Can you really be arrested for DUI just because your name is Mike Ditka? That's what Michael P. Ditka, son of Da Coach Mike Ditka says happened to him the other evening. He claims he was targeted because of his "famous name." Forget the fact that Deerfield police observed a black Hummer in an apartment complex parking lot sitting with its lights on. Forget the fact that they saw this vehicle being driven from one parking lot to another apartment complex parking lot where the headlights were turned off. To the officer, it must have looked suspicious, so he approached the Hummer to find Ditka in the driver's seat. Ditka claims he was just sitting in the vehicle, not driving. Forget the fact that the officer found him in the driver's seat. Forget the fact that the officer claims there was a "strong" smell of alcohol surrounding Ditka. Forget the fact that Ditka had bloodshot eyes,slurred speech and reportedly had difficulty with a field sobriety test. Forget that a passenger in the car told police that Ditka had been driving the car when it was moved to the second parking lot. Oh, and forget the fact that his blood alcohol level was a whopping 0.189.

Ditka is denying the allegations. According to a Trib Local article, Ditka was taken to the Deerfield police station where he refused to take another breath test. He was released on $100 cash bond.

It's very clear that the officer knew it was Ditka in the Hummer before approaching the vehicle and had decided he was going to charge Ditka with DUI. Sure. The cops are out to get you Mr. Ditka. You'd better watch out. Next time they may stop you and arrest you for something more serious, only because of your "famous" name.

It appears Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger is a sore loser. On Tuesday he called Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah a "dirty player," saying Noah made a "cowardly move" that the refs never saw. Perhaps they didn't see it because there was nothing to see.

Noah's former Florida Gator coach Billy Donovan was quick to come to Noah's defense on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 this morning saying that while he does not know Granger, he does know Noah and does not agree with Granger's comments. He cited Noah's college tournament play, saying that some players may not like Noah because of his "antics" on the court. Donovan said he has nothing but respect for Noah.

Noah, for his part, was following direction from former Bull Scottie Pippin, who told him to play physical and hard, and that, Noah says, is what he was doing. We say keep playing hard Jo!

It will be interesting to see if Noah is treated different from his teammates in the next round.

Blackhawks backup goalie Marty Turco has a sense of humor, but he doesn't have a gambling problem. It appears that Monday night, Turco and Robert Walter, a Montreal Canadien fan and season ticket holder, made a friendly little wager that got blown about of proportion. As reported on Chicago Breaking Sports, Walter, who was sitting near the Blackhawks' bench, engaged Turco in some friendly banter during breaks in the game. After the Canadiens scored the first goal of the game, Walter bet Turco that the Blackhawks wouldn't score at all during the game. Turco took him up on the $5 bet. However something got lost in the translation of what occurred.

The real story is that when the Blackhawks scored, Walter handed Turco a $5 bill, on which he had written "Habs Rule." When the Canadiens won the game, Turco handed back the $5 bill, but had crossed out "Habs" and had written in "Turco Rules." After the game, Walter called a local radio sports talk show to tell his story. What he claimed he said was that he was handed back a "wadded up" $5 bill. But as the story got around, it was said that Turco gave Walter "wads" of money.

So who's right? Does Turco have a gambling problem? We say no. Turco was just being a good guy, like all our Blackhawks guys are, and like so many other stories, this one got out of hand.

The next time we're at a Blackhawks game and sitting near the bench, we'll see if we can engage Turco in a friendly wager. Our bet? If we get Turco to talk to us, how many people will comment on our story? You tell us!

If you happen to find yourself in Toronto this weekend and you're a Blackhawks fan, you may want to head over to the Hockey Hall of Fame around 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, to see Blackhawks President John McDonough present Bill Hay, Chairman of the Hall of Fame with an official Blackhawks Stanley Cup Championship ring. Jay Blunk, Senior VP of Business Operations for the Blackhawks, Blackhawks Senior Director Al MacIsaac and Media Relations Director Brandon Faber, will also be on hand.

