According to Baseball America, the talent entering the MLB Draft out of Colorado this year is underwhelming, but that doesn't been the fields are bare. Only two players made BA's list of the top 500 prospects entering the draft, a pair of prep pitchers, but they did note some interest in one player by the local big league ballclub.

Mesa State outfielder Jeff Popick doesn't make BA's list of top prospects, but he's still apparently been endearing himself to the Colorado Rockies over the past few years. As Conor Glassey writes, they "would love to see him on the roster of their new Rookie-level affiliate in Grand Junction."

An athletic outfielder that reportedly has solid tools, Popick went undrafted last year but has continued to crush the ball for Mesa State in 2012. He's played left field in college, and playing that position at the professional level would be a major limit on his potential, but he may not profile at any other defensive spot.

BA considers Pine Creek HS pitcher Ryan Warner and Highlands Ranch HS pitcher Ryan Burr to be the state's top two players. Ranked 204th and 205th on the publication's national list, respectively, neither is considered to be an elite prospect at this point. Both players have strong frames and can hit the low 90's, but they're both considered pretty raw.

To learn more about the latest MLB prospect news and ratings, drop by Minor League Ball with John Sickels.

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The top-seeded (No. 7 national seed) LSU Tigers open play in the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship on Friday with a match-up against the fourth-seeded Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks in Baton Rouge. With arguably the best pitcher in the nation in Colorado native Kevin Gausman, the Tigers are looking for their seventh national title in history and their first since 2009.

But on Friday, it will be freshman Aaron Nola taking the mound for the Tigers. This LSU team also features former Colorado Rockies draftees SS Austin Nola (2008, 48th round) and RHP Ryan Eades (2010, 19th round). Head over to LSU's official site for quotes and more on this game.

The Tigers won the SEC regular season championship earlier this year to enter the NCAA's with a 43-16 record, which makes UL-Monroe's 30-28 record pale in comparison. The Warhawks snagged the Sun Belt Conference title to earn a spot in the regional, which also includes the second-seeded Oregon State Beavers and the third-seeded Belmont Bruins.

The regional is double-elimination, so the Tigers should be prepared to play either the Beavers or Bruins later this weekend. Expectations should be high around Baton Rouge even after last year's disappointment.

Game Date & Time: Friday, June 1, 6:00 p.m. MT

Location: Alex Box Stadium, Baton Rouge, La.

TV/Radio: Cox Sports Television, Comcast Sports Southeast, WDGL 98.1 FM

For a complete 2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament bracket, click here.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For a complete bracket, visit NCAA.com.

The third-seeded Missouri State Bears will be meeting the second-seeded UCF Knights in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship on Friday afternoon in Miami. It will be the first time that the Bears have played in a NCAA D1 Baseball Championship game since 2003.

After posting an impressive 39-20 record during the regular season, Missouri State will be making its eighth appearance in the NCAA D1 Championship this year. The first round consists of double-elimination games that will be played through Monday, beginning with Friday's game against UCF.

Expect some impressive pitching from the Bears in the tournament, as they lead Division I in team ERA, shutouts and strikeouts this season. The other two teams in their regional bracket are the top-seeded Stony Brook Seawolves and the fourth-seeded Miami Hurricanes.

Game Date & Time: Friday, June 1, 1:00 p.m. CT

Location: Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, Miami, Fla.

Radio: KBFL 1060 AM

For a complete 2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament bracket, click here.

For more on this series, stick with SB Nation St. Louis.

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After building up a big lead early, the Colorado Rockies had little trouble dispatching the Houston Astros in an 11-5 victory at Coors Field on Thursday night. The Rockies scored nine of their runs by the end of the second inning, using a big-time offensive effort to finish off their first sweep of the year.

Meeting the Astros this week has been a major boost for Colorado after struggling badly during the early portion of the month. Entering the series, the Rockies were just 6-18 during the month of May, but they rebounded nicely with a huge offensive series, scoring 40 runs over the four games.

While the Rockies gave up 14 hits on Thursday, they managed to limit the damage by refusing to issue a single walk during the game. Jeremy Guthrie gave up all five runs during his seven innings of work before the bullpen came in to cap the night with a win.

Carlos Gonzalez, Jordan Pacheco and Michael Cuddyer each had three hits apiece for the Rockies on Thursday, with the three players also combining for eight RBI. Jose Altuve and Jed Lowrie also had three hits apiece for Houston, which has now lost five consecutive games.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage, visit Rockies blog Purple Row. Head over to Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish for more news and notes from around the league.

