder to end the inning. Putz worked the ninth to log his second save in three opportunities. White Sox closer Bobby Jenks is on the bereavement list.White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was ejected in the fourth inning by home plate umpire Tim Timmons, the fourth time he has been thrown out this season.

NOTES—Viciedo, a rookie, started at 3B, his third start since the White Sox promoted him June 18 from Triple-A Charlotte. … OF Andruw Jones, who is hitting .075 (3 for 40) over his past 18 games and has not homered since June 3, was not in the White Sox lineup. … The Royals’ bullpen worked four scoreless innings and has allowed one earned run in 21 2/3 innings over the past eight games. … Royals C Jason Kendall threw out two of three would-be base stealers. Kendall had thrown out only 18 of 80 runners entering the game.

Alfonso Soriano hit two solo home runs and Ted Lilly pitched seven strong innings to lead the Cubs to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.The Cubs won for the fourth time in 11 games and improved to 3-8 this season against the last-place Pirates.After ending its 17-game road losing streak on Monday night, the Pirates’ offense came on a solo homer by Ryan Doumit in the fifth inning. Overall, the Pirates have lost 19 of their last 22 games and are 25 games below .500 (26-51). Pittsburgh has only scored five runs in its last four games.With unseasonably cool weather and the wind blowing in, Lilly took advantage by getting a number of fly outs. He allowed one run and six hits, struck out five and walked one.Lilly pitched out of a jam in the seventh inning. With runners on second and third and one out, he got Ronny Cedeno to pop out on the first pitch and struck out pinch-hitter Ryan Church.The Cubs have scored 13 runs in the Lilly’s last eight starts.Cubs reliever Sean Marshall pitched a scoreless eighth and Carlos Marmol regained his form for a perfect ninth for his 14th save in 17 opportunities. Marmol allowed the go-ahead RBI single in Monday’s loss and was tagged for three runs in Sunday’s win over the White Sox.Pittsburgh starter Jeff Karstens (2-3) allowed three runs, two earned, and seven hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked one.Koyie Hill doubled with one out in the second and moved to third on Doumit’s passed ball. Starlin Castro then lifted a fly ball to left field and Hill just beat Jose Tabata’s throw standing up.With two outs in the fourth inning, Soriano homered to left on the first pitch.Doumit led off the fifth with his seventh homer of the season, on a 3-2 pitch off Lilly. Soriano gave Lilly an insurance run in the sixth inning with a two-out home run. It was his 13th of the season and second time he’s homered twice in a game this year.

NOTES—Pirates INFs Bobby Crosby and Neil Walker didn’t play because of concussion-like symptoms. Both are listed day-to-day. … The Cubs placed John Grabow on the 15-day DL with a sprained left knee and placed Carlos Zambrano on the restricted list. Relievers James Russell and Jeff Stevens were called up from Triple-A Iowa to fill the roster spots. … Soriano hit two home runs against Arizona on May 2.

Looking to end a long road losing streak, the Pittsburgh Pirates were in the perfect place Monday night: Wrigley Field.Paul Maholm pitched a season-high eight innings, Jose Tabata hit a go-ahead double in the ninth and Pittsburgh ended a 17-game skid away from home with a 2-1 win over the Cubs. The last time the Pirates won on the road was May 25 in a 2-1 victory at Cincinnati. It was their third win in 21 games overall.The Cubs, in the middle of their own turmoil, have been handled all season by the worst team in the National League. They dropped to 2-8 against Pittsburgh this season and are 10 games below .500.Maholm (5-6) allowed one run and seven hits. He did not walk a batter.Octavio Dotel hit Aramis Ramirez with a pitch leading off the ninth but rebounded for his 15th save in 18 chances.Before the game, Carlos Zambrano was placed on the restricted list and the Cubs expect to be without the hot-tempered pitcher until at least the All-Star break.Zambrano has been suspended by the team without pay for the past three games, after he threw a tirade in the dugout Friday that led to a verbal confrontation with teammate Derrek Lee.

“Beginning Wednesday, Carlos will undergo a treatment program with mutually agreed upon doctors from the Players’ Association and Major League Baseball,” general manager Jim Hendry said Monday. “Basically, he will have to follow the treatment for his issues and be evaluated properly, and if the program is acted on properly in accordance to what the doctors they signify he needs to work on and improve on, and follow their directives, Carlos will not be reinstated any time until after the All-Star break.”

Hendry said Zambrano and his agent have not asked for the right-hander to be traded or released. Zambrano is in the middle of a $91.5 million, five-year contract extension he signed in August 2007.

“I’m glad it’s over. I’m glad Carlos is going to get some professional help,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

On an unseasonably cool summer night with the wind blowing in at Wrigley, both teams struggled to get anything going until Ryan Doumit led off the ninth with a single off reliever Andrew Cashner (0-2).After a sacrifice bunt by former Cub Ronny Cedeno, Cashner walked pinch-hitter Ryan Church. Piniella brought in Carlos Marmol, who was greeted by Tabata with a double over the head of center fielder Tyler Colvin, who moved from right field after a double switch.Doumit, who didn’t slide at the plate, just beat the throw to score the go-ahead run.With Zambrano suspended, the Cubs were already down a pitcher before reliever John Grabow left the game in the seventh with a sprained left knee.Pirates right fielder Lastings Milledge and second baseman Bobby Crosby collided while chasing Soto’s bloop double in the second inning. Crosby was checked by a trainer, but stayed in the game temporarily before leaving in the bottom of the third with concussion-like symptoms. He is day to day.Starlin Castro followed with a routine grounder to third baseman Pedro Alvarez, who tried to throw out Ramirez at the plate. But the poor, one-hop throw got by Doumit, allowing Ramirez to score the only Cub run.With two outs in the third, Andrew McCutchen hit a liner toward Colvin in right. Colvin had a chance to make the catch but took a bad route as the ball got by him and rolled to the wall. Tabata scored on the triple to tie it at 1.Marlon Byrd made a diving catch in center on Garrett Jones’ drive, stranding McCutchen.The Cubs had a chance to take the lead in the seventh with first and third and one out, but Ryan Theriot ended the inning with a double play.Cubs starter Randy Wells allowed one run and three hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked four.

NOTES—In the first inning, second base umpire Jerry Meals called Theriot out at second base on a force play even though Cedeno wasn’t close to stepping on the bag. Cedeno unsuccessfully tried to turn a double play on Colvin’s ball. Despite the blown call by Meals, Piniella and Theriot never argued……With a brief ceremony before the game, the Cubs saluted radio analyst and former third baseman Ron Santo, two days after the 50th anniversary of his major league debut…..Brian Schlitter replaced Grabow and struck out two in his big league debut.

　

NOTES—First base umpire Alfonso Marquez left in the fifth inning with symptoms of heat distress and shortness of breath and was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital for evaluation. … Juan Pierre made his eighth start as the White Sox designated hitter, while Andruw Jones started in left. Jones went 0 for 3 and is 3 for 40 in his past 18 games. Kansas City’s bullpen has allowed one run in 17 2/3 innings in the past seven games.