Philip Humber has been solid on the mound for the White Sox on Tuesday night, but he made a mistake against Hideki Matsui, who hit a two-run home run to right field in the fourth. That's the difference at this point, as the White Sox trail 2-1 in the fifth inning.

Related: Chris Sale Talks About His 15 Strikeout Effort Vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Chicago picked up its run in the fifth, with some help from the Rays. An errant throw to first base by James Shields allowed Dayan Viciedo to advance all the way to third, and Alexei Ramirez promptly singled him home.

Other than that, Shields has been in control -- he's struck out seven batters through five innings.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, visit White Sox blog South Side Sox. For more from around Major League Baseball, head over to Baseball Nation.

Chicago Bears offensive lineman Gabe Carimi's rookie season was cut short after he dislocated a kneecap in Week 2 of the 2011 season. The injury has made for a long road back to the field, but he was finally able to return to Bears practice on Tuesday.

First day Back at practice went great. Just need to keep up the hard work to get back where I want to be.

— Gabe Carimi (@GabeCarimi) May 29, 2012

Related: Forte's Use of Twitvid to Dispel Rumors Displays Thin Skin

So far so good for Carimi, who is hoping that he'll be able to step right back into a starting role at right tackle.

Stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago for more information, and for in-depth analysis, be sure to visit Bears blog Windy City Gridiron. And drop by SB Nation's NFL news hub for more updates and commentary from around the league.

Chris Sale threw 115 pitches in a dominant performance against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. There were concerns over that pitch total since Sale had been bothered by soreness in his pitching arm earlier in the season. White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper has heard the criticism and he does not appreciate it.

"But this pitch count thing, we’re in the American League," Cooper said. "We’re not in Little League. But nevertheless, people that bring up pitch counts are people who have nothing else to really know. And it just blows me away. They’re doing that to say, ‘God forbid if someone goes down, I told you so.’ And these are people that are not in the arena and never really played, so what kind of validity does any of that hold?

Related: Chris Sale Talks About His 15 Strikeout Effort Vs. Tampa Bay Rays

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, visit White Sox blog South Side Sox. For more from around Major League Baseball, head over to Baseball Nation.

Fighting Illini assistant basketball coach Isaac Chew is leaving the program after less than two months on the job. As it turns out, the prospect of working for Buzz Williams at Marquette was to much to turn down. The Sun-Times' Joe Henricksen has a lot of information on the decision:

Chew has a previous relationship with Williams, which set the tone, initially, for casual conversations between the two. The two are close. Chew talks to Williams fairly regularly, regardless of there being a coaching position open or not, so the dialogue has always been free and easy. So why wouldn't the question be asked: "So, Isaac, how about coming to Marquette and working for me?" There is a definite comfort level between Chew and Williams. But at no time did Chew seek out the job at Marquette.

Related: Illini Basketball: John Groce Adds Mark Morris As 'Director Of Basketball Operations'

Henricksen reports that Chew will receive a nice raise from Marquette as well.

For more on this story, stay with SB Nation Chicago. For more on the Illini check out Hail to the Orange. For more news and notes around the country, stick with SB Nation's college basketball news hub.

Denver Broncos defensive lineman Ben Garland graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2010 and spent the last two years serving his commitment. Now that he's been released from active duty, he's fighting for a roster spot with the Broncos. He'll also be sworn in as a member of the 140th Wing of the Colorado Air National Guard on Wednesday:

After Ben Garland finishes Broncos’ practice Wednesday, a weight lifting session and meetings Wednesday, the rookie defensive tackle will be sworn in to the 140th Wing of the Colorado Air National Guard.

For more Broncos coverage, visit Mile High Report.

Cubs reliever Casey Coleman closed out Monday's win over the Padres, and though it was a non-save situation, manager Dale Sveum was impressed with how Coleman handled it. Sveum said Tuesday that he's going to add Coleman to his closer committee.

After closing out Monday’s four-run victory against the San Diego Padres, manager Dale Sveum said Tuesday to add Coleman’s name to the mix of guys who will get a chance to finish off victories much more in doubt than that.

