The Blackhawks have seen their payoff lives flash before them the past two seasons,and Monday night they again got off the deck and rallied past the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 to tie their Stanley Cup Western Conference series at a game apiece with the next two games at General Motors Place. The Canucks came out flying and looked like they were going to blow the Blackhawks out again. Mason Raymond scored to put the visitors ahead 1-0,and they the Hawks picked up not one, but two ‘delay of game’ penalties and Mikeal Samuelsen scored off a great centering pass from Henrik Sedin to make it 2-0. The Canucks nearly scored two others,but just missed. Brent Seabrook got one back for the Hawks a few minutes later and it was 2-0 heading into the first intermission. The scoreless second period was physical,but neither team scored. At last the Hawks tied it with one of their specialties,a shorty as Patrick Sharp scored on a semi breakaway. It then went back and forth until Kris Versteeg put one past a down and out Roberto Luongo with :90 left as the sellout went delirious! Patrick Kane iced it with an empty netter.
NOTES—Last year these teams were also tied 1-1 after two games,but it’s now Vancouver that has grabbed home ice advantage from the Hawks.

LES

It took a month for Jake Peavy to show signs of being the pitcher he and the White Sox hoped for.Peavy pitched seven-plus shutout innings in his most impressive start of the season and Alex Rios had three hits and two RBI as the White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Monday night.Peavy (1-2) struck out a season-high nine batters using a sharp fastball and left to a standing ovation in the eighth inning. He didn’t allow a hit until Mitch Maier singled with two outs in the fifth.Peavy didn’t surrender another hit until Alberto Callaspo singled and Jason Kendall doubled with two outs in the seventh. Peavy finished the inning by getting Maier to hit a soft liner to shortstop Alexei Ramirez with runners on second and third.Peavy, who only allowed four hits, was acquired in a deadline deal on July 31, 2009, despite being on the disabled list. He was 0-2 with a 7.85 ERA in five starts in April and went winless in a full month for the first time since June of 2006 (0-3, 5.28 ERA). He lowered his ERA to 6.31.Ramirez hit a solo home run and Andruw Jones had two hits and two RBI for the White Sox, who began a seven-game homestand after finishing a 2-4 road trip Sunday.The White Sox came in with the lowest batting average in baseball (.223) and the worst ERA in the AL at 5.30.Scott Podsednik homered against his former team in the ninth inning off reliever Scott Linebrink, snapping a 17-inning scoreless streak for the Royals. They suffered a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday and have not scored a run since the 11th inning of Saturday’s 4-2 victory.Royals starter Gil Meche (0-3) allowed five runs on nine hits in five innings – but his ERA actually lowered from 10.13 to 9.89.Peavy gave up five runs in the first inning of Wednesday’s 6-5 loss at Texas, although he recovered to retire 16 of 18 during one stretch. Peavy, who also lost his previous outing to Tampa Bay, has not dropped three straight starts since July 2007.Ramirez homered on a 2-1 pitch in the third inning for his second of the season. One out later, Pierre reached on an infield single and stole second. Pierre then scored from second on Jones’ single.Jones and Rios added Peavy with an insurance runs in the fifth. With runners on first and second, Jones hit an RBI double down the left-field line. With two outs, Rios singled through the left side of the infield to score Gordon Beckham and Jones to give the White Sox a 5-0 lead.

NOTES—Carlos Quentin was out of the lineup with a sore hamstring. … Podsednik, who played for the White Sox from 2005-07 and in 2009, received a warm reception from the fans before his first at-bat in the first inning. His home run landed nearly in the exact location of his game-winning homer in game two of the 2005 World Series. … Pop star Justin Bieber attended the game and threw out the first pitch..