The ring, which is being donated by the team, will be placed in a display with the first Stanley Cup ring from 1893, as well as rings donated by Bill Hays from 1961's Blackhawks team, Daryl "Doc" Seaman's 1989 ring from Calgary and Bob Johnson's 1991 ring from Pittsburgh. The display also contains rings from the 2007 Anaheim team, the 2008 Detroit team and the 2009 Pittsburgh team, which were donated by the owners of the teams.

You may want to stick around and learn a bit about the history of the Stanley Cup rings while you're there from Hockey Hall of Fame curator Phil Pritchard.

Be sure to check out the rest of the exhibits, as well. It's a pilgrimage all hockey fans should make at least once.

Blackhawks Coach Joel Quenneville was back on the ice for practice today, a week after being admitted to the hospital for a bleeding ulcer. Coach Q joked the he was on injured reserve for a week with an upper body injury, but feels great now. The only pain he said he has felt the past week was having to watch the games from a hospital bed. According to Jesse Rogers who covers the Hawks for espnchicago.com and writes the Blackhawks blog, Quenneville told him this morning that the ulcer had nothing to do with stress but was due to taking an aspirin a day for many years. An article on Chicago Breaking Sports also says that Quenneville's doctors told him the ulcer had nothing to do with the stress of coaching.

While he was out, Quenneville says he watched every game, and liked what he saw, aside from Friday's loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Ulcers are no fun, especially when they start to bleed. Coach Quenneville is lucky that his was caught early and that he's back to work only a week after the discovery. It takes some people a month or more to fully recover, depending on how bad the bleeding from the ulcer is.

Coach Q, it's great to have you back!

The inagural "Hockey Day in America," a joint effort between the NHL and NBC, will originate from Chicago on Feb. 20. To accommodate being chosen as the Game of the Week for that day, the Blackhawks have moved their 3 p.m. start time against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center to 2:30 (Central time). This will be the only meeting between the two teams, the last two to have won the Stanley Cup, this sesaon. The Penguins have not made a regular season visit to the United Center since Feb. 27, 2009.

To satisfy your thirst for hockey information, NBC will broadcast six hours of everything hockey from Milennium Park's ice rink, beginning at 11 a.m. (Central time) on the 20th.

In conjunction with the inagural "Hockey Day In America" celebration, the Blackhawks are holding a drawing. Twenty-five lucky winners will get a chance to skate on the rink at Milennium Park with current players on Feb. 19. Time and players paticipating in the skate will be announced later. Among the prizes for one Grand Prize winner will be a pair of tickets to the Blackhawks/Penguins game Feb. 20, access to the press box and a tour of the Blackhawks' locker room, are among the p0rizes for one lucky winner. The contest ends Feb. 16.

Do you think Blackhawks right winger Jack Skille is crazy? You might - unless you're part of the team he's putting together to take the Polar Plunge to benefit the Special Olympics. Skille and his team will take a single plunge into the beautiful, icy waters of Lake Michigan at 8 a.m. on Feb. 26 at Northwestern University's North Beach in Evanston. You can take the plunge with Skille and receive a commemorative hooded sweatshirt by raising $75. But there's more!

If you raise $250, you'll receive an embroidered fleece blanket. For raising $500, you will receive a Jack Skille autographed puck and photo, an Under Armour Duffle Bag and an entry into the Grand Prize Drawing. For raising $1,000, you willl receive a Jack Skille autographed hockey stick, an Under Armour Quarter Zip Micro-Fleece and two entries to the Grand Prize Drawing.

The top four fundraisers will all be entered into the drawing for four tickets to a Blackhawks game and a post game meet and greet with Skille.

Only those entered into the Polar Plunge will be allowed in the water. Participants are encouraged to arrive at least an hour before the plunge.

As we await word about Mike Adamle's trial on Feb. 14 for his DUI arrest, we get word that the former Bears player has even more problems. We now find out that his home in suburban Evanston could be foreclosed on. Adamle and his soon-to-be ex-wife owe $1.1 million on a loan that matured in August. Adamle claims the issue will be resolved when his divorce is finalized.