After beating up on Astros starter Bud Norris early, the Colorado Rockies are leading 10-4 over Houston through four innings on Thursday night. The Rockies did nearly all of their scoring in the first two innings, forcing Norris out of the game after he had gotten just five outs.

Norris, one of Houston's better young pitchers, didn't exactly look the part in Colorado on Thursday. Lasting just 1.2 innings, he allowed nine runs on seven hits and three walks, looking utterly ineffective against the Rockies' lineup. Jeremy Guthrie has fared much better for Colorado, giving up four runs over four innings despite allowing nine hits.

Carlos Gonzalez has continued his impressive season on Thursday, going 2-for-2 with a double, a homer, a walk, three runs scored and three RBI so far. Michael Cuddyer has also had a big game, going 3-for-3 with two singles, a double and three RBI.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage, visit Rockies blog Purple Row. Head over to Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish for more news and notes from around the league.

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The St. Louis Cardinals are trailing 8-5 to the Atlanta Braves through six innings on Wednesday night in a game that's already seen both starters get knocked out. The Braves took an early 5-0 advantage in the first few innings, but they actually blew that lead before ultimately taking it back.

Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse struggled early, giving up five runs in the first three innings to put St. Louis down 5-0. Lohse gathered himself and finished off his outing with two shutout innings, but significant damage had already been done. The Cardinals would respond with four runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game up, but the Braves strung together some hits in the bottom frame to take back the lead.

Matt Holliday is the only St. Louis batter with two hits, but Tyler Greene had a key two-run single in the sixth inning. Freddie Freeman and Brian McCann have each hit home runs for Atlanta while Jose Constanza has singled in each of his first three plate appearances.

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.

During a televised special before Wednesday's Heat-Celtics game, the New Orleans Hornets won the lottery to receive the No. 1 overall draft pick in the upcoming draft. New Orleans had a 13.7 percent chance of landing the pick, and the Hornets now come away with the first pick for the second time in franchise history.

After being sold by the NBA to a new owner earlier this year, the Hornets got another major stroke of luck on Wednesday. Landing the No. 1 pick in the draft essentially guarantees that the Hornets will soon add Kentucky center Anthony Davis soon, giving the team a brand new cornerstone after trading Chris Paul before last season.

The final order of the first five picks in the draft is the Hornets, Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings. The Hornets last had the No. 1 overall pick in 1991 when they selected forward Larry Johnson from UNLV.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more coverage of the NBA as the draft approaches, check out SB Nation's NBA news hub.

ESPN college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb offered his ranking of the top 30 prospects for the upcoming NBA draft on Wednesday, rating Weber State guard Damian Lillard as the eighth-best prospect in the class. In a draft that's lacking an elite point guard prospect like Derrick Rose or John Wall, Lillard stands out:

A scoring point guard who is best off of ball screens, Lillard benefits from both the lack of great point guards in this year's draft and the need for a scoring PG to play right away.

Lillard certainly proved at Weber State that he can put up points in a hurry. Over 34.5 minutes per game in 2012, Lillard put up 24.5 points per game on 47 percent shooting, plus he dished out four assists per game. He's shooting numbers were superb, as he hit 41 percent of his three-point attempts and 89 percent of his free throws.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more comprehensive draft coverage, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

In anticipation of Wednesday night's NBA Draft Lottery, ESPN's Doug Gottlieb listed his personal list of the top 30 prospects for the upcoming draft. Somewhat surprisingly, he ranks Illinois center Meyers Leonard as the sixth-best prospect available.

Considered an enigmatic talent, Leonard has elite size and athleticism, but he's considered extremely raw, as Gottlieb writes:

Leonard is a freak athlete, with a perfect frame to play 15 years inside in the NBA. Leonard is Andrew Bynum-like in his goofiness, but even though he's just a kid, his body and skill set are those of a man. He can play the high and low post, guard ball screens, shoot, and has good hands. Is he a killer? I'm not sold, frankly, but man, the potential is there.

Generally speaking, Leonard's stock in the draft isn't considered to be as high by most draft analysts. He's ranked No. 19 on the top 100 list compiled by ESPN's Chad Ford, who projects him as a mid-first round pick after an up-and-down year with the Fighting Illini.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage of Illini basketball, head over to Hail to the Orange. And for more from around the world of college hoops, check out SB Nation's NCAA basketball news hub.

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The Chicago Cubs came from behind in the final two innings to beat the San Diego Padres 8-6 on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field. After an awful 12-game losing streak, the Cubs have rebounded for their first sweep of 2012 against the Friars. Darwin Barney hit the walk-off, two-run homer in the ninth inning.

