NOTES—Brad Stevens, Coach of National Runner Up Butler,was the Guest Conductor.

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This weird Stanley Cup Western Conference Semi Final series has now seen the road team win four of five games as Kevin Bieksa scored twice(and added an assist),while Roberto Luongo made 29 saves and the Vancouver Canucks remained alive with a 4-1 win Sunday evening.The Canucks scored first in the United Center for the third time in as many games when Cristian Ehrhoff’s slap shot beat a screened Anti Niemi just :58 into the game on the Canucks first shot.The Sedin twins Daniel and Hendrik each got assists. Then at 14:24, Bieksa put one past Niemi ofter a drop pass from Kyle Wellwood. The first period ended 2-0 with the Hawks out shooting Vancouver 11-7. Bieksa picked up his second of the game at 13:00 of the second period on the power play with Byfuglien sitting out a slashing penalty that was an obvious make up call for a blown slash a few minutes earlier.Byfuglien got Shane O’Brien with the blade,causing blood to gush from his face,but no call was made. O’Brien returned a few moments later unlike Sami Salo who took a puck in his midsection in the first period and did not return.The Hawks prevented a shutout at 12:51 of the third when Jonathan Toews scored his 6th of the playoffs assisted by Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell.After the Hawks pulled Niemi for an extra attacker, Alex Burrows sent most fans to the exits by scoring an empty netter.

NOTES—Attendance was 22,192…..,Game six is Tuesday in Vancouver….Salo was taken to a hospital after he was hurt in the first period and it was determined that he had a fractured testicle….The Hawks out shot the Canucks 30-24.

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ROSEMONT—Wolves goaltender Drew MacIntyre stopped all 28 shots he faced to keep the season alive with a 2-0 win over the Texas Stars in Game 6 of the West Division Finals at the Allstate Arena Sunday night.The best-of-seven series is tied at three games apiece, with Game 7 slated to be played at the Allstate Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m. MacIntyre (1-1), who had three shutouts in 41 regular-season games, picked up his first blanking of the playoffs and the team’s third. The game marked his first start this postseason, and first since April 3. Right wings Anthony Stewart and Joey Crabb scored for the Wolves while Matt Anderson and Tim Stapleton each added two assists. Stewart gave the Wolves a 1-0 lead with his team-leading ninth goal of the playoffs at 12:28 of the first period. Working on the power play, Anderson passed to Stapleton to the right of the crease. Stapleton moved in, slipped a centering pass to the top of the crease, where Stewart pushed it over the line past Stars goaltender Brent Krahn.Krahn, who has started all 10 playoff games for Texas (7-3), left the game at 14:59 of the first period and was replaced by backup Matt Climie, who made 26 saves in 43:05 of action.Crabb gave the Wolves a 2-0 edge, 6:06 into the third period. Anderson threw the puck up the ice for a streaking Crabb, who drove towards the net and took a swipe at the bouncing puck, missing before succeeding in knocking it past Climie on his second try.

Fred Lewis felt a rush of adrenaline after Travis Snider doubled and John Buck singled off Bobby Jenks in the ninth inning.Lewis brought his teammates home with a three-run blast off Jenks and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the White Sox 9-7 on Sunday.Jenks (1-1) failed to retire any of the four batters he faced. Lewis drove a 3-1 pitch into the right-field seats for his second home run of the season, giving the Blue Jays an 8-7 lead.Jenks was booed as he walked to the dugout after yielding a single to Aaron Hill. Alex Gonzalez added an RBI single off Scott Linebrink.Although Jenks has only one blown save, his ERA is 6.75. In Friday’s extra-inning loss, he gave up a home run to Buck in the ninth inning.Ozzie Guillen said he may temporarily give Jenks a break as the closer.The Blue Jays won for the fourth time when trailing after eight innings this season.The Sox lost for the first time after leading following the eighth this campaign.Jason Frasor (2-1) got the win despite allowing Carlos Quentin’s RBI double in the eighth. Kevin Gregg, who blew a save opportunity on Friday, pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save in 10 opportunities.Alex Rios hit a tying homer in the seventh and went 4 for 4 for the White Sox who claimed him off waivers from Toronto on Aug. 10.Vernon Wells hit his ninth homer and Adam Lind had a two-run single for the Blue Jays, who have won nine of 11.The Sox pushed across two runs in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead. Rios hit a one-out drive to left off Shawn Camp for his sixth homer of the season. The White Sox went on to load the bases, and Scott Downs hit Juan Pierre to force in a run.Gavin Floyd allowed five runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings, raising his ERA to 6.92.Ricky Romero pitched 5 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays, yielding four runs and eight hits. He struck out seven and walked five.The White Sox scored three times in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Jayson Nix and Pierre hit back-to-back RBI singles, and Ramon Castro scored on Gordon Beckham’s groundout.Toronto responded with four in the third. Lind singled in a pair of runs and Wells had a two-run shot.