NEW YORK—Mark Teixeira tied a career high with four hits and Robinson Cano had a three-run homer, backing another dominant performance by Phil Hughes in the New York Yankees‘ 12-3 rout of the White Sox on Sunday.Teixeira continued his emergence from an April slump with a two-run double and three singles that raised his average to .189. Nick Swisher added a two-run shot and Brett Gardner hit a rare homer to help the Yankees take two of three.Hughes (3-0) stymied the White Sox, limiting them to four hits over seven innings. Hughes, who won the No. 5 starter job this spring, had not allowed more than three hits in any of his first three starts. He struck out six while walking one.Gardner started in center field because UIC Alum Curtis Granderson went on the 15-day disabled list before the game with a strained left groin. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Granderson could be out for a month.Relief pitcher Mark Melancon was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He pitched two innings and gave up a long three-run homer to Paul Konerko, his 12th of the season.Alex Rodriguez was given the day off, but Girardi said it was just a rest and there was nothing wrong with the slugger, who came out for a pinch runner Saturday in the ninth inning.The speedy Gardner gave the Yankees their first run when his two-out grounder in the second deflected off the glove of a lunging Konerko at first base and spun away from second baseman Gordon Beckham. The infield single scored Cano, who led off with a double.In the fourth, Gardner hit first homer since June 26, 2009, at the Mets, a span of 167 at-bats. It came a batter after Mark Kotsay caught Marcus Thames’ drive near the top of the right-field wall.The Yankees added three runs against struggling Mark Buehrle (2-4) in the fifth. After Teixeira and Swisher singled, Cano reached low to pull his ninth homer of the year and make it 5-0.Swisher followed with a two-run drive off Tony Pena in the sixth, and the Yankees added five runs in the seventh.Ozzie Guillen was ejected during Gardner’s at-bat in the seventh after a prolonged argument over balls and strikes with plate umpire Dan Iassogna. It was the second time Guillen has been tossed this season and the 21st time in his career.Guillen told reporters he was up until nearly 3 a.m. watching news of the failed bomb attack that took place just two blocks from the team’s hotel in Times Square on Saturday night.Gardner walked after the ejection and the Yankees loaded the bases when shortstop Alexei Ramirez failed to handle Beckham’s shovel toss on Ramiro Pena’s grounder for an error.Derek Jeter walked to force in a run, and Nick Johnson and Teixeira had two-run doubles to make it 12-0.Buehrle has stumbled at the start of the season. He allowed five runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings, and since throwing seven scoreless innings on opening day he hasn’t allowed less than four runs in any of his next five starts.

NOTES—Beckham is in an 0-for-11 slide with seven strikeouts. … Teixeira has had 18 four-hit games. The last came on Sept. 19, 2009. … Konerko went 6 for 19 with four homers and 10 RBIs on the 2-4 road trip…..The Sox host Kansas City Tuesday night to begin a weeklong home stand.

A year ago,the Vancouver Canucks took game one from the Blackhawks at General Motors Place,but the Hawks ended up winning that Western Conference Semi Final series in six. The Blackhawks now hope history will repeat itself,only this time with the same second round matchup starting in the United Center,the Canucks put a big time whipping on the Hawks 5-1. After the Hawks put plenty of early pressure on Robert Luongo, it was the Canucks who broke the ice at 13:51 when Christian Ehrhoff slapped a Mason Raymond pass by Antti Niemi. The Hawks shortly after got their second power play,but came up empty as Luongo remained sharp.It looked like the Hawks would get into the first intermission down a goal when all of a sudden with :11 left in the period, Ryan Kessler got a pass from the corner to Raymond who’s screened shot beat a stunned Niemi,and the Canucks took a 2-0 lead into the locker room despite getting outshot 17-13. It got worse in the second period when the Sedin twins stuck just :32 in. Daniel dropped the puck to his brother Henrik,who beat Niemi to make it 3-0. At 10:02, Patrick Kane was penalized for holding the stick,and Kyle Wellwod scored at 10:59. Then to add insult to injury, Michael Grabner got the fifth and final goal Niemi would yield on this night at 16:21, making it 5-0. Predictably, Cristobal Huet replaced Niemi to start the third period. With the help of a pair of minor penalties on Vancouver’s Alexander Edler(his third minor of the game)and Raymond, the Hawks finally broke through against Luongo on the ensuing five on three when Kane pushed one between Luongo’s legs while the goalie was down on all fours at 2:07. It was Kane’s 5th of the current Playoffs.That was it for the Hawks.

NOTES—Game two in Monday night at 8pm…..Attendance was 22,184….The Hawks outshot Vancouver 37-26.

