Hawks

Only one series ago, the Blackhawks were able to heap such befuddlement and frustration onto their opponent that the Sharks dynamited their lineup, rearranging the scattered pieces of previously dominant lines into a wholly different formation. It didn't help prevent an emphatic series sweep. That presents an interesting dilemma entering the pivotal Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals as the Hawks reshuffled previously stalwart line combos late in their 5-3 Game 4 loss. The makeup of the pieces likely will define the direction of the series — even if it winds up failing to cauterize the wound at all, as those drowned Sharks discovered.

After starting the day 0-for-3 at the plate, River Hill leadoff batter Kat Varga came through when it mattered most. Against Atholton in the Class 3A East softball semifinals Monday, Varga delivered RBI singles in her final two at-bats, including a walk-off hit in the eighth to seal a comeback win, 7-6, for River Hill (14-5). "I was not hitting all game. I kept hitting to the same spot every time, and I was so angry," said Varga, who had two flyouts to left and a strikeout to open her afternoon.

The Magic showed they could survive with Dwight Howard in chronic foul trouble. With him on the floor, they looked dominant. Howard had 21 points and 12 rebounds in one of the most crushing wins in Magic history, a 114-71 victory over the visiting Hawks on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. Howard added five blocks and avoided the fouls and frustration that overwhelmed him in the first round, helping the Magic go ahead by as many as 46 points.

The hawks are squawking. Congressional conservatives and the right-wing media are blasting President Barack Obama for going soft on the Syrians. The president insists there is a "game-changing" red line the Syrian government will have crossed if it is found to have used chemical weapons against its people, but he has bent the red line so far, the hawks say, that not only the Syrians, but the Iranians and North Koreans will conclude Mr. Obama is a...

8 p.m. [TNT] Atlanta made Miami look like Dwyane Wade (left) and four other guys in a 26-point victory in Game 1. But the Hawks aren't already looking ahead to the next round. Hawks forward Marvin Williams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Don't be a fool, man. Win or lose, it's just one game in a seven-game series. ... They're not going to just roll over and die because of one game."

High school golf teams from North Harford and Harford Tech opened the 2011 season Tuesday with a dual match at Geneva Farm Golf Club. North Harford won the match, 222-231. Nick Kress and Tyler Stinar each shot 9-hole rounds of 42 to lead the Hawks, while John Heaps carded a 45. Alex O'Shaughnessey, 46 and Morgan Wirtz, 47, closed out the Hawks scoring. Tech's Noah Davis shot a match best 38 to lead all scorers, while Matt Sheridan shot 43. Brandon Young added a 48, while Andrew Small shot 50 and Eric Englebach a 52.

All-Star guard Joe Johnson agreed to a maximum contract to stay with the Hawks, his agent said Sunday. Arn Tellem confirmed an entry he wrote for the Huffington Post Web site, in which he said Johnson "announced his intention to re-sign with the Hawks for six more years." Tellem wrote that Johnson chose to remain in Atlanta over Chicago and New York, where he would have been reunited with Mike D'Antoni , his former coach in Phoenix. The Hawks could pay him nearly $120 million, while other teams could give Johnson, a four-time All-Star, only five years and pay him about $25 million less.

The Magic are playing like a team that will settle for nothing less than its first NBA championship. Vince Carter scored 22 points to lead another dominating performance by the Magic, who finished off their second straight playoff sweep with a 98-84 victory over the Hawks on Monday night in Atlanta. Orlando won the four games by an average of 25 points — a total blowout that few could have expected in a matchup between the teams that finished second and third in the Eastern Conference.

On November 21, 2005, ELLENMc CRACKEN HAWKS, beloved wife of the late Marshall Hawks, devoted mother of John Wells Hawks, Marshall Wiley Hawks and Anne Hawks Austin. She is also survived by six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Ruxton, on Saturday at 11 A.M. Interment private. Arrangements by Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc.

Dominique Wilkins was annoyed. That was obvious to Lenny Wilkens, and everyone else in Boston Garden, from the start.He had been in a bad shooting slump. He had a sore ankle and began a game against the Celtics Wednesday night bothered by a head cold and the fact that on the Atlanta Hawks' first few possessions, he couldn't get his itchy fingers on the ball.Mookie Blaylock was dribbling out near the key. Wilkins ran toward him with his hands out. Blaylock dribbled the other way and hoisted a jumper that missed.

Senior defenseman Brock Hurley sees something unique with the North Harford boys lacrosse team this season. The Hawks have 15 seniors - and many played together long before high school. It's a bond that Hurley believes can lead to a special season for North Harford. In his second year on varsity at close defense, Hurley is a team captain and responsible for shutting down the opponent's top attackman. Hurley maintains a 3.75 grade point average and plans to study environmental science while playing for Stevenson next year.