His wife, Kim, filed for divorce in May. Apparently, the Internal Revenue Service filed a lien against "the couple" for not paying $70,808 in income taxes for 2008 and 2009. And now comes word of a pending foreclosure. What other dirty laundry will the papers dig up about Adamle?

I don't know Adamle personally, but I do feel for the guy. And ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com was irresponsible for lumping in the DUI arrest with the story about the possible foreclosure, at least without knowing whether the two are even related. There are a lot of people hurting financially now. Even former pro players are not immune to tax problems and foreclosures. Add to this a divorce and you have some pieces of a puzzle, but not all of them. And we may never know the full story on any of these issues.

Some of us at The Deep Dish are appalled at the irresponsible reporting lately of Adamle's problems. Unlike the mainstream papers, we will try to bring you the full story, or as much of it as we can gather when it's available, without sensationalizing the situation and without putting Adamle on trial and convicting him before we know all the facts.

It's February and you know what that means. Yes, pitchers and catchers report to camp in 12 days, and yes, tomorrow is Groundhog Day, but Valentine's Day is also just around the corner. and that means it's time for the Wolves' annual Valentine's Day puck fundraiser to benefit the Chicago Wolves Charities. The event will be hosted by players' wives and girlfriends at games on Feb. 4, Feb. 5, Feb. 9, Feb. 19, Feb. 23 and Feb. 26.

As part of the promotion, commerative Valentine's Day pucks, each signed by a Wolves player, will be packaged with candy and available for a $10 donation. Any puck signed in gold gives the winner the opporutnity to meet the player who signed the puck after the game. A complete set of autographed pucks will also be offered for a $200 donation.

Proceeds will benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the United Cerebral Palsy Fund, as well as the Chicago Wolves Charities.

More information on the fundraiser is available on the Wolves website.

If you've ever had a really, really bad stomach ulcer, then you may have an idea of what Derrick Rose was dealing with last night when he played despite two serious ulcers. I grimaced with him as he threw each shot, my own ulcer starting to act up in sympathy to Rose's.

The fact that Rose has two ulcers and has lost about seven pounds but still played tells you something about the character of the player. Would Jay Cutler have played if he was in such great pain? It's doubtful.

Ulcers are no laughing matter. There are two reasons people typically get ulcers. One is caused by bacteria that causes an infection that can be cured, the other is medication induced. Both eat away the lining of the stomach. In fact, some research shows that:

Peptic ulcers were formerly thought to be caused by stress, coffee consumption, or spicy foods. Now it is clear that about 60% of peptic ulcers are caused by a bacterial infection that can usually be cured. Another 20% are caused by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen (Advil, Nuprin, etc.), and another 20% have miscellaneous causes such as cigarettes or no clear cause.

My own ulcer, caused by medications, will never go away. I still find myself, while on medications, often eating less and drinking more liquids to coat my stomach and try to abate some of the pain. At its worst, I couldn't see myself going out on the basketball court and playing a full game like Rose did last night.

I do have some suggestions for Rose on how to treat his ulcers:

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Chicago Bears defensive player Israel Idonije is one of three finalists up for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. The award recognizes not only on-field performance, but also off-field contributions to the community.

On the field, the Nigerian-Canadian Idonije is tied for team lead in sacks and forced fumbles, tied for second in quarterback pressures and is second on the team in tackles.

Off the field, he is personally involved in the Israel Idonije Foundation (IIF), which he cereated in 2007. Aside from being physically active in the Foundation, he has contributed more than $300,000 to the Foundation, as well as other in-kind contributions. He also started the the First Down Atttendance Program, serving more than 600 economically disadvantaged students in five schools in Chicago and Manitoba, Canada. The program is designed to encourage students to sustain regular attendance, strive for high achevement in school and promote good citizenship. The program has been responisble for a regular attendance increase of at least 8 percent in participating schools.