NOTES—Beckham was 0 for 5 and is in a 2 for 28 slump…..The White Sox begin a two-game series against the Twins at Target Field on Tuesday.

CINCINNATI—The Cubs continue to look awful,having just finished a 1-5 road trip against two teams they supposed to beat. The Cincinnati Reds got a gutsy effort from Mike Leake, and Joey Votto took care of the rest.Votto hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to help Leake and the Reds beat the Cubs 5-3 on Sunday.Votto connected on Ryan Dempster’s first pitch after he was visited by Lou Piniella. The two-out drive was Votto’s seventh of the season and handed the decision to Leake, who wasn’t feeling well but managed to hold the Cubs hitless until the sixth and finished with seven solid innings.Jonny Gomes and Drew Stubbs each drove in a run as the Reds capped a 4-2 homestand with their third win in four games.Tyler Colvin hit a two-run homer in the seventh to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead, but they still stumbled to their fifth loss in six games.Ramon Hernandez led off the Cincinnati seventh with a double but was thrown out at third on Leake’s sacrifice attempt. Leake advanced on Orlando Cabrera’s single before being replaced by pinch-runner Chris Heisey. Brandon Phillips bounced into a fielder’s choice, but Votto followed with his second homer in two games, a long drive to right off a backdoor slider.Dempster (2-3) realized Piniella might be criticized for leaving him in the game.Nick Masset worked the eighth and Francisco Cordero finished for his 10th save in 12 opportunities.Leake (3-0), who made his major league debut against the Cubs on April 11 without spending a day in the minors, retired the first 10 batters he faced — five on strikeouts — before walking Kosuke Fukudome with one out in the fourth. Derrek Lee promptly grounded into an inning-ending double play.Starlin Castro, who made his major league debut on Friday, led off the sixth with the Cubs’ first hit, barely beating out a sharp grounder up the middle. Phillips’ throw from second base just missed nipping Castro.The Cubs finally got to Leake with two out in the seventh. Marlon Byrd doubled, moved to third on Aramis Ramirez’s infield single and scored on a wild pitch. Colvin then hit a drive to right for his fourth homer.Leake, the eighth overall selection in the 2009 draft, allowed four hits, struck out six and walked one.Jay Bruce and Gomes led off the second inning with back-to-back doubles to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead. Gomes stole third and scored on Stubbs’ grounder to shortstop.Dempster (2-3) gave up five runs and six hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked three.

NOTES—The Reds’ 14-2 win on Saturday was their largest margin of victory in a game since they beat the Mariners 16-1 at Seattle on June 22, 2007. … Dempster, who pitched for the Reds at Great American Ball Park in 2003, is 0-7 in 27 appearances at the facility.