LES

Alfonso Soriano homered, Derrek Lee delivered the go-ahead two-run single and the Cubs rallied from three down again to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-5 on Saturday.Soriano’s two-run shot off former Cub Bob Howry in the seventh tied it at 5, and Lee made it 7-5 with a two-run bases-loaded single in the eighth off Juan Gutierrez (0-3). “I’m working hard to make the fans happy,” said Soriano, who’s often booed at home.Not this time, though.Not after his second big homer in the past two days. His drive and Lee’s big hit made a winner of Sean Marshall (1-1), who pitched two scoreless innings before Carlos Marmol escaped a tense ninth with his fourth save in five chances.He caught his right ankle on a small hole throwing his first pitch to Cole Gillespie and walked him to lead off the inning. Justin Upton singled with one out and Mark Reynolds — who hit two solo homers — walked with two out to load the bases, but Marmol struck Adam LaRoche.Early on, about a dozen protesters outside Wrigley Field handed out leaflets blasting Arizona’s new immigration law that makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and lets police question anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant. The protesters were headed to a larger rally in downtown Chicago.Inside the old ballpark, the Diamondbacks were making plenty of noise with their bats before the Cubs rallied.Carlos Silva allowed eight hits over five innings in his shortest outing of the year. His ERA rose from 1.73 to 2.90.Reynolds hit his eighth and ninth homers, tying teammate Kelly Johnson for the league lead. Upton went deep, but Arizona blew a three-run lead for the second straight day, the bullpen again breaking down and the surging Soriano coming up with another big blow. His tying shot off Howry in the seventh came after he hit the go-ahead three-run homer in Friday’s 11-5 win. He also singled and is now 20 for 55 over his last 17 games.Soriano’s homer came after a 3-1 pitch on the outside corner that he thought was ball four. Instead, it was strike two, but no problem.He knocked the ball deep into the left-center bleachers for his fourth homer.Soriano batted .241 a year ago before missing the final month and having knee surgery, but he’s feeling better.In the eighth, Gutierrez walked Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukudome to load the bases before Lee, who came in with a .205 average, singled past a diving Reynolds at third to make it 7-5.Arizona starter Dan Haren allowed 10 hits — the most for him since Aug. 30, 2008 — over six innings. Haren also had two hits, leading off the third with a double and scoring the game’s first run.

NOTES—Theriot had two singles to extend his hitting streak to 11 games…..Esmailin Caridad, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right forearm, could rejoin the Cubs by next weekend “if everything is right,” Lou Piniella said. Caridad was scheduled to pitch Saturday in Arizona and would likely make several appearances for Triple-A Iowa. When he’s activated, he’ll replace one of the Cubs’ younger relievers, Piniella said, meaning Carlos Zambrano will remain in the bullpen for now.

NEW YORK—Andruw Jones came out swinging after a little ump bump. A.J. Pierzynski hit hard, too, and that helped the White Sox slow down the New York Yankees.Jones launched two more home runs off a shaky Javier Vazquez, Pierzynski boomed a go-ahead double in the seventh inning and the White Sox seesawed past the Yankees 7-6 Saturday.The Yankees’ three-game winning streak ended, and they also lost center fielder Curtis Granderson. He strained his left groin while dashing on a hit-and-run single, badly hobbled into third and went to a hospital for an MRI exam.Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Granderson would probably go on the disabled list. Girardi’s first thought when he saw the injury unfold: “He’s out for a while.” Jones and Vazquez both got off to stumbling starts. The White Sox slugger wound up enjoying the sunny afternoon, Vazquez got booed off the mound. Jones was standing in the on-deck circle in the first inning when Gordon Beckham lifted a foul pop toward the seats. Yankees catcher Jorge Posada tossed his mask aside and it hit plate umpire Mark Wegner in the head. Wegner then stumbled a couple of steps and plowed into Jones, knocking him off-balance. All were OK, and the ball landed foul.Wegner was able to kid about it after the game.Scratched from the starting lineup Friday night because of back spasms, Jones recovered nicely. He hit a solo home run moments later, and did it again in the third. That gave Jones seven career homers off Vazquez, his top victim.Jones has 40 career multihomer games, including three this season. He has eight home runs this year and 396 overall, matching Joe Carter for 49th on the career list.Vazquez kept struggling, a year after he drew Cy Young Award consideration for a sharp season in Atlanta. He began this game with a 9.00 ERA, and more than maintained that run-per-inning pace. He gave up single runs in each of the first three innings and was yanked shortly after Mark Kotsay’s two-run homer in the fourth.Kotsay’s homer off Vazquez made it 5-1. Unbeaten White Sox starter John Danks left after five innings, and Nick Swisher’s homer capped a four-run comeback in the sixth that put the Yankees ahead 6-5.The White Sox rallied in the seventh. Paul Konerko doubled with one out and Carlos Quentin drew an intentional walk from David Robertson (0-2) with two outs. Damaso Marte relieved and Pierzynski met him with a double to deep left-center.Scott Linebrink (1-0) won despite allowing Swisher’s two-run homer. Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his fifth save.Granderson got a hand when he left in the sixth. He was running from first when Brett Gardner singled up the middle, but hurt himself rounding second and limped most of the way to third.