The C.A.R.E. Africa program (Caring, Advancing, Restoring and Educating), an arm of the IIF, promotes education on an international front, focusing on education, self-preservation, humanitarianism, leadership and awareness.

Idonije, a two-time NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, and has been the Bears spokesman for the United Way LIVE UNITED campaign the past two years.

The two other finalists are Nnamdi Asomugha of the Oakland Raiders, and Madieu Williams of the Minnesota Vikings. The winner will be announced live on FOX Feb. 6, prior to the start of Super Bowl XLV.

Okay, you've decided to go out and watch the Bears and Packers game at one of the bars we suggested. But you also want to be able to party with a Bears player or two after they win the NFC Champtionship game against Green Bay, right? Well, there are actually a handful of places where you just might find a Super Bowl bound Bear or two.

If you've alreadty staked out your seat at Timothy O'Tooles, you may want to stay there. We hear that Robbie Gould and Patrick Mannelly hung out there for a while after last week's win over the Seattle Seahawks. It's possile they'll show up again after they beat the Pack. We've also heard that the two showed up with Jay Cutler after losing to the New England Patriots last month.

If you thought the Bull and Bear was just a place where Patrick Kane hangs out on Sundays, think again. We've learned that Corey Wootton and Henry Melton showed up here after the Bears defeated the Seahawks, Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings.

If you're in River North and the Bull and Bear is too crowded, you may want to take a look at District. While this seems to be a popular place for Lance Briggs, Chester Taylor and Jay Cutler on some Mondays, we hear that  Devin Aromashodu, Major Wright and Tim Jennings showed up after the Bears beat the Buffalo Bills.

Hub 51 seeems to be ppopular with Jay Cutler and his girlfriend Kristin Cavallari.  Gould and Greg Olsen joined them here after the Bears’ last win over the Packers..Also, Briggs was spotted here after the Bears' win over the Detroit Lions to open the season.

If Lovie Smith believes in rituals or superstitions, you may find him at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab. We're told he dined there the night before the win over Seattle and just after the win over the Lions.

.And finally, The Deep Dish has found out that Cutler and Cavallari were also spotted at Mastros Steakhouse in River North were spotted here after the win over the Seahawks. We're also told that Olsen and Matt Forte have also been spotted dining there.

It's anyone's guess as to where any of the players may show up. Who knows, they may decide to party somewhere else, or in private. If you're at one of these places, or somewhere else, and do see a Bears player, The Deep Dish would love to know.

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You'd think with the Bears looking to beat the Packers this Sunday in the NFC Championship game that the other athletes in Chicago would all be behind the Bears, right? Think again. The Blackhawks, who had the entire city behind them, as well as the highly publicized backing by the Cubs and White Sox during their Stanley Cup run, are a team divided. While it appears many of the Hawks players will be rooting for Da Bears, some will be rooting for the Packers.

Say what? Who are the traitors? According to yesterday's ESPN Chicago Blackhawks blog, Jake Dowell and Jack Skille will be rooting for the Packers. Why? Just because they're from Wisconsin? That seems to be good enough reason for the two of them. Dowell is from Eau Claire and Skille is from Madison. Both went to the University of Wisconsin. But that was yesterday. Today it was tweeted that Dowell and Skille are both wearing Bears caps, with Dowell stating there will be no more "trash talk" and he doesn't want to be booed by the crowd on Sunday when the Hawks play the Flyers:

So, does this mean both have caved in to pressure and have decided to root for the Bears after all? We suspect not, especailly after yesterday's comments. We'll find out Sunday when the game is over.

Think security is tight now when you try to enter Soldier Field? Wait until Super Bowl Sunday in Dallas! Sure, there will be tighter security because it's the Super Bowl, but you can count on security being extra high. Why? The chief guy in the White House, President Barack Obama, announced this morning that he will be at the game "if the Bears win." If? Come on Mr. Prez. When the Bears win. Obama made his remarks after a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Obama is a big football fan. Since entering office he has hosted bipartisan Super Bowl parties, usually inviting the lawmakers from the competing states to join the party. He has also made himself available for interviews during games. This year, they'll have to find him in a seat, or a suite.