No matter how ugly that monthlong beating was, Jake Peavy never doubted he would get out of it.Now, he’s back on solid footing and that’s bad news for the rest of the league.Peavy pitched eight innings for his second straight victory, Paul Konerko hit his major league-leading 13th homer and the White Sox beat Toronto 7-3 Saturday night to snap the Blue Jays‘ six-game win streak.Konerko drove a two-run shot off Brett Cecil (2-2) in the first inning after missing two games with a sore neck, and the White Sox drew three bases-loaded walks, including two in a four-run seventh that broke open a 3-1 game.That was enough for Peavy (2-2), who retired the first 16 batters before John Buck hit his eighth homer. He also allowed a leadoff shot in the eighth to Alex Gonzalez, whose three-run homer in the 12th on Friday gave Toronto a 7-4 win.Otherwise, Peavy delivered his second dominant performance in a row after struggling through the first month.Mixing a mid-90s fastball with sharp offspeed pitches, he allowed two runs and three hits with eight strikeouts without a walk after throwing seven scoreless innings in his previous outing against Kansas City.He’s looking more like a former Cy Young Award winner than a guy who went 0-2 with a 7.85 ERA over five starts in April.Cecil went from flirting with a perfect game to flirting with an early exit.He felt fortunate to hold them to three runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings, although the White Sox did take control in the first two innings.After retiring the first 19 batters against Cleveland on Monday, Cecil quickly fell behind on Saturday. Gordon Beckham walked with one out in the first and with two down, Konerko drove a 3-2 pitch to the seats beyond the left-field bullpen to make it 2-0.The White Sox added to their lead in the second when back-to-back singles by Alexei Ramirez and Juan Pierre loaded the bases with two outs for Beckham, who came in on a 1-for-20 slide. He managed to draw a walk that made it 3-0.Peavy was sailing along until Buck drove a slider to the left-field bullpen with one out in the sixth, giving him three homers in the past two games and four this season against the Sox.Any suspense ended in the seventh, though.Andruw Jones drove an RBI double off the center-field wall with two out and Alex Rios doubled in another run against Josh Roenicke. Casey Janssen then walked A.J. Pierzynski, Carlos Quentin and Mark Teahen to force in two more runs, making it 7-1.Peavy, meanwhile, made it look easy.He is emerging from what might have been the worst stretch of his career after lowering his arm angle slightly, going back to the motion he used before last season’s trade from San Diego. Peavy pitched well when he returned from ankle injury, going 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA after being activated in September, but even so, he felt that had more to do with his know-how than his pitches.There were some positive signs in a loss at Texas on April 28, when he allowed six runs but retired 16 of 18 after a rough start. Then he allowed four hits while striking out a season-high nine against the Royals on Monday and was nearly as good against the Blue Jays.

NOTES—The temperature was a crisp 46 degrees…..White Sox reliever Sergio Santos allowed a run in the ninth after 12 scoreless outings to start his career….Toronto DH Adam Lind was back in the starting lineup after being held out the previous day, although he wound up entering Friday’s game in the ninth inning.

CINCINNATI—For the first time, the Cincinnati Reds won one going away.Joey Votto hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat Saturday, and Jonny Gomes broke the game open with a bases-loaded single in the seventh off Carlos Zambrano, setting up a 14-2 victory over the Cubs that brought the Reds some rare, relaxing moments.For once, everything went right.Votto extended his hitting streak to seven games when he connected off left-hander Tom Gorzelanny (1-4), who hadn’t allowed a homer by a left-handed batter. Gomes’ single sparked a five-run rally in the seventh, and Hanigan added his first career grand slam an inning later as the Reds beat up on Cub relievers.Aaron Harang (2-4) struck out a season-high nine in 6 2/3 innings of Cincinnati’s most lopsided win this season. The Reds have been one of the majors’ most dramatic teams, getting nine of their 15 wins in their final at-bat. They hadn’t beaten a team by more than four runs all season.Starlin Castro doubled and scored in four at-bats, a day after he drove in a record six runs during his debut during a 14-7 Cubs win. He also committed his first error, one that came at a bad time.The 20-year-old shortstop doubled off Harang in the top of the seventh and eventually scored when Arthur Rhodes walked Xavier Nady with the bases loaded, cutting it to 3-2.Then, it all came apart. Castro then started the Reds’ seventh by botching Orlando Cabrera’s grounder. Second baseman Mike Fontenot followed with another error, and Sean Marshall walked the bases loaded. Zambrano, who agreed to move to the bullpen last month to give it some stability, came on and gave up Gomes’ two-run single.Hanigan drove in Cincinnati’s final runs with his first career grand slam in the eighth off Justin Berg.Afterward, manager Lou Piniella sat in the chair in his office, holding the bridge of his nose with his left hand while thinking about how his young relievers had melted down again.Castro had an historic debut on Friday night, hitting a three-run homer in his first at-bat and driving in a record six runs. A day later, he had a couple of bad moments in the field.The first one came in the third inning, when Brandon Phillips singled to the hole at shortstop — Castro’s long throw wasn’t even close. Phillips then stole second by reaching around Castro’s tag to get the base with his left hand, a veteran trick that worked on the youngest shortstop in Cubs history. Gomes’ single made it 3-0.

