Hawks must respond in Game 3

The Boston Bruins collected their first victory of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night by checking the Blackhawks relentlessly and wearing them down.

Still big and bad: Bruins are formidable foe

CHICAGO | Hockey is more docile than it was in the 1970s.

Stanley Cup Final Preview: Boston brings bruisers against Chicago's nimble speedsters

CHICAGO | Beyond the glitz of the spotlights and the glittering Stanley Cup, the championship series between the Blackhawks and Boston Bruins for the battered old bowl comes down to something very basic:

Mount Carmel baseball team blanks Neuqua Valley in Class 4a semifinals

JOLIET | It figures Mount Carmel would use the running game, even in the first week of June.

Hawks win ugly opener from Kings

CHICAGO | Forget the “Madhouse on Madison” moniker for the United Center.

Kanaan wins frantic 500

SPEEDWAY | Don’t let that yellow flag at the end of the 97th Indianapolis 500 fool you.

'Christmas in May' for Indy 500 fans

SPEEDWAY, Ind. | Sunday was Katelynne Taborski’s 25th Indianapolis 500.

Munoz impresses in debut

SPEEDWAY | Carlos Munoz must have high standards.

Any of dozen drivers could win 500

SPEEDWAY, Ind. | Two rookies in the first two rows. The defending champion starting in the middle of the field. A Hoosier favorite on the pole. An Andretti on the front row. Nobody from Team Penske starting better than fifth. And unheralded Simon Pagenaud, who qualified in the seventh row, f…

Ray Nichels: The man who built Indy's cars

At 14, Ray Nichels was helping build midget race cars in his father’s auto repair shop. Within a decade, he was running his own shop, building cars to run in the Indianapolis 500 and elsewhere on the championship trail, plus on the fledgling NASCAR stock car circuit.

The Cobe Trophy Race of 1909: Louis Chevrolet’s big day

It was 1909, and automobiles were still toys for super wealthy Americans like Ira Cobe, a Chicago financier and the president of the Chicago Auto Club.

Grant Nykaza aims for distance sweep at state track

There are two goals left to accomplish in Grant Nykaza’s high school running career.

Lazier back in Indy 500 field

SPEEDWAY | It almost seemed an indignity.

Longtime Hoosier Ed Carpenter 'builds' pole

SPEEDWAY | Given his family background, many in Indy car racing believe Ed Carpenter will run the Indianapolis Motor Speedway someday.

A throwback Indy 500

SPEEDWAY, Ind. | Foyt. Andretti.

Thornton hurdler stars at Class 3A Homewood-Flossmoor Sectional

FLOSSMOOR | "Another ticket!" one of Tifonte Hunt's teammates said to him after the Thornton Township senior qualified for the state 300-meter hurdles in Class 3A Thursday night.

T.F. North's Marvel Thompson quick out of the blocks

CALUMET CITY | Marvel Thompson didn’t like track. Not in seventh grade, not in eighth grade. He didn’t like his coach, didn’t like anything about what can be a lonely sport.

Trojans score rout in Southland championship

CHICAGO HEIGHTS | Dorian Simmons is a perfectionist, a trait that comes in handy during a one- or two-mile run.

Huey Johnson guides his final Bloom team to sectional

Huey Johnson goes back to the days of cinder tracks and stopwatch timing.

Toews the leader for the Blackhawks

When the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, the result was as much about chemistry off the ice as it was cohesion on the ice.

T.F. North's Jermeia Avery leads the pack at SSC Blue meet

LEMONT | It's the time of year for high school seniors when the days dwindle down to a precious few.

Girls Track: SAC championships

CHICAGO HEIGHTS | Technique brought Crete-Monee's Tineja Foy to the precipice of victory in the 100-meter hurdles in Tuesday's Southland Conference girls track championship at Bloom's Sarff Field.

Cassell paces Bloom's third-place finish at Carol Urich Invitational

HARVEY | Ivory Cassell has high standards.

Pete Struck Invitational

ORLAND PARK | Many things can go wrong in a 300-meter hurdle race. A runner can trip over a hurdle, run into the wrong lane on the curve, get a bad start, or fade at the finish.