With tickets going for more than $3,000 on Stubhub for this week's playoff game against the Green Bay Packers in Chicago, we wonder how much Obama will pay for his Super Bowl ticket in Dallas.

Last week, the Deep Dish reported that former Chicago Bears player Mike Adamle had been arrested for DUI in Evanston. At the time, few details about the arrest were revealed. However, the next day we received word that Adamle had failed a field sobriety test, was taken to Evanston police headquarters where he showed "erratic behavior" and was taken to Evanston Hospital for a blook alcohol test and a drug screen..

On Friday, the Evanston local section of the Trib reported that Adamle's blood alcohol level was below the legal limit of 0.08, and that Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington was unaware of whether Adamle had exhibited any other "erratic" behavior after he was pulled over for disobeying a flashing light.

Today, the Deep Dish received a release from the Chicago office of Miller Canfield, the attorneys representing Adamle,that Adamle "vigorously disputes that he was under the influence of alcohol or any other illegal substance when detained by the Evanston police," and that he fully cooperated with police, that he demonstrated that he was sober and that he passed a field sobriety test. He is also contesting the ticket for not changing the address on his driver's license while he was temporarily living outside his stated residence while divorce proceedings were being wrapped up.

No further comments will be made while the investigation continues.

Results from the drug screen are not yet available. Results of those tests, which could take a couple of weeks to obtain, will determine whether Adamle was impaired by any drugs, including any prescription drugs, including drugs to treat his epilepsy.

The Chicago Wolves are keeping themselves quite busy this month out in the community and they're looking for help from their fans.

This weekend you can help the team raise awareness about cancer, while also helping the team raise funds for cancer research. The cause is especially important to right wing Darren Haydar. His fiancee, Sara Schuster, a McHenry native, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2008. Schuster, 27, will drop a ceremonial first puck before tomorrow night's game. She has been cancer free since April 2009.

Tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday nights, fans will have the chance to help the Wolves in their quest to raise funds and awareness of cancer. Each night, the players will wear special "Fight Against Cancer" jerseys. The jerseys, as well as a one-of-a-kind goalie mask created specifically for the weekend, will be available in a silent auction and raffle during games. Proceeds will benefit Little Heroes Pedatric Cancer Foundation, Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, Chicago Wolves Charities and other cancer related causes.

Haydar will wear a different jersey at each of the games this weekend, one for the auction, one for an auction at chicagowolves.com and one for the raffle. Jerseys worn by forwards Riley Holzappel and Jamie Hunt, and Assistant Coach Ron Wilson will also be available in the raffle.

But the Wolves are doing even more. Schuster is not the only one dropping a ceremonial puck this weekend.

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Tonight's Blackhawks game at the United Center against the Colorado Avalanche pits two teams trying to stay in playoff contention. The Hawks will try to prevent the Avs from sweeping their series meetings. The Avs have already won the three prior meetings with the Hawks. This meeting is also important for both teams in the playoff race. The Hawks are currently in third place in the Central Divison, and the Avs in second in the Northwest Division. Each win is crucial to both teams as very few points separate fourth place from 14th place in the West for a playoff berth. This will be the final meeting between the two teams in the regular season.

Avoiding a season sweep by the Avs would do much for the Hawks mentally. In their last 10 games, the Avs have gone 4-5-2, dropping seven of their last nine. The Hawks have gone 6-4-0 in their last 10 games. Corey Crawford gets the makes his sixth consecutive start in goal tonight. In his last outing on Sunday against the Islanders he stopped 29 shots and gained his second career shutout. The Hawks can help Marion Hossa celebrate his 32nd birthday with a win. The last time the Avs swept the Hawks was during the 2003-2004 season.

Tonight's game begins at 7:30 CST. It will be televised in the Chicago area on CSN Chicago (HD) and ALT (HD).