NOTES—Vazquez was stopped by 1B umpire Jerry Meals when he came out to pitch the third inning. The umpires and Girardi huddled, and Vazquez was forced to change his glove because its two-tone coloring was against Major League Baseball rules. In spring training, Meals was asked by Florida minor league pitcher Taylor Tankersley — who uses the same glove as Vazquez — whether the model was OK. Meals took a picture of the glove and sent it to MLB officials, who ruled it was illegal. Vazquez said he’s used the same glove for three or four years. “I was surprised we weren’t informed of that,” Girardi said…..Vazquez tied a career by allowing three homers…..Alex Rios is away from the team this weekend. He’s with his fiancee for the birth of their child and is expected back Monday…..Mark Buehrle starts Sunday for the White Sox. He’s lost six straight decisions to the Yankees.

MILWAUKEE—The Bulls may be gone from the NBA Playoffs and may still be waiting to decide when to dismiss Vinny Del Negro as Coach, but the Milwaukee Bucks, Coached by Scott Skiles and with John Salmons-both former Bulls, who were trying to close out the Atlanta Hawks who feature the NBA Sixth Man of the Year and another ex Bull Jamal Crawford.Milwaukee went ice cold at the wrong time(mostly the whole game)and Atlanta forced a seventh game at Phillips Arena Sunday afternoon with an 83-69 win. It was a close first half which was marred by miserable shooting.The Bucks,who led 34-31 at the break,shot just 36% and the Hawks only 32.5%. Carlos Delfino prevented Milwaukee’s shooting percentage from being worse since he was 5-10(including 3-5 from behind the three point line), and Joe Johnson was 4-10 for Atlanta. The Third quarter turned into a disaster for the Bucks as they went stoned cold(3-17 for 17.6%) and got outscored 29-11 to fall behind 60-45 heading into the fourth.In fact, the Hawks built a 58-38 lead before Brandon Jennings nailed a three pointer and Salmons hit four free throws.The fourth quarter was Atlanta’s in which to protect the lead and they did.Crawford led everyone with 24 points, and Johnson added 22 for the Hawks who had five players in double figures even though they only shot 38% for the game. Milwaukee was an awful 33% for the game and only had three in double digits led by Delfino with 20.

NOTES—The loud sold out crowd was 18,717….Milwaukee had 19,15 and 11 in each of the first three quarters.They ended with 24 in the final quarter,but only got over twenty due to garbage time.