With Ryan Dempster struggling on the mound, the Cubs got behind early. In his tenth start of the season, the veteran starter allowed six runs over 4.1 innings while battling his command with four walks and three homers allowed. The bullpen came in and dominated the remainder of the game, though: Casey Coleman, Carlos Marmol, Randy Wells and James Russell combined to pitch 4.2 shutout innings to finish off the game.

With the bullpen dealing, the Cubs simply needed the offense to come through against a 6-3 deficit. It looked like they might finally break through in the fifth inning after loading the bases, but they only managed a pair of run-scoring walks before the end of the inning.

Needing some late-game heroics, the middle infielders came through for Chicago. In the bottom of the eighth, Starlin Castro came through with a stunning infield single with two outs after Tony Campana stole both second and third while pinch-running for Reed Johnson.

That merely gave tied up the game at 6-6, though, so things went to the bottom of the ninth looking like the fans would be treated to some free baseball. But then Barney, who was already in the midst of a great day, came through with the walk-off, two-run homer off off San Diego's Dale Thayer. Barney finished the game going 2-for-3 with a homer, two walks, three runs scored, three RBI to lead the Cubs.

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.

Chicago Bears wide receiver and general playmaker Devin Hester thinks that the team will finally implement some offensive packages built specifically around his unique skills this year, as Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago writes.

Hester has had an inconsistent role on offense over the past five years, but he's excited about having packages built around him:

This offense, I really do truly think that (offensive coordinator) Mike Tice and (quarterbacks coach) Jeremy Bates and those guys really want to put this in this year. I'm looking forward to it and Mike Tice is more excited than anybody in this organization about putting in this Hester package. So if anybody, he's the guy that's going to control that.

At his peak as a receiver, Hester caught 57 balls for 757 yards with Chicago in 2009. Last season, he put up his lowest totals since 2007, but he's also had a massive role in special teams as one of the game's elite kick returners.

The Bears have long tried to figure out how to take his abilities with the ball and turn them into production on offense, but the results have always been mixed.

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

The Colorado Rockies have designated left-handed starter Jamie Moyer for assignment on Wednesday, according to Tracy Ringolsby of ROOT Sports. Depending on whether the 49-year-old pitcher can catch on somewhere else, this could potentially be the end of a big league career that began all the way back in 1986.

Over ten starts this season, Moyer posted a 5.70 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 18 walks over 53.2 innings while having serious issues with allowing home runs. His fastball averaged just 78.6 miles per hour according to FanGraphs.com, the lowest mark of any pitcher currently qualified for the ERA title by nearly five miles per hour.

Moyer has had quite the career, beginning in 1986 with the Chicago Cubs and ultimately winning 269 games while posting a solid 4.25 ERA. The Rockies now have ten days to determine whether they'll trade him, release him or put him on waivers. If he passes through waivers, Moyer will presumably be given the option of going to Triple-A or becoming a free agent.

To replace Moyer on the roster, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports that the Rockies have promoted Carlos Torres from Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he posted a 2.45 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 13 walks over seven starts. He also adds that manager Jim Tracy will announce the starter for Friday's game on Thursday.

For more on the Rockies, visit Purple Row. Check out Baseball Nation and for more news and notes around the leagues.

The Colorado Rockies have what is essentially their full starting lineup going against the Houston Astros on Wednesday night as they look for their third consecutive win in the four-game series. Christian Friedrich is making his fifth big league start for Colorado, and while his 5.09 ERA is poor, his 2.78 FIP indicates a higher level of performance in his short career.

Here's the full lineup for Colorado:

1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Marco Scutaro, 2B
3. Carlos Gonzalez, LF
4. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
5. Todd Helton, 1B
6. Michael Cuddyer, RF
7. Wilin Rosario, C
8. Jordan Pacheco, 3B
9. Christian Friedrich, P

The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to take the rubber game of their three-day series against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, but right fielder Carlos Beltran is getting a day off to keep his hot bat fresh. It doesn't appear that Beltran has any sort of injury, so this is merely some time off to prevent the sort of injuries that have plagued him earlier in his career.

In his place, the Cardinals have Skip Schumaker making the start in right field with Shane Robinson taking over in center. Here's the full lineup for St. Louis:

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

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 30, 2012

And here's the lineup for Atlanta:

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

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 30, 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.

The Chicago Cubs are trailing 6-5 to the San Diego Padres through five innings on Wednesday afternoon after starter Ryan Dempster struggled badly in his tenth start of the season. The veteran has been looking for his first win all year despite pitching well, but he certainly doesn't deserve a victory after his outing on Wednesday.

Lasting just 4.1 innings, Dempster allowed six runs on six hits (including three home runs) while walking four and striking out three. After allowing no more than four runs in any of his other appearances this season, this easily slots in as Dempster's worst performance of the season.