With Rafael Dolis now down at Triple-A Iowa and Carlos Marmol still not under consideration to close games right now, Sveum has compiled a closer-by-committee group that includes James Russell, Shawn Camp and now Coleman.

Related: Padres Vs. Cubs Final Score: Chicago Defeats San Diego 5-3

Coleman has a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings of work this season.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, head over to Cubs blog Bleed Cubbie Blue. For more from around Major League Baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

On Tuesday the Denver Broncos announced the addition of Cory Undlin to the coaching staff. Undlin will serve as the defensive quality control coach.

Undlin enters his ninth NFL season in 2012, having spent time with Jacksonville (2009-11), Cleveland (2005-08) and New England (2004). He also coached at Fresno State from 2002-03 and began his coaching career at his alma mater, California Lutheran (1992-2002).

During his time with the Jaguars, Undlin coached the defensive line and outside linebackers before working with the defensive backs in 2011. In Cleveland, he coached the defensive backs group that finished second in interceptions with 23 during the 2008 season. As a defensive assistant in New England, Undlin was a part the Super Bowl XXIX Championship team.

Related: 2012 Broncos Offseason: Willis McGahee Thinks Peyton Manning Will Help Him Surpass 1,200 Yards In 2012

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage, be sure to visit Broncos blog Mile High Report. And for more news and notes from around the league, check out SB Nation's NFL news hub.

The St. Louis Cardinals can clinch a series victory over the struggling Atlanta Braves with a win on Tuesday night. Jake Westbrook will be on the mound for St. Louis as the Cardinals look to extend their current winning streak to three games.

Here are the lineups for Tuesday's game:

Lineup vs Braves: Furcal SS, Schumaker CF, Holliday LF, Beltran RF, Molina C, Adams 1B, Greene 2B, Descalso 3B, Westbrook P

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 29, 2012

Related: Pitching Like Chris Carpenter (Starring Lance Lynn and Chris Carpenter)

Tonight's lineup vs. STL (7:10, SPSO/680AM/BRN): Bourn 8 Prado 5 McCann 2 Uggla 4 Hinske 3 Heyward 9 Pastornicky 6 Delgado 1 Constanza 7

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 29, 2012

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. Visit Viva El Birdos for more in-depth coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals. For more general baseball coverage, head over to Baseball Nation.

Jeff Samardzija went seven innings and knocked in a run with a single in the fifth inning to help his own cause, and the Chicago Cubs won their second straight over the San Diego Padres, 5-3. Samardzija finished the day with eight strikeouts and one walk; he allowed three runs on eight hits.

Related: Another Goat Shows Up At Wrigley Field

It took a while for both offenses to get started -- Carlos Quentin's fifth inning solo shot provided the first run of the game. But the Cubs responded with two runs in the bottom half of the fifth and scored one run in each of the next three innings.

Chicago's bullpen was once again solid; James Russell earned the save.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, head over to Cubs blog Bleed Cubbie Blue and Padres blog Gaslamp Ball. For more from around Major League Baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

On Tuesday, NC State announced the establishment of an athletics hall of fame. The inaugural class will be selected this summer and you can submit your own nominations through GoPack.com. Here are the particulars:

A maximum of six (6) individuals shall be elected in a given year; except that, up to ten (10) members may be elected to each of the first three induction classes. The election of a team or unit (e.g. tennis doubles team, swimming relay team) shall count as one (1) against the maximum number of annual inductees. Consideration will be given to the number of male and female inductees and the number of inductees by sport in each, annual induction class.

Student-Athlete Inductees
Any student-athlete who has competed for NC State shall be eligible for consideration, provided that five years has passed since the completion of his or her eligibility. Graduation from NC State is not required for election. The following criteria should be considered as a guide in electing outstanding student-athletes (not listed in order of importance):

1. Olympic medal winner or member of Olympic medal winning team
2. Individual or team national champion
3. Individual or team conference champion
4. World record holder
5. National record holder
6. Conference record holder
7. NC State record holder
8. National team selection
9. First Team All-America selection
10. First Team All-Conference selection
11. National or state hall of fame member
12. National player or coach of the year honor
13. Conference player of the year honor
14. Letter winner in multiple sports
15. Academic All-America and Academic All-ACC honors
16. Distinguished post-University career in athletics, business or public service.

