BlackHawks

Shannon Flocka

In Brian Elliott’s worst nightmare he probably sees three Blackhawks breaking in alone on him with nary a defenseman in sight.

Unfortunately for the Blues goaltender, he was wide awake when the line of Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland got behind pinching St. Louis blueliners during the first period of Tuesday night’s game at the United Center. A give-and-go between Kane and Sharp resulted in the Hawks’ first goal and they carried the momentum to a 3-2 victory over the Blues in front of a crowd of 21,455 on hand to witness the first game of the season at the UC.

The win kept the Hawks unbeaten in three games this season and gave themselves—and the Blues—a good measuring stick for how the Central Division rivals stack up this season. It is the first time the Hawks have won their first three games in a season since the 1972-73 campaign.

In addition to Kane’s highlight-reel goal, Brent Seabrook and Viktor Stalberg also scored and Corey Crawford was solid in goal as the Hawks handed the Blues—playing the second of back-to-back games–their first loss of the season.

Crawford entered the third period with a shutout but Andy McDonald scored to end the bid. The Hawks did not record a shutout all last season and haven’t had one since Crawford pulled off the feat March 23, 2011 against the Panthers.

Elliott was good early on when the Hawks controlled the pace and had four odd-man rushes in the opening period alone against a gambling Blues defense. The goalie twice denied Patrick Sharp on terrific chances and also gloved a good opportunity by Bryan Bickell.

The Hawks finally broke through in the first on the three-on-none rush that ended with Kane taking a return pass from Sharp and sliding a backhander into a gaping net.

At the other end, Crawford was sharp and made a sparkling stop of Blues rookie sensation Vladimir Tarasenko, who entered Tuesday’s contest with three goals and two assists in his first two career games. Tarasenko pounced on a rebound to the right of Crawford and sent a shot toward the net that the lunging goalie batted away.

Midway through the second, the Hawks converted while on the power play to make it 2-0. With St. Louis defenseman Ian Cole in the box for interference, Jonathan Toews found Duncan Keith cruising into the attack zone and fed him the puck. Keith’s slap shot hit the skate of Seabrook en route to the goal and slid through Elliott’s pads.

Early in the third, Stalberg put the game out of reach for the Blues when he ripped a shot from the right circle that got by Elliott to the glove side to make it 3-0.

Joseph Jose Banks

Shannon Flocka

Federal prosecutors have dropped a charge against the man who used bed sheets to escape from a downtown Chicago prison a few weeks ago.

Joseph “Jose” Banks faces a maximum of 80 years for holding up two banks and trying to rob two others.

Banks and fellow inmate Kenneth Conley escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center on December 18, rappelling 15 stories to the ground below. Banks was caught a few days later.

Prosecutors say Banks changed attorneys several times, following his arrest in

2008 in hopes of delaying his trial.

Since they’re trying to obtain the stiffest sentence possible, they can use the escape as “aggravation” at Banks’ sentencing for the bank robberies, which could help solidify their case.

The escape charge, by comparison, carries only a maximum of five additional years in prison.

Meanwhile, the FBI has issued new photos of Conley, who remains at large

Conley has a devil tattoo on his upper right arm and a sun tattoo on his back.

The FBI says Conley likes California and has ties to the southeast United States.

The bureau is offering a reward up to $50,000 for information leading to his  apprehension.

Chief Keef

Shannon Flocka

South Side Chicago rapper Chief Keef was sentenced to 60 days in a juvenile facility after a judge found him guilty of violating his probation.

Chief Keef, whose real name is Keith Cozart, violated his probation when he was filmed holding a rifle at a New York gun range.

The 17-year-old rapper was sentenced to probation last January after pointing a gun at a Chicago police officer in 2011.

Illinois

Shannon Flocka

The sting from last season’s 23-point loss and the visions of former Illini standout Meyers Leonard weeping on the bench quickly became distant memory for Illinois.

The Illini knew the Nebraska Cornhuskers were capable. They knew they couldn’t ill afford a slow start. They knew they sorely needed this win.

Playing with a sense of urgency that seemed to be missing as of late, Illinois ended a three-game skid Thursday night with a 71-51 victory.

D.J. Richardson scored a career-high 30 points and made a career-high six 3-pointers to lead the charge. He moved into third-place in school history with 241 3-pointers, now behind only Corey Bradford (327) and Dee Brown (299).

Brandon Paul added 14 points for Illinois, which improved to 15-5 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play. The Illini also ended a nine-game conference road skid.

The win also gave coach John Groce his 100^th-career victory dating to his days at Ohio. Groce won 85 games in four seasons with the Bobcats.

Miami Heat sign BIRD

Shannon Flocka

The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed forward/center Chris Andersen to a 10-day contract. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Andersen, a 10-year NBA veteran, has appeared in 482 career games (10 starts) and averaged 5 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 18 minutes while shooting 51 percent from the field. Additionally, he has appeared in 31 career postseason games and averaged 5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 blocks and 18 minutes while shooting 60 percent from the field.