NOTES—It was 81 degrees at the first pitch on Friday night, 51 degrees on Saturday night. … The Cubs activated RH reliever Esmailin Caridad off the 15-day DL. He’d been sidelined since April 12 with a strained right forearm. Reliever Jeff Gray was optioned to Triple-A Iowa. … Struggling LH reliever John Grabow went back to Chicago for a precautionary MRI on his sore left knee. No problem was found. Grabow will get a couple days of rest. He’s 0-2 with a 9.26 ERA.

MILWAUKEE—The Rush,coming off a bye week,may have been flat. Or perhaps overconfident,but they lost the turnover battle they usually win,and collapsed after the first quarter and suffered their worst loss in more than six years, falling to the Milwaukee Iron 71-48 Friday night at the Bradley Center.The loss drops the Rush(4-1)into a tie with the Iron (4-1) atop the AFL’s Midwest Division.The Rush led 20-7 after the first quarter,but it looked like a different team showed up for the second and third period.The game was tied 27-27 at the half, but the Rush failed to answer the bell for the second half. After surrendering a Milwaukee touchdown on the Iron’s first drive of the third quarter to fall behind 34-27, the Rush proceeded to turn the ball over on four straight possessions – two fumbles on kick returns and two Russ Michna interceptions that were returned for TDs.By the time the fourth quarter began, it was 61-34 Milwaukee and the game pretty much over.The Rush turned the ball over six times, tying a dubious team record set in 2001.

“When you are playing one of the best offenses in the league, you can’t give them even one extra possession – let alone six,” said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. “(Milwaukee QB Chris) Greisen has been playing as well as I have ever seen him play, and he continued his great play tonight.” Greisen has not thrown a single interception through the Iron’s first five games.After each team scored on its opening possession, Michna hit tight end Shawn McMackin with a 31-yard touchdown pass to put the Rush up 14-7.A Michna to Kenny Higgins 29-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the first quarter gave the Rush a 20-7 lead and it looked like the Rush was in good shape,but no!

NOTES: The 71 points given up by the Rush is the most a Rush defense has allowed since April 25, 2004 when the Los Angeles Avengers won 71-35 … the Rush returns home next Saturday, May 15 to rematch host the Iowa Barnstormers whom they beat week one in Des Moines.

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VANCOUVER—Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks have kept their cool while the Vancouver Canucks have lost theirs.Now they are just one win away from a return trip to the Western Conference finals.Toews scored three power-play goals and added two assists as the Blackhawks beat Vancouver 7-4 on Friday and grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second-round series. The more the Canucks have taken bad penalties and displayed a lack of discipline, the more the Hawks made them pay with a lethal power play.Patrick Sharp also scored on the power play and Tomas Kopecky added a goal shortly after another expired. the Hawks, who went 4 for 8 with the man advantage, has won three straight after dropping the series opener at home.Brent Seabrook scored 18 seconds in, Dave Bolland scored into an empty net with 37 seconds left, and Antti Niemi made 26 saves for the Hawks, who can advance to hockey’s final four with a win at home on Sunday.After talking a lot between games about the need for better discipline and get more bodies to the Hawks net, Vancouver instead spent most of the night marching to the penalty box.

“We lost our composure again,” said Roberto Luongo, who made 27 saves,but continues to play awful in the Vancouver Nets. “I don’t know why it happened. We were all on the same page before the game, and I don’t know.” The Hawks are again inside Luongo’s head.