So we can elect up to 10 people in each of the first three classes. Who should go in the inaugural class? Some candidates:

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South Carolina athletic director Ethan Hyman was on the NCAA baseball tournament selection committee this year, and this account of the process is pretty interesting. Especially this bit:

Kentucky was the surprise omission for a host site while Miami slid into one of the 16 slots. Then, according to Hyman, seven of the top eight national seeds became clear, and the discussion came down to the eighth seed.

USC fell into that "gray area" along with N.C. State, Purdue and Stanford. At that point, Hyman was permitted to state his case for USC and occasionally texted Andrew Kitick, USC’s sports information director for baseball, seeking further statistical information.

What's confusing is the fact that NC State was in the mix for the last national seed but somehow ended up the lowest ranked host school based on its projected Super Regional matchup against No. 1 overall seed Florida. (Or, at any rate, ended up with the worst Super Regional draw among regional hosts.) This snippet suggests that the committee regarded State as the ninth, 10th, or 11th overall seed in the tournament, which would seem to mean pairings with the eighth, seventh, or sixth overall seed in the Super Regionals.

Maybe it just doesn't work like the NCAA basketball tournament; structural differences being what they are, maybe they aren't so exhaustive, S-curve style, in layering the tournament. With no national seeding beyond one through eight, it's tough to say.

The Chicago White Sox are one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball and they increased their current winning streak to six with a win over Tampa Bay on Monday afternoon. Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski are having career years; Adam Dunn and Alex Rios have bounced back nicely from rough seasons a year ago; Jake Peavy is finally having the impact on the mound that the Sox thought he'd have when they traded for him.

Related: White Sox Vs. Rays Final Score: Chicago Wins 2-1 Behind Dominant Performance By Chris Sale

These developments have helped Chicago close in on first place in the AL Central, and they're starting to get more attention from the rest of baseball, too. In their latest power rankings for CSN, Tony Andracki and J.J. Stankevitz both have the White Sox in the top 10. Stankevitz has the Sox all the way up at No. 4, noting that they have the second best run differential in the American League.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, visit White Sox blog South Side Sox. For more from around Major League Baseball, head over to Baseball Nation.

In the latest MLB mock draft from MLB Draft Guide, the St. Louis Cardinals select third baseman Stephen Piscotty with their first pick.

Here's one assessment of Piscotty.

Needs to stay at third base to be a true prospect. Doesn’t have power profile to be more than a fringe big leaguer at first base. At third base, could be a high average, solid on base guy with plenty of doubles and mid-teens in home runs. Defense will never be stellar but could be adequate and allow him to maintain value. Intelligent player with a strong work ethic. Ceiling of a solid regular at third base with peak seasons slightly better than that.

Related: MLB Mock Draft 2012: Cardinals Select 3B Corey Seager In MLB.com Mock Draft

Piscotty is hitting .319/.405/.460 with five HR and 54 RBI for Stanford this season.

For more on the Cardinals, stick with SB Nation St. Louis. For more news, notes and analysis head over to Viva El Birdos. For more from around the league, check out Baseball Nation with Rob Neyer.

First round action continued on Monday with a couple of big names hitting the court -- No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic handled Potito Starace in straight sets to move on and No. 3 Roger Federer took care of his opponent in three sets as well.

Related: French Open Results: Roger Federer Beats Tobias Kamke In Straight Sets To Advance

No. 7 Tomas Berdych also advanced in straight sets, as did American John Isner.

Over on the women's side, the biggest upset of the day was Sofia Arvidsson's defeat of No. 17 Roberta Vinci. Top 10 seeds like No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 8 Marion Bartoli advanced with ease.