Colleges UMES bid for bowling three-peat falls short UMES' bid to become the first women's bowling team to win three straight titles ended in the semifinals of the NCAA championships late Friday night in Canton, Mich. Vanderbilt eliminated the Hawks, 4-3, to advance to Saturday's championship match, which it lost to Nebraska. The Commodores won the seventh game against UMES, 212-211. The Hawks needed a strike on their final ball to tie the score, but senior star T'nia Falbo rolled a nine, leaving the 10-pin upright.

UMBC's 13-goal thumping of Vermont last Saturday had a plethora of motivations, but the disappointment of a 15-14 overtime loss to Hartford on March 30 fueled the team. The Retrievers had a one-goal lead until the Hawks scored with 11 seconds in regulation and then 54 seconds into the extra frame in the season-opening America East contest for both sides. Coach Don Zimmerman wasn't shy about admitting that the setback to Hartford inspired UMBC's effort against the Catamounts. “I think it was a combination of things,” he said Tuesday morning.

UMBC opens play in the America East this Saturday with a visit to Hartford. The Hawks began the season with three consecutive losses, won three straight and then dropped a 13-11 decision to Massachusetts last Saturday. Despite Hartford's uneven campaign thus far, the Retrievers (3-5) are fully aware of how much improvement the Hawks have made since February. “I see a vastly improved team from the beginning of the year to where they are now,” coach Don Zimmerman said. “If you look at their first three games, I think their offense averaged a little under six goals per game.

A juvenile Cooper's hawk with a broken wing was running along the fences backing to Windstream Drive on March 5. I made several unsuccessful attempts to rescue the youngster with the help of some neighbors I had never met and a close friend. It was very cold and getting dark but I was determined to save this beautiful bird from certain death. In desperation I hesitantly called 911, fearful of being accused of (and possibly fined for) inappropriately calling. I was surprised and elated when the woman who answered kindly offered to call Animal Control directly since they were closed.

Senior guard Selina Mann tied a season high with 20 points, but Mount St. Mary's lost to host Monmouth, 71-63, Monday evening. With the defeat, the Mount (14-15, 10-8 Northeast Conference) dropped to the sixth seed in the Northeast Conference women's basketball tournament, meaning it will visit the Hawks again Sunday at 3 p.m. in the quarterfinals. The Mount started the game with a 6-0 run fueled by four points by Rachel Mathews. The Mountaineers also rattled off an 8-2 run after Monmouth (15-14, 12-6)

Mike Dunleavy scored 28 points and the host Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 112-98, last night to avoid elimination from the Eastern Conference playoff race. A win by the Hawks would have knocked the Pacers from playoff contention. Instead, the Pacers are just two games behind the Hawks for the eighth spot. Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 30 points. Trail Blazers 112, Lakers 103 -- Brandon Roy had 23 points and 12 assists to lead host Portland to an upset of Los Angeles. Jazz 77, Hornets 66 -- Mehmet Okur's 22 points and 17 rebounds helped visiting Utah clinch the Northwest Division title.

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK -- Playing their seventh game on a 10-day road trip, the Baltimore Skipjacks grabbed an early 3-1 lead but ran out of gas, losing 5-4 to the Moncton Hawks in an American Hockey League game yesterday.Jason Wooley and John Slaney sandwiched Skipjacks goals around one by Ken Gernander to give Baltimore a 2-1 lead after the first period.Eric Murano scored on Baltimore's first shot of the second period at 1:34, putting the Skipjacks ahead 3-1, but it was all down hill after that.

Massachusetts Lowell will move up to Division I and join the America East Conference, representatives of both announced today at a rally at the Tsongas Center on campus. The school, which is currently in Division II, will also add men's and women's lacrosse for the 2014-15 season, the Boston Herald reported on its website . The America East Board of Presidents unanimously approved accepting UMass Lowell as a member of the conference effective July 1, 2013. The move also received the unanimous support of UMass Lowell's Faculty Senate Executive Committee and Student Government Association.

The North Harford Hawks won on the road Thursday night, overcoming a halftime deficit to edge out the Harford Christian Eagles, 55-49. The visiting Hawks trailed, 21-19, at the halftime intermission, and were behind, 34-27, in the third quarter before head coach Jeff Burrows said his team "woke up. " Leading the North Harford charge was Brock Hurley, who had 25 points, 12 rebounds and six steals. Madison Varvaris posted six points and three assists in the victory, while Nic Hammer came through with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.