Dustin Byfuglien, who scored three goals in Game 3, was a big part of it.He combined with Toews to set up Seabrook’s goal on the first shift, and then drew consecutive cross-checking penalties on defenseman Shane O’Brien. The 6-foot-4, 257-pound Byfuglien went straight to the net on the second, screening Luongo while Toews ripped a shot past both of them. It was clear what side of that line the Canucks were on in the second period.Toews, who had three assists in Game 3, added his second power-play goal 33 seconds into the middle period to put the Blackhawks ahead 3-2. Sharp doubled that lead on a power play rebound scramble at 12:47, and the Canucks came apart.Daniel Sedin was penalized for breaking his stick across Kris Versteeg after a whistle, and Alex Burrows cross-checked Byfuglien in the neck during a scramble. Toews converted the 5-on-3 advantage with 4:38 left in the period.Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Kyle Wellwood and Alexander Edler scored for the Canucks, who lost consecutive home games for the second time this season.Luongo has given up 13 goals the last seven periods.

“He’s the second-best goaltender on the ice,” Coach Alain Vigneault said.

NOTES—The Hawks are 7 for 24 on the power play in the series, and converting at 34.6 percent in the playoffs. The Canucks’ penalty-killing is last in the playoffs at 64.3 percent….Demitra led the Olympics with 10 points in seven games. He had six points in nine playoff games, but the Slovakian forward had only one assist against the Blackhawks.

Alex Gonzalez(Not the former Cub) hit the tiebreaking three-run homer in the 12th inning, Buck went deep twice and the Toronto Blue Jays won their sixth straight, beating the White Sox7-4 on Friday night.Toronto has four wins when trailing after seven innings and 10 come-from-behind victories in all.Gonzalez’s shot off J.J. Putz (0-2) came after Vernon Wells walked with two outs and Lyle Overbay singled. He then drove a 1-2 fastball down the middle about 10 rows deep in left field for his ninth homer.Gonzalez’s drive made a winner of Scott Downs (1-3), who pitched two scoreless innings, and made up for a fly to center with the bases loaded to end the eighth.John Buck, who hit a two-run homer off Mark Buehrle, gave Toronto a 4-3 lead with a solo shot in the ninth off Bobby Jenks. Kevin Gregg,who flopped with the Cubs last year, seeking his ninth save in as many chances, gave up a leadoff homer to A.J. Pierzynski in the bottom half that tied it.Mark Kotsay and former Blue Jay Alex Rios homered for the White Sox.Both teams got solid performances from their starting pitchers, with Toronto’s Shaun Marcum going into the eighth and Buehrle finishing eight innings.The game was sailing along until it took a wild turn.The Blue Jays appeared to be in good shape, tying it in the eighth when Buehrle walked Wells with the bases loaded and then taking the lead on Buck’s drive in the ninth. But there was more drama to come.Pierzynski drove Gregg’s first pitch in the bottom half into the right-field seats.Carlos Quentin then walked and was sacrificed to second before Kotsay — who came into the game with a .137 average — was intentionally walked. Alexei Ramirez forced him with a slow roller toward shortstop, putting runners on the corners, before Juan Pierre popped up a bunt attempt to the mound to end the inning.The White Sox got a one-out single from Andruw Jones in the 10th, but he was doubled off on Rios’ liner to short. They also got a dominant relief effort from Matt Thornton, who came on in the top half and struck out five of the six batters he faced over two innings.Buck hit a two-run shot off Buehrle in the fifth before Kotsay hit one off Marcum in the bottom half, and Rios then gave the Sox a 3-2 lead with a solo shot in the sixth. That put Buehrle in position for his first win in about a month, but the walk to Wells with the bases loaded in the eighth spoiled his best start since the season opener, when he threw seven scoreless innings against Cleveland.He allowed three runs and eight hits while tying his longest outing this season after dropping his previous four starts. Still, he’s winless since April 11.Singles by Travis Snider and Freddy Lewis and a one-out walk to Jose Bautista loaded the bases for Wells, who already had two hits. This time, he walked on a 3-1 pitch after Ozzie Guillen visited the mound, tying it at 3.Marcum allowed six hits. He left with two outs in eighth after Omar Vizqel singled and Gonzalez booted Jones’ grounder to short, putting runners on first and second. Shawn Camp came on and retired Rios on a popup to first to end the threat.

NOTES—The White Sox kept 1B Paul Konerko out of the lineup for the second straight game because of a sore neck and held out struggling 2B Gordon Beckham….The Blue Jays held OF Adam Lind out of the lineup with the lefty Buehrle starting.