First round tournament play continues Tuesday.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more comprehensive coverage of the 2012 French Open, please stay tuned to this StoryStream. For lots more on all things tennis, keep checking SB Nation's dedicated tennis hub. Follow the bracket with this French Open scoreboard.

The first round of the 2012 French Open continued on Monday with a couple of big names -- Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic -- hitting the court for the first time. Federer cruised in straight sets over Tobias Kamke, 6-2, 7-5, 6-3; Djokovic also advanced with little trouble, beating Potito Starace 7-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Related: French Open Results: Victoria Azarenka Survives Scare On Day 2; Americans Produce Mixed Results

Donald Young, who is from the Chicago area, is set to play his first round match against Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday. Rafael Nadal also plays on Tuesday.

In the women's draw, the seeded players didn't run into too many problems on Monday. Sofia Arvidsson's defeat of No. 17 Roberta Vinci was the biggest upset of the day.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more comprehensive coverage of the 2012 French Open, please stay tuned to this StoryStream. For lots more on all things tennis, keep checking SB Nation's dedicated tennis hub. Follow the bracket with this French Open scoreboard.

Continue reading this post »

The Colorado Rockies are looking to sweep Monday's doubleheader with a win over the Astros in the nightcap. Not surprisingly, several lineup changes have been made for the second game -- Wil Nieves is in at catcher, Tyler Colvin replaces Michael Cuddyer in right field and Marco Scutaro is in for DJ LeMahieu at second base.

#Rockies vs. #Astros, GM2, 6:40pm: Fowler8, Scutaro4, Gonzalez7, Tulowitzki6, Helton3, Pacheco5, Colvin9, Nieves2, White1.

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 28, 2012

Related: Astros Vs. Rockies Final Score: Colorado Defeats Houston 9-7 In Game 1 Of Doubleheader

Astros' Game 2 lineup: CF Schafer, 2B Altuve, RF Bogusevic, 1B Lee, LF Buck, 3B Downs, C Snyder, SS Gonzalez, P Lyles

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 28, 2012

For more news and notes on these teams, visit Rockies blog Purple Row and Astros blog Crawfish Boxes. Head over to Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish for more news and notes around the league.

Juan Nicasio struggled in his start for the Rockies on Monday afternoon, but Colorado's offense was there to pick him up and lead the team to a 9-7 victory over the Houston Astros.

Related: Astros Vs. Rockies: Doubleheader On Tap For Memorial Day

Nicasio pitched six innings but gave up nine hits and six runs (five earned) in the process. Wandy Rodriguez was no better for the Astros, giving up seven runs (four earned) off of 10 hits in five innings or work.

Jordan Pacheco broke a 7-7 tie in the eighth and provided the winning runs with a two-RBI single; he was 2-5 on the day. Troy Tulowitzki and Dexter Fowler had three hits apiece.

Game 2 of Monday's doubleheader begins at 6:10 p.m. MT.

For more news and notes on these teams, visit Rockies blog Purple Row and Astros blog Crawfish Boxes. Head over to Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish for more news and notes around the league.

Continue reading this post »

Right from the start, it was clear that Chicago White Sox starter Chris Sale had brought his A-game to Tropicana Field. Sale piled up strikeouts throughout the afternoon, finishing with a career-high 15, and the White Sox prevailed over the Rays, 2-1.

Related: White Sox remake themselves at home

While Sale came up one strikeout short of the Sox club record, he did set a new Tropicana Field record.

Chris Sale set a K record at Tropicana Field today with 15.The previous record, 14, was held by Pedro Martinez.

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 28, 2012

Sale allowed just three hits and one run in 7-1/3 innings. Adam Dunn delivered the big hit for Chicago, a two-run bomb to right in the sixth inning.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, visit White Sox blog South Side Sox. For more from around Major League Baseball, head over to Baseball Nation.

