Sports Digest: VU's Hoaglin earns academic honor

Pro hockey

HAWKS BEAT PANTHERS TO TAKE NHL LEAD: Patrick Kane ended a seven-game goal drought and set up linemate Jonathan Toews' breakaway score in the Blackhawks' 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Friday night.

Defenseman Duncan Keith added his first goal in 30 games to help Chicago take the NHL lead, a point ahead of Detroit. The Blackhawks have won three straight and are 5-0-1 in their last six games.

Ray Emery made 18 saves, allowing only Jason Garrison's power-play goal 43 seconds into the third period.

Toews, who leads Chicago with 27 goals, has goals in four straight games and extended his points streak to six games. Kane's goal was his second in 14 games.

The game started a little over a half-hour late, at 8:08 p.m., because of snow. The announced attendance at the 20,500-seat United Center was 21,555, but about 2,000 seats remained empty

Pro football

BEARS INTERVIEW EMERY FOR GM OPENING: Kansas City Chiefs director of college scouting Phil Emery has interviewed for the Bears' general manager job.

The interview took place on Friday. The Bears are looking to replace Jerry Angelo, who was fired after an 8-8 season.

Emery served as an area scout with the Bears from 1998 to 2004 and was Atlanta's director of college scouting from 2004 to 2008 before working as a regional scout for the Falcons leading up to the 2009 draft. He has spent the past three years in his current role.

The Bears have also interviewed New England Patriots director of pro personnel Jason Licht, San Diego Chargers director of player personnel Jimmy Raye, New York Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross and Chicago director of player personnel Tim Ruskell.

Pro basketball

HILL'S THREE-POINT PLAY LIFTS PACERS OVER WARRIORS: George Hill scored on a three-point play with 1.8 seconds remaining, and the Pacers held off a late charge by Golden State to beat the Warriors 94-91 on Friday night.

Hill stole the ball from Monta Ellis, who had beaten the Pacers exactly one year and one day ago with a last-second shot, then raced the length of the floor for a layup. Hill was fouled by Stephen Curry and made the free throw for the final margin.

Golden State called a quick timeout and got the ball to Curry coming out of the break, but his 29-footer at the buzzer bounced off the back of the rim.

Danny Granger had 26 points, and Roy Hibbert added 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for Indiana, which has won four of five.

Auto racing

NASCAR HALL WELCOMES DIVERSE CLASS: The NASCAR Hall of Fame welcomed its most diverse class to date Friday night, when Dale Inman opened the ceremony as the first crew chief to be inducted.

Inman was introduced by seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty, a member of the first Hall of Fame class. Inman crew chiefed Petty to all his titles, and won an eighth with Terry Labonte.

"Neither one of us was that mechanically inclined. We just sort of learned as we went," said Petty of his cousin Inman. "Way back when, there wasn't no such thing as a crew chief. They had mechanics, crew mechanics, whatever they wanted to call them, and Dale was basically the first one."

Inman, still active in Richard Petty Motorsports, made a point to wish the unsung heroes of the NASCAR a successful 2012 season — including RPM drivers Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola.

Also in the third Hall of Fame class was pioneer team owner Glen Wood, modified driver Richie Evans and three-time champions Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough. Evans was killed in a 1985 accident at Martinsville.

Pro golf

WILSON, CRANE, TOMS TIED FOR HUMANA LEAD: When Mark Wilson got to 8 under through 11 holes on the Palmer Private course Friday, he seriously discussed golf's magic number with playing partner Harrison Frazar, who once shot a 59 on another Humana Challenge course.

"I don't know why the conversation went there ... but I thought about it," Wilson said.

Wilson ended up posting the lowest score of his career, and that 62 wasn't even the best round of the day in the desert. Bob Hope's name is no longer on this reformatted tournament, but its tradition of stunningly low scores is still going strong.

Wilson pulled even with Ben Crane and David Toms at 16-under 128 to share a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Humana Challenge on Friday, topping a leaderboard covered with bogey-free rounds and personal bests.

Pro baseball

INDIANS PITCHER CARMONA OUT OF DOMINICAN JAIL: The Cleveland Indians pitcher known as Fausto Carmona issued a tearful apology Friday as he was released following his arrest for allegedly using a false identity to play baseball in the U.S.

"I ask for the forgiveness of my fans, the government of the United States and the Cleveland Indians for this situation," he said upon leaving the court, where a judge released him on bail of about $13,000.

Police arrested him Thursday outside the U.S. consulate in his native Dominican Republic when he arrived to get his visa renewed. Spokesman Maximo Baez Aybar said the athlete's real name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia and that he is 31, three years older than he had claimed.

Women's soccer

VU'S HOAGLIN EARNS ACADEMIC HONOR: Valparaiso University's Rachel Hoaglin has been named to the 2011 National Soccer Coaches Association of America Scholar All-Central Third Team.

A sports management and marketing double major, Hoaglin carries a 3.73 cumulative grade point average.

The junior midfielder led the Crusaders in scoring this season with 15 points on six goals -- three game-winners -- and three assists. She is tied for fifth in school history with 36 career points and ranks sixth with 14 career goals.

Around the horn

Lawyers for Ben Roethlisberger and a woman who accused him of raping her at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino in 2008 have reached a settlement that ends her civil lawsuit against the Steelers quarterback. Cal Dunlap, the Reno lawyer representing the woman, confirmed the settlement but declined to discuss the terms of the agreement. ... North Carolina junior Dexter Strickland will miss the rest of the season after tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament in Thursday's win at Virginia Tech.