Returning from injury recently, Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin has had a huge day already for the Padres with a pair of homers and four RBI. Fellow San Diego outfielder Chris Denorfia has also thrived, going 2-for-3 with a double, a homer and two RBI on the day.

Steve Clevenger leads the Cubs offense with two hits and two RBI. Chicago managed to load the bases in the fifth inning, scoring a pair of runs on bases loaded walks by Ian Stewart and Darwin Barney.

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

The Chicago White Sox completed their sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-3 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Tropicana Field. The win continues Chicago's stunning run over the past few weeks that's seen the team take 12 of its past 13 games to burst into first place in the AL Central.

In a contentious game that saw White Sox starter Jose Quintana get ejected in the fourth inning, the White Sox bullpen managed to tie up the loose ends without relinquishing the lead. After Nate Jones came in and allowed a pair of runs in relief of Quintana in the bottom of the sixth, the Rays wouldn't score another run for the remainder of the game.

Matt Thornton, Jesse Crain and closer Addison Reed, essentially the team's best three relievers, combined to pitch 3.1 shutout innings for the White Sox to finish off Tampa Bay. The Rays threatened in the ninth inning with two runners on and just one out, but Reed got out of the jam to get his sixth save of the year.

Dayan Viciedo continued his own personal hot streak for the Sox by getting three hits, plus Alex Rios and Alexei Ramirez added two hits apiece. With the Cleveland Indians also losing this afternoon, the White Sox are now up 1.5 games in the division.

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 toBaseball Nation.

With the NBA Draft Lottery going down on Wednesday night, Sports Illustrated's Sam Amick went through each of the lottery teams to suggest which players they might ultimately target. While many of the worst teams in the NBA already have young point guards, Amick listed five teams that could ultimately snap up the Weber State breakout star in the first dozen or so picks.

Here are the choice quotes that Amick gave for each of the teams regarding Lillard:

• New Orleans Hornets: "Adding point guard Damian Lillard of Weber State with the second pick would make for a potent potential pairing in the backcourt with [Eric] Gordon."
• Sacramento Kings: "If the Kings lose one of their many ball-dominant players by trading [Tyreke] Evans (which is a possibility), they could look for an upgrade at point guard (Lillard or North Carolina's Kendall Marshall could be options) despite the presence of two 2012 rookies, Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette."
• Golden State Warriors: "While Stephen Curry has the point guard duties secured, you have to wonder if his injury history doesn't inspire the Warriors to opt for the hometown hero in Lillard. The Oakland native, whom the Warriors watched in a recent workout, looks ready to score at the next level and run a team."
• Toronto Raptors: "Lillard is a possibility here, too, as the Raptors are looking for offensive firepower after making defensive strides under first-year coach Dwane Casey. With Jose Calderon entering the final year of his sizable deal ($10.6 million next season), they need a point guard for the future to pair with center Andrea Bargnani, fellow big man Jonas Valanciunas and 22-year-old shooting guard DeMar DeRozan."
• Phoenix Suns: "This draft is light on point guards, but Lillard and [Kendall] Marshall would be nice picks if they fell that far ([Tony] Wroten would be an additional option)."
At this point, Lillard is generally considered the top point guard in this year's draft class. The lottery on Wednesday night could ultimately have a major effect on where he ultimately plays given his status as a likely lottery pick.


For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more comprehensive draft coverage, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.

One day after her sister was knocked out in a major upset, Venus Williams has been eliminated from the 2012 French Open by third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska. The seven-time Grand Slam champion was defeated 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday in the second round at Roland Garros.

Playing in her first major tournament since August, Williams beat 19-year-old Paula Ormaechea in the first round to advance, but she couldn't hold off Radwanska in Wednesday's match. After getting behind early, she couldn't rally before ultimately being trumped in straight sets.

The tournament's top-seeded player, Victoria Azarenka, easily advanced to the third round with a 6-1, 6-1 beating of Dinah Pfizenmaier on Wednesday. Last year, Azarenka reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.

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 thisFrench Open scoreboard.

Denver Broncos running back Willis McGahee was among the players that did not participate in organized team activities on Wednesday, as Lindsay H. Jones of the Denver Post reports. McGahee is expected to be Denver's top running back once again in 2012, but it's not clear at this point why he wasn't with his teammates.

Related: Broncos OTA's 2012: Mixed Results For Peyton Manning On Wednesday

In his place, the Broncos had Lance Ball taking the reps with the first-team offense. McGahee's primary back-up, former first-round pick Knowshon Moreno, hasn't been cleared for practice yet after having surgery to repair a torn ACL on December 1 of last year.