The losing streak is over at last for the Cubs, as the offense broke out in a big way on Monday afternoon to pave the way for an 11-7 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Related: First Pitch Thread: Cubs vs. Padres, Monday 5/28, 1:20 CT

Chicago hit four home runs and three players had three-RBI days, but the Padres were able to keep pace on the scoreboard and led 7-6 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Then Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run shot to give the Cubs a lead they would not relinquish; Starlin Castro hit a two-run homer in the seventh to extend the lead and Ian Stewart capped the scoring with an RBI single.

Travis Wood had a rough start, but Chicago's bullpen was solid in keeping San Diego off the scoreboard over the final three innings.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, head over to Cubs blog Bleed Cubbie Blue and Padres blog Gaslamp Ball. For more from around Major League Baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

In the latest 2012 NBA mock draft projections from the analysts at HOOPSWORLD, the Chicago Bulls are given a few different players at No. 29, including Vanderbilt junior guard John Jenkins. Shooting guard is one area in which the Bulls may look to improve (and get younger) through the draft.

Here's what DraftExpress has to say about Jenkins:

Besides improving his 3-point percentages from 41% to 44% (an important development), Jenkins' stat line as a junior is practically a carbon copy of what he posted last year, and his outlook from an NBA perspective also remains largely the same from the last time we profiled him. One of the best shooters in the country with great versatility in getting his shot off, Jenkins has one clear-cut, high-level NBA skill, but still struggles to consistently stand out in other areas.

Related: Chicago Bulls Offseason Questions: FAQ on using the Amnesty Provision to waive Carlos Boozer

For more, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For more on the Bulls, head over to Blog a Bull. For additional news, notes and analysis from around the NBA, visit SB Nation's NBA news hub.

Matt Adams was 3-5 at the plate, Lance Lynn struck out eight in seven innings of work, and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Braves 8-2 on Monday afternoon.

Related: So Far St. Louis Cardinals First Baseman Matt Adams Has Been Who We Thought He Was

Offense has been a problem for the Braves on what is now an eight-game losing streak, and Lynn did a good job of keeping them bottled up for most of the afternoon. The Cardinals got all the runs they would need during a four-run fourth inning.

Rafael Furcal also had a three-hit day for the Cardinals, while Skip Schumaker, Matt Holliday and Daniel Descalso recorded two hits apiece.

The win moves St. Louis to 27-22 overall.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. Visit Viva El Birdos for more in-depth coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals. For more general baseball coverage, head over to Baseball Nation.

NC State will open its 2012 NCAA tournament run against Sacred Heart at 7:00 p.m. ET this Friday. That game will be preceded by the No. 2 vs. No. 3 game, Vanderbilt vs. Wilmington.

Sacred Heart doesn't appear to have a whole lot of punch, so it will not surprise me to see Carlos Rodon pitch on Saturday in what is guaranteed to be a tougher game.

Every team in this regional is going to want to run:

NC State: .290/.370/.424 (.794 OPS) -- 35 HR; 93-113 SB (82.3% success rate)
Sacred Heart: .272/.356/.347 (.703 OPS) -- 10 HR; 71-94 SB (75.5% success rate)
Vanderbilt: .266/.365/.377 (.742 OPS) -- 26 HR; 78-105 SB (74.3% success rate)
Wilmington: .302/.384/.443 (.827 OPS) -- 48 HR; 104-132 SB (78.8% success rate)

The winner of this regional will meet the winner of the Gainsville regional in the next round, which means most likely that the nation's number one overall seed -- Florida -- will be standing between the Raleigh Regional champ and the College World Series. That's a tough break.

The Chicago Fire dropped their most recent game -- a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Columbus on Saturday -- and fell to 5-4-3 overall. With 18 points so far this season, the Fire find themselves in a tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with the Crew.

Related: Chicago Fire 1 - Columbus Crew 2: Chicago outmuscled in Ohio

Here are the full Eastern Conference standings:

1. D.C. United (27 points)
2. New York Red Bulls (26)
3. Sporting Kansas City (25)
T4. Columbus Crew (18)
T4. Chicago Fire (18)
6. Houston Dynamo (16)
7. New England Revolution (13)
8. Montreal Impact (12)
9. Philadelphia Union (8)
10. Toronto FC (3)

Chicago's MLS regular season schedule continues with a road game against New England on June 2.