Add Mike Adamle, former Bears and Northewestern Wildcats football player and sports anchor for NBC5 Chicago to the list of former players and sports writers and broadcastes getting arressted for various infractions. Adamle was arrested about 1am in Evanston and charged with driving under the influence (DUI).

A 1971 graduate of Northwestern University, Adamle earned All American honors while in college and was named Big Ten Most Valuable Player his senior year. The Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the fourth round of the '71 draft. Adamle went on to play for the New York Jets and Chicago Bears before retiring in 1977. After retiring from football, Adamle worked as a sports reporter and anchor at varous stations before landing a job as weekday sports anchor at NBC5 in Chicago.

Adamle, an epileptic, lives in Evanston. He is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 14 in Skokie on the DUI charge. Neither Adamle nor NBC5 were available for comment.

Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane are among the 36 additional players joining Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews in this year's NHL All-Star game in Raleigh on Jan. 30. Keith and Toews were among the top six players voted in by the fans. This year's format differs from previous years. Each team will be made up of three goalies, six defensemen and 12 forwards. There will be one captain for each team and two alternaters, who will be chosen by the players. The announcements will come next week on who those players are.

This year, instead of the traditional conference vs. conference matchup teams will be formed using a player draft. A coin toss will decide who gets first pick, with team captains drafting players through 18 rounds. In an effort to be fair, captains and both alternates will consist of two forwards and one defenseman. The goalies must also be picked by the end of the 10th round and the six defensement must be choisen by the end of the 15th round.

The 12 rookies selected wil be divided into two groups by the NHL. One rookie will be selected after the 15th round to decide which team his group will join in the skills competition. There are no Blackhawks rookies representing the team this year, but Hawks Coach Joel Quennville will represent one of the teams. Former Hawks player Dustin Byfuglien, now with the Atlanta Thrashers, also joins the All-Star squad.

Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull, ambassadors for the Chicago Blackhawks will be immortalized by the team in the form of life-size bronze statues. Teammates in the 1960s and both Hall of Famers, Mikita and Hull were named Blackhawks Ambassadors March 7, 2008. Both helped the Hawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup.

Mikita is the Hawks' all-time career leader in assists, points and games played. He has won four Art Ross Trophies, two Hart Trophies and the Lady Bing Trophy. On Oct. 21, 1980, his jersey number 21 was the first in Blackhawks history to be retired.

Hull played for the Hawks for 15 years. He ranks first in Hawks history in goals and second in games played and points. He has been awarded two Hart Trophies and one Lady Bing Trophy.

The statues wil be sculpted by the Rotblatt/Amrany Fine Art Stuidio and will be located outside the United Center. The same studio is responsible for the statues of Michael Jordan outside the United Center, George Halas outside Soldier Field and the Harry Caray, Ernie Banks and Billy Williams statues outside Wrigley Field. Further details of the statues and their locatoins will be released at a future date. The statues are expected to be unveiled sometime early in the Blackhawks 2011-2012 season. Let's hope that the artists check all dates and grammar before the statues are unveiled.

Last year they took their dads on a road trip, this year it's their moms. But according to an article in the Tribune, most of the Blackhawks players and coaches will be taking their moms with them on their road trip to Los Angeles where they will play the Ducks on Sunday and the Kings on Monday.

Among the moms who will fly with the team in the chartered plane are Andree Gilbert, Jonathan Toews' mother, Ewa Hjalmarsson, Donna Kane and Gloria Quenneville. It is especially meaningful to Hjalmarsson who was back home recovering from a stroke when her son, Niklas, was on the ice helping the Hawks win the Stanley Cup.

Most hockey teams have a "Dad's Road Trip" to help promote bonding, but according to Quenneville, Blackhawks team president Johbn McDonough came up with the idea to do a Mom's Road Trip this year. And it's about time. How many hours have those mothers put in for years taking their kids to and from hockey practices and games? It's about time their efforts were recognized and rewarded.

Aside from the two games, the mothers will be treated to a shopping tour on Rodeo Drive and "posh" meals.

