Sioux victory has Wildcats eyeing trip to bowl
The Big Ten dusk was a fading orange Saturday in Evanston. The new morning will bring horizons of sweeping southbound purple. With visions of a bowl game ''someplace warm'' as motivation, Northwestern seamlessly blended offensive wiles, defensive wills and a game-breaking 51-yard punt return by Brendan Smith early in the fourth quarter into a 27-10 victory against Illinois in the final battle for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk.

Road killers: Hawks 3-0 on trip after win
As a refreshing change of pace, the Blackhawks are learning to win on the road and finding ways to survive in games that go to overtime. Saturday's was a prime example. The Hawks claimed a 5-4 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs after overcoming 3-0 and 4-2 deficits. Dave Bolland scored the game-winner 49 seconds into the extra session.

With game on the line, he Rose to the occasion
John Jackson: The Bulls' lead was shrinking, the crowd was on its feet and the run-and-gun Golden State Warriors actually were focused on playing lockdown defense for a change. Everything, it seemed, was in place for a crunch-time comeback by the home team -- and a Bulls collapse like so many games last season.