LES

NEW YORK—The final game of the season’s first month had a familiar feel for the New York Yankees, who are used to Derek Jeter putting together these kinds of nights.Jeter hit a tiebreaking, two-run triple in the seventh inning to give him four RBI, helping the Yankees beat the White Sox 6-4 on Friday.Jeter also hit a tying, two-run homer with two outs in the fifth for New York, which opened a six-game homestand with its third consecutive win. The All-Star shortstop went 3 for 4 and is batting .538 (7 for 13) in his last three games.Paul Konerko set a White Sox record with his major league-best 11th homer in April as they lost lost for the 12th time in 14 games in New York. Alex Rios and Gordon Beckham had two hits apiece.The Yankees shook off a shaky start by Andy Pettitte to finish the first month 15-7, a solid beginning for the defending World Series champions. New York went 12-10 in April last year, when it finished with 103 wins.The White Sox (9-14) lost for the third time in four games, closing a difficult April on a down note. With two on and one out in the seventh, Jeter sliced a 2-2 pitch from Matt Thornton (2-2) past diving right fielder Jayson Nix and into the corner. Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner scored easily to give New York a 6-4 lead.Jeter popped up and slapped his hands together after sliding into third with his first triple of the season.Thornton hit Cervelli with an 0-2 pitch and Gardner completed a tough at-bat with a single to set up Jeter’s hit.Alfredo Aceves (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh to improve his career record to 13-1. Damaso Marte and Joba Chamberlain combined to work a perfect eighth before Mariano Rivera finished for his seventh save in seven tries.Pettitte allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings for the Yankees, ending his string of three wins in three starts. The left-hander yielded just four runs in his first 28 innings this season.The White Sox got off to a fast start, taking advantage of a couple of well-placed hits to begin the game. Alexei Ramirez led off with a looper just out of the reach of second baseman Robinson Cano, and Beckham followed with a bloop single into right field to put runners on first and second.After Rios flied out, Konerko drove a 1-2 pitch from Pettitte over the wall in right for his third homer in two games. The ball landed just out of the reach of Nick Swisher, who made a leaping try at the fence.Konerko broke a tie with Jim Thome for the franchise mark for April homers set in 2006. He went 1 for 2 with two walks to finish the month with 21 RBI and a .297 batting average.New York got two back in the bottom half. Alex Rodriguez snapped an 0-for-19 skid with an RBI double off Freddy Garcia, and Cano added a run-scoring single.Juan Pierre batted ninth for the first time this season and went 0 for 3 with a walk to drop his average to .193.

NOTES—White Sox RF Andruw Jones was scratched with back spasms and replaced by Nix…..Yankees C Jorge Posada missed his second straight start with a swollen right knee. He hit for Nick Johnson in the seventh and struck out….Ozzie Guillen said 43-year-old INF Omar Vizquel would start at shortstop or second base on Saturday. Vizquel is 8 for 15 in his career against scheduled Yankees starter Javier Vazquez…..Rivera struck out two in the ninth to give him 1,015 Ks, passing Roger Clemens for 10th on the Yankees’ career list.

ROSEMONT—The Wolves battled from three one-goal deficits to force overtime before falling, 4-3, to the Texas Stars in Game 1 of the West Division Final at the Allstate Arena Friday night. Texas now leads the best-of-seven series, 1-game-to-0. The Wolves tied the game, 3-3, to force overtime with 5:35 left in the third period. Center Matt Anderson knocked the puck back to right wing Joey Crabb off a face-off in the Stars zone and Crabb fought his way through traffic and ripped a shot past Stars netminder Brent Krahn.Texas got the decisive goal while working on a power-play opportunity early in the overtime period, when defenseman Garrett Stafford rifled a shot past a screened netminder Peter Mannino’s blocker to win the game.Home team goals came from Crabb, center Jason Krog and right wing Anthony Stewart, while Texas (5-0) also got markers from Colton Sceviour, Francis Wathier and Jamie Benn.The Stars opened scoring, 6:34 into the contest. Texas’ Scott McCulloch carried the puck around the net and was hit by a Wolves player along the boards but was able to slip a pass out to Sceviour for a quick tap past Mannino.The Wolves (4-4) answered 53 seconds later with a tally from Krog. Defenseman Arturs Kulda picked the puck up streaking past the net and dished it across for Krog to flip past Stars netminder Brent Krahn to even the score, 1-1.Wathier put the Stars ahead, 2-1, on a delayed penalty when he deflected Maxime Fortunus’ long shot from near the blue line by Mannino at 1:43 of the second period.Mannino (4-3) posted 24 saves on 28 shots for the Wolves.Stewart brought the Wolves even once again, 2-2, with a power-play goal at 6:36. Defenseman Nathan Oystrick sent a shot sliding across the crease from the face-off circle and Stewart streaked in and knocked it past Krahn.Krahn (5-0) turned aside 32 shots for the Stars.Texas took a 3-2 lead just 16 seconds into the third period when Jamie Benn picked up a rebound from Dan Jancevski’s long shot and snapped a shot from the slot past Mannino.The Wolves will host Game 2 at Allstate Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m.