We at Deep Dish would like to know if the moms will let "Coach Q" do the coaching, or if they will try to get on the bench to help.

Remember the Bears from 25 years ago and the Super Bowl Shuffle? We loved watching Sweetness and his "moves." We got a kick out of Jim McMahon and his cool guy attitude. In case you don't remember, here's a reminder.

Well, this year's Bulls won't gain the fame that Bears team did 25 years ago, but their rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas deserves a look.

Happy Holidays from all of us at SB Nation Chicago!

When it comes to spreading holiday cheer Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks know how to do it right. Toews and Kane were the main forces behind bringing one Marine serving overseas home for the holidays and surprising his entire family in the process.

It all began when Toews and Kane approached the Hawks with the idea of bringing a soldier home for the holidays. The Hawks then approached the Illinois USO, who held an essay writing contest, which was won by  U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. George Handley, who is stationed in Okinawa, Japan. He found out Sunday, his 20th birthday, that he had won the contest and the surprise trip home.

The Hawks then contacted Handley's family and invited them to an all-access tour of the practice facility on Tuesday, telling the Aurora family they were invited because their family member couldn't be home for the holidays. Unknown to the family, Handley was already at the practice faciltity when they arrived.

It wasa great present for Handley and his family. Handley is on leave through the New Year. The kicker? He plays fantasy hockey, but has no Blackhawks players on his team. Think that will change now? We do.

There's good news from the Chicago Blackhawks camp. Winger Viktor Stalberg, who has been sidelined since sustaining a concussion on Dec. 15 against the Colorado Avalanche, will be ready for tomorrow night's game against the Nashville Predators. The decision on whether he will actually play will be a game-time decision, according to Coach Joel Quenneville.

Stalberg sustained the concussion when he was hit hard into the boards by Avalance player Ryan O'Byrne on Dec. 15, as the Blackhawks lost to the Avs 4-3. Stalberg practiced with the team earlier today after being cleared to play.

Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa will not play in tomorrow night's game. Coach Q hopes to have Hossa, who has been working out with the team, back after Christmas. It is still unclear when Kane will return. He did not practice the the team this morning, though he was at the workout facility.

Next week three Chicago Wolves players, Andrew Kozek, Jamie Hunt and Jaime Sifers, will make appearances at three Chicago area libraries as part of the program "Read to Succeed." They will discuss with kids the importance of reading for recreation, and explain what local libraries have to offer. They will also explain the benefits of reading outside of the classroom and share how reading and education are a big part of their lives as athletes.

Prizes such as Wolves hats, mini hockey sticks and tickets to upcoming Wolves games will be offered as a reward for setting and achieving reading goals. One child will have the opporutnity to dress in hockey euquipment and the players will sign autographs.

The appearances are scheduled for Tues., Dec., 7. Andrew Kozek will be at the Berkeley Public Library, 1637 Taft Ave., at 6:30 p.m.; Jamie Hunt will be at the Huntley Public Library, 11000 Ruth Rd., at 6:30 p.m.; and Jaime Sifers will be at the Northbrook Public Library, 1201 Cedar, at 7 p.m.

It is estimated that close to 100 libraries and 30,000 children will participate in the "Read to Succeed" program this season. More than 550,000 children have participated in the program since it was founded in 1995.

More information is available on the Wolves website.

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It's that time of year sports fans. Christmas tree lighting ceremonies are in full swing. If you're looking for something to get you in the holiday mood, why not check out the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Willis Tower later this afternoon? Blackhawks player Patrick Kane will be on hand for the flipping of the switch at 4 p.m. in the Willis Tower lobby. He will also help kick off the building's toy drive. All donations benefit Dreams for Kids, an organization for at-risk youths and youths with disabilities. These kids are taught to empower themselves through adaptive sports, leadership and community service opportunities.

The 48-foot-tall tree is decorated with 1,000 ornaments and 10,000 lights. A local choir will be on hand to sing Christmas Carols and representatives from Dreams for Kids will join Kane for the tree lighting ceremony.