Other players that were absent on Wednesday include defensive tackle Ty Warren, kicker Matt Prater, right guard Chris Kuper, tight end Julius Thomas and running back Jeremiah Johnson.

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.

There's been a good deal of action in Wednesday's game between the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, but the on-field battle pales in comparison to the verbal explosion that White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson unleashed in the fourth inning.

Related: O'Donnell: Paul Konerko's Late-Career Renaissance Is Something To Behold

During that inning, White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana was ejected for allegedly throwing the ball at Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist. Chicago manager Robin Ventura was also ejected after arguing the call. As you can tell in the video, Hawk doesn't agree with the umpire Mark Wegner's assessment of the situation:

Before Quintana's pitch, A.J. Pierzynski had been plunked by the Rays' Alex Cobb earlier in the game, possibly as a response to a potentially suspicious slide made by the catcher in Tuesday's game. Wegner clearly was concerned about an escalating situation with pitchers throwing at hitters and immediately made a strong statement with the ejection.

Hawk is known to be a major "homer," one of the most team-friendly announcers in all of baseball to the extent that it often bothers many listeners. This is just the latest example of his antics reaching a new level. Even if you think that Quintana's ejection was unnecessary, it's difficult to argue that Harrelson's response was remotely appropriate for a broadcaster.

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 expectations are going to be extremely high this year, but Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is still in the process of meeting them as he works his way into Denver's offense. As Mike Klis of the Denver Post wrote on Wednesday about the team's practice, Manning still has work to do:

In his first series, Manning was 2 of 4 with short completions to Jacob Tamme and Brandon Stokley sandwiched between an interception by safety Mike Adams, who was covering Tamme on a deep route. In his second series, Manning threw one pass and it was incomplete. In his third series - a hurry up, 2-minute drill - Manning’s first pass intended for Stokley across the middle zipped right into the gut of middle linebacker Joe Mays - who dropped it as he had his sights set on returning it for a touchdown.

Overall, it's not exactly what Broncos fans wanted to hear, but Klis added that Manning, "did throw deeper down the field more than he did during the previous media-viewing OTA practice last week."

For now, it's becoming very clear that Denver didn't sign a Peyton Manning that's immediately ready to return to the field at his previously high level of performance. At 36 years of age with a major neck injury under his belt (or collar), it will be interesting to see just how much progress Manning will make this offseason.

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 Chicago White Sox are leading 3-1 over the Tampa Bay Rays in a contentious game between American League contenders on Wednesday afternoon. White Sox starter Jose Quintana lasted just 3.2 innings before being ejected by umpire Mark Wegner for throwing at Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist.

Related: Paul Konerko's Late-Career Renaissance Is Something To Behold

In the first inning of Wednesday's game, the Sox took the lead on an RBI single by Alex Rios, but the Rays matched in the second inning with a solo homer by Luke Scott, his ninth of the season. Chicago managed to get back the lead in the third inning by stringing together some hits on Rays starter Alex Cobb.

Quintana's apparent attempt to throw at Zobrist appeared to be the last straw for Wegner, who allowed play to continue after the Rays plunked White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski earlier in the game. Tension has been building between the two teams all series as the White Sox look to get another sweep and win for the 12th time in 13 games.

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 toBaseball Nation.

Weeks after numerous photos were released showing Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane exhibiting what could be considered reckless behavior at a block party near the University of Wisconsin, the team finally responded this week with a statement expressing disappointment in the player's actions.

The team doesn't appear to be done dealing with the entire situation, though, as Adam Jahns of the Chicago Tribune reports that some in the organization have already suggested finding counseling for the 23-year-old. Here's what one source said of Kane's actions:

He’s obviously got some issues. How many more times can these things happen? It’s a much bigger thing than some photographs in a 48-hour window.

One of the biggest stars in Chicago, Kane has been in the news numerous times in the past for off-field behavior, including a 2009 arrest for an incident with a Buffalo cabdriver. A leader of the 2010 team that won the Stanley Cup Finals, he's one of the most talented players on the team but there's clearly mounting frustration at his inability to stay out of the headlines.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, head over toBlackhawks blog Second City Hockey. And for more news and notes from around hockey, visit SB Nation's NHL news hub.

Chicago White Sox third baseman Brent Morel begins his rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday night, as the team announced on its website. Morel was placed on the disabled list on May 22, retroactive to May 18, with a lumbar back strain.

Morel, 25, struggled badly as the White Sox's primary third baseman before ultimately being placed on the disabled list a couple weeks ago. Over 125 plate appearances, he hit an embarrassing .177/.225/.195 with just seven walks, two doubles and zero home runs.

The third baseman has fared much better in the minