GrobberNET

PHILADELPHIA—Mike Richards said the heck with superstition and had his hands all over the conference championship trophy.Some teams refuse to as much as touch one until they have a firm grip on the Stanley Cup.Not these Flyers.The Philadelphia Flyers have rekindled some of their old “Broad Street Bullies” championship days and are back in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 13 years.Richards had a highlight-reel goal early, Arron Asham and Jeff Carter scored 84 seconds... (more...)

  CLEVELAND—Omar Vizquel has already borrowed Luis Aparicio’s No. 11. And for now, he’s sharing another number with his boyhood idol.Vizquel moved into a tie with the Hall of Famer for the second-most career hits by a shortstop, and Mark Teahen drove in three runs as the White Sox snapped a five-game losing streak to Cleveland by beating the hapless Indians 7-2 on Monday night.Vizquel singled in the fifth inning off Aaron Laffey for his 2,764th hit, tying Aparicio, his Venezuelan... (more...)

ARLINGTON—Carlos Silva is getting plenty of help from Cubs hitters to make quite a starting impression.Given a four-run lead before even throwing a pitch, Silva worked into the sixth inning of the Cubs 5-4 interleague series-clinching victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday. Silva became the first Cubs starter in 43 years to have a perfect record after six decisions — and the first to begin his Cubs career that way since Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean in 1938.Alfonso Soriano’s... (more...)

The Blackhawks are in the Stanley Cup Finals, thanks to another big goal by Dustin Byfuglien, who scored his third go-ahead goal of the Western Conference finals, converting on a third-period power play as the Blackhawks rallied to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 and completed a four-game sweep Sunday that sent the Blackhawks to the finals for the first time since 1992.will play either Montreal or Philadelphia and be in search of its first NHL title since 1961.The 257-pound Byfuglien was parked in... (more...)

  Cody Ross hit two of Florida’s five homers and Josh Johnson pitched six sharp innings to help Florida defeat the White Sox 13-0 on Sunday. Ronny Paulino, Dan Uggla, and Jorge Cantu also went deep for the Marlins, who snapped a three-game losing streak.Gaby Sanchez, Uggla and Ross all finished with three RBI, and Cantu was 3 for 3 and scored three of the team’s season-high 13 runs, after the Marlins scored only three runs total during its skid against the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright... (more...)

INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Fever took advantage of their home-and-home series against the Sky.After starting the season with losses to Washington and Atlanta, the defending Eastern Conference champions won their second straight game over the Sky, 69-61, on Sunday night to even their record. Indiana beat the Sky 92-86 in overtime on Saturday. Tamika Catchings finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals on Sunday.Shay Murphy had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Jene Morris and Briann... (more...)

ARLINGTON—Left-handed pinch-hitters Kosuke Fukudome and Mike Fontenot had consecutive singles in the 10th after rookie Tyler Colvin’s leadoff double and the Cubs beat Texas 5-4 on Saturday night to end the Rangers’ five-game winning streak.Texas had already used its left-handed reliever, Darren Oliver, to get through a scoreless eighth. And submarine-throwing righty Darren O’Day has had trouble this season getting out left-handed hitters.O’Day (1-2) started the 10th... (more...)

DALLAS—It was an old fashioned Texas shootout in Dallas Saturday night as the Rush outlasted the Vigilantes 63-56 at the American Airlines Center.After struggling to put points on the board the past two weeks, the Rush(5-2) scored touchdowns on nine of its 10 possessions, while the Vigilantes (1-5) scored on all but two. The Rush offense seemed to regain the well-balanced form that carried it to a 4-0 start, as six different players contributed touchdowns for the Rush – Robert Boss, Nichiren... (more...)

ROSEMONT—Tamika Catchings scored eight of her 28 points in overtime to lead the Indiana Fever to a 92-86 victory over the Sky on Saturday night.Shay Murphy added 20 as the Fever (1-2) snapped a season-opening two-game losing streak.Playing in front of a franchise record 6,477 fans in their new Allstate Arena home, the Sky (0-3) forced a 78-78 deadlock late in regulation on Sylvia Fowles’ short jumper.Indiana went ahead for good early in overtime as Catchings’ layup put them in... (more...)

  Rios hit a two-run homer and Gavin Floyd pitched 6 1/3 sharp innings to help the White Sox beat the Florida Marlins 4-1 on Saturday.Rios was acquired off waivers on Aug. 10 from the Toronto Blue Jays. He is in the third year of a seven-year $69 million dollar contract. Last season, Rios hit .199 with the White Sox with three home runs and nine RBI in 41 games.Rios is hitting .322 with six home runs, nine doubles and 13 stolen bases in his last 32 games.He drove in three runs Saturday for the White... (more...)