Crawford learns from his past

CHICAGO | There was a time when goaltender Corey Crawford tried to be one of the boys in the Blackhawks locker room.

Thornton's Wesley comes up big at Stagg Invitatironal

PALOS HILLS | Jauan Wesley says he can tell when he wins a race, even though he’s looking straight ahead and the fellow next to him is nearly even with him.

Bloom Township runner Narcisi plans ahead

There was a pattern to Gina Narcisi’s athletic life.

Rare Ivory: Cassell, Narcisi lead Bloom romp

CRETE | Track meets aren’t won by 84 points. Not even on a chilly, windy day in late March.

Homewood-Flossmoor's 'Lady in Red'

“Variety is actually good,” says Chardae Greenlee.

Thornridge boys track team prepares to move on

Thornridge’s best finish at a state track championship is third place, achieved in 1980.

Illiana speeds to second in relay

BLOOMINGTON | Illiana Christian’s boys cross country team finished sixth in last fall’s Class 2A championship.

Sandburg stuns Homewood-Flossmoor

ORLAND PARK | Sandburg coach Todd Allen's message to his players before playing Homewood-Flossmoor was simple.

T.F. North outlasts Joliet Central

LOCKPORT | T.F. North did not start Tuesday's game the way Tim Bankston envisioned.

Marian Catholic overcomes St. Patrick in physical game

CHICAGO HEIGHTS | Mike Taylor was right.

Seton stumbles against Walther at Class 2A Concordia Supersectional

RIVER FOREST | Kevin Green wasn't the biggest fan of Seton Academy's first quarter against Walther Lutheran, when the Sting fell behind by a dozen points. But the Sting coach was really perturbed by the third quarter, given that Seton had rallied to force a halftime time.

Bloom advances to sectional play

FRANKFORT | The turnaround was thorough.

St. Francis de Sales, Seton set for sectional final

SOUTH HOLLAND | There will be a Class 2A supersectional berth on the line Thursday when St. Francis de Sales meets Seton Academy on the Sting's home court.

Mount Carmel hockey falls to Glenbrook South at Soldier Field

CHICAGO | The ice was crunchy and sometimes slushy, but the atmosphere tremendous, especially if you were one of the 300 or so Mount Carmel fans at Soldier Field to watch the Caravan play Glenbrook South on Saturday afternoon.

Zoned out: Marian beats Marist, claims record 23rd win

CHICAGO | Trying to control Marian Catholic junior Tyler Ulis, Marist came out in a box-and-1 on Friday night.

Mount Carmel hockey team pumped to play at Soldier Field

Mount Carmel senior Dylan Klouda was in Wrigley Field for the Winter Classic hockey game between the Blackhawks and Detroit on Jan. 1, 2009.

St. Francis de Sales wins batte of the boards, regional crown

CHICAGO | Tyler Brown-Henderson has had one athletic quest since walking through the doors of St. Francis de Sales as a freshman.

Seton romps; Illiana surprises in nightcap

SOUTH HOLLAND | Hawkins won the opening tip — but Seton Academy won everything else on its home court.

Bloom Township races past Leo for 19th win

CHICAGO HEIGHTS | In the end, it probably didn't matter that Leo had to give up its home-court advantage against Bloom Township because of other activities at the South Side school.

Bloom, on two prayers; Johnson's 3s force OT twice for Trojans

PARK FOREST | Bloom Township junior Jared Johnson fancies himself a shooter.

Hillcrest thumps Crete-Monee, Cappel

COUNTRY CLUB HILLS | Tom Cappel said it wasn't about him, it was about his kids.

Seton Academy falls at Brother Rice

CHICAGO | A 10-point lead on the road in the Catholic League late in the third quarter is an advantage to be cherished.

McDonald's Chicagoland Shootout: A Spartan-like effort

VILLA GROVE | With two minutes remaining and Marian Catholic nursing a short lead against Bolingbrook, Spartans forward Megan Walsh picked up her fourth foul in the 23rd annual McDonald's Shootout.