For more on this game, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, visit Fire blog Hot Time in Old Town. For more news and notes around MLS, check out SB Nation's soccer news hub.

It's Memorial Day, which means it's time for the 2012 edition of Bolder Boulder; the annual 10k is one of the biggest road races in the world. Runners will get out bright and early Monday morning to get registered and hit the course. The full day's itinerary:

5:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Race Day registration and packet pickup
6:55 a.m. Professional wheelchair start
7:00 a.m. Dick's Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER A wave start
9:25 a.m. Final walking wave start
11:00 a.m. Women's International Team Challenge Start
11:11 a.m. Men's International Team Challenge Start
11:16 a.m. Course cut-off at Folsom & Arapahoe
11:40 a.m. Memorial Day Tribute in Folsom Field
7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. RaceDayEXPO south of the stadium

Related: Bolder Boulder 2012 Preview: Nation's Largest Race Where All Participants Are Timed

A map of the course can be found at this link (pdf). Additional information is available on the Bolder Boulder website.

For updates stay tuned to SB Nation Denver, and be sure to check out SB Nation's running community and news blog, Stride Nation

The Colorado Rapids won their most recent game -- a 3-2 decision over the Montreal Impact -- though it was not without some controversy. But the win pushed the Rapids back to .500 (6-6-1) and has them in a tie for fourth place in the MLS Western Conference with 19 points. They are 10 points behind first place Real Salt Lake.

Related: Impact Vs. Rapids Final Score: Late Goal Gives Colorado 3-2 Win

The current Western Conference standings:

1. Real Salt Lake (29 points)
2. San Jose Earthquakes (27)
3. Seattle Sounders FC (24)
T4. Colorado Rapids (19)
T4. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (19)
6. Chivas USA (15)
T7. Portland Timbers (13)
T7. FC Dallas
9. LA Galaxy (11)

The Rapids return to MLS play on June 16 with a road game against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

For more on the game, stick with SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage, visit Rapids blog Burgundy Wave. Head over to SB Nation's soccer news hub for all things footy.

The last couple of weeks have been dreadful for the Chicago Cubs, who have lost 12 games in a row. The losing streak has pushed the team's overall record from 15-20 to 15-32, and they find themselves 12 games behind first place Cincinnati in the National League Central division.

Related: Cubs Vs. Pirates Final Score: Losing Streak Continues With 10-4 Loss

Here are the full NL Central standings as of Monday morning:

1. Cincinnati (27-20)
2. St. Louis (26-22)
3. Pittsburgh (23-24)
4. Houston (22-25)
5. Milwaukee (19-28)
6. Chicago (15-32)

Offensive production has been a major problem for the Cubs, who've scored two runs or fewer seven times during the current losing streak. They've averaged just 2.75 runs per game during the losing streak.

The Cubs begin a series against San Diego on Monday.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, head over to Cubs blog Bleed Cubbie Blue. For more from around Major League Baseball, visit Baseball Nation. And check out Pick 6, SB Nation's fun and simple fantasy baseball game.

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On Sunday, the Northwestern Wildcats defeated the Syracuse Orange 8-6 in the 2012 NCAA women's lacrosse title game. This is the seventh NCAA title in the last eight seasons for Northwestern. As SB Nation's Northwestern blog, Sippin' On Purple, wrote after the game had ended, the better team won:

Northwestern beat Syracuse by two, but dominated nearly everything about the game besides goals scored. NU had basically twice the time of possession, won draw controls 12-4, and didn't really struggle despite a relatively close game in terms of scoreline. A well deserved national championship for a team that was the best on the field tonight, although it is unfortunate that they never were able to beat Florida, the team that beat them twice.

Related: Northwestern Wins 2012 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. And for more coverage of the game, visit Northwestern blog Sippin' On Purple and Syracuse blog Nunes Magician.