Antti Niemi recorded his third shutout in seven games in net as the Blackhawks rolled past the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0. Patrick Kane got the first goal early in the first period while Ben Eager and Marian Hossa added goals in the second. Jonathan Toews scored his ninth goal of the season early in the third to put the game out of reach. Overall, Niemi had 18 saves on the night. Not long after his goal in the first, the 'Hawks lost Kane for the night. A collision with Tampa Bay's Matt Smaby sent Kane to the ice hard and he sustained a cut above one of his eyes and had to get it stitched up but it doesn't look like it'll keep Kane out further action. Next up for the 'Hawks is a date with the Blues on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. CSN). more ›

The Blackhawks benefited from the return of Martin Havlat on Wednesday night. Havlat, who had missed 22 games due to a shoulder injury, scored Jjust 43 seconds into his return to action on a backhander to the upper-left corner of the net to give the Hawks a 1-0 edge on the Tampa Bay Lightning. He would go on to score again in just 12 seconds into the second period, scoring off a shot from the... more ›

Thank you! It's about damn time. While Lovie Smith won't make the announcement official until later today, media everywhere are reporting that Brian Griese will take the field with the first team at practice on Wednesday because he is the Bears' new starting quarterback. Rex, you can grab a hat and clipboard right over there next to Kyle Orton. Chicagoist is by no means under the impression that this solves our quarterback problems. In the... more ›

In theater, "breaking a leg" is good luck. In baseball, not so much. No, it's definitely bad news for the White Sox that versatile utility player Pablo Ozuna will miss three months with a broken leg, which he broke during Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. more ›

If Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is any indication of how the defense has been weakened due to injuries and legal troubles, the Bears could be in trouble come January. While they eked out a 34-31 win, they needed overtime to do so in a game that looked wrapped up at halftime. After missing a field goal attempt earlier in OT, kicker Robbie Gould connected on the 25-yard game winner. Rex Grossman had... more ›

Tank Johnson was already having a pretty bad week. His house was raided by Gurnee police, his stash of guns was confiscated and he was charged for illegal possession of firearms. His bodyguard Willie Posey was arrested for felony pot possession during the raid. And as a result of Thursday's run-in with the police, Bears coach Lovie Smith announced that Johnson would be inactive for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay. Yet somehow, Tank Johnson's personal... more ›

The Chicago Blackhawks have seen enough and showed coach Trent Yawney the door after starting the season with just seven wins in twenty games. In his short career behind the boards at the United Center, Yawney had an unimpressive 33-55-15 record. The Blackhawks promoted assistant coach and former player Denis Savard to take the reigns of the team. Savard, a Hall of Famer, spent 17 years on the ice playing in Chicago, Montreal, and Tampa... more ›

Leave it to the Cubs to mess up the easiest decision of the off-season, hiring Lou Piniella as their new manager over Joe Girardi. The Cubs and Piniella agreed to a 3-year, $10 million deal that will be announced during a Tuesday press conference. more ›

The Bears open their 2006 season on Sunday against the Packers up in Green Bay. What a way to kick the season off! While the Bears look to figure into the playoff picture, the Packers are focusing on the Brett Favre farewell (maybe) tour. The Bears should open with a key road victory against a division opponent, but in these big rivalries, one never knows. So just how good are the Bears this year? That's... more ›

The NFL released the 2006 schedule today, so we thought we'd take a first look at the Bears' 2006 schedule. The Bears open the season against their biggest rivals -- the Green Bay Packers. Will Brett Favre still be their QB then? He has yet to indicate whether he's returning or retiring. Either way, the Bears can expect a win their opening game because the Packers will be pretty bad. Is it really a Bears-Packers... more ›

We mentioned last week that the Bears were meeting with quarterback Brian Griese over the weekend. We guess the meeting went well, because yesterday the Bears inked him to a 5-year deal. After being cut by Tampa Bay in a salary cap move, he received inquiries from Cincinnati Miami, Baltimore and Oakland. Tampa even wanted to re-sign him to differently structured deal. But he chose to sign with the Bears, at least in part because... more ›

Seems that Bears management has finally realized that they might want to have a capable veteran QB on the roster, especially since Rex Grossman seems to be running neck-and-nexk with Mark Prior in the "who can get injured more" contest the two seem to be having. The past two seasons have forced Bears fans to witness a parade of overwhelmed rookies and career third-string QBs take the field. While last year's team went 11-5, in... more ›

In their second statement game in as many weeks, the Bears proved once again that they are a force in the NFC as they beat Tampa Bay 13-10 in Tampa. Both teams entered the game with 7-3 records, and again the Bears proved that their defense can win them games almost single handedly. more ›

The Blackhawks join the rest of the NHL in their return to the ice tonight after losing the entire 2004-2005 season to labor strife. In the opener, the Blackhawks face the Anaheim Mighty Ducks at the United Center. A lot has changed, both for the NHL and the Blackhawks. The Hawks have a new GM in Dale Tallon, a new coach in Trent Yawney and many new faces on the roster. Their biggest signing was... more ›

With the NHL's new labor deal finally in place and the league's new financial structure known, teams are busy shopping for new talent. The Blackhawks intend to be active shoppers in coming days. They landed their first big-name free agent with yesterday's announcement that Adrian Aucoin signed with the Hawks for $16 million over 4 years. One of the most sought after free agents, Aucion is a defenseman who spent the past three seasons with the NY Islanders. more ›

Major League Baseball announced its All Star rosters over the holiday weekend, and at least five Chicago players will be in Detroit for the game on July 12th. Representing the White Sox will be Paul Konerko, Jon Garland and Mark Buehrle. Konerko was a bit of a surprise, considering his .247 batting average. But it's kind of a make-up call for last year's snub when he was hitting close to .300 at the time. Garland and Buehrle clearly deserve their selections. In fact, one or the other is likely to be the starting AL pitcher for the game. Having already earned $15,000 bonuses for making the team, each have an additional $10,000 bonus riding on starting the game. more ›

The NFL released its 2005 schedule yesterday, which of course means we learn the Bears' 2005 schedule. Once again, the Bears are denied any Monday Night games. Their only prime time game is their Dec. 18th Sunday night game against Atlanta that will be shown on ESPN. Date Opponent Time 9/11 at Washington Redskins 12:00 p.m. 9/18 Detroit Lions 12:00 p.m. 9/25 Cinncinati Bengals 12:00 p.m. 10/2 Bye   10/9 at Cleveland Browns 12:00 p.m.... more ›

Having given up on Jonathan Quinn and Jeff George, the Bears begin their auditions for a backup quarterback today with Kurt Warner's visit to Halas Hall. The former leage and Super Bowl MVP spent last season with the New York Giants, where he lost the starting job to rookie Eli Manning mid-season. Warner explained the other day, in Arizona: You always want to sign as a starter. I still believe I can be a starter... more ›

Quinn himself sounded as relieved as any Bears fan that he was off the field. "Coach Smith said if we stalled out, there was a good chance they would start Craig in the second half. You have to admire the man for being a man of his word. If you say you are going to do something, you do it. He did." Now is Quinn headed off the roster? With the team eying former #1 Draft pick Tim Couch, will the Bears cut Quinn to open up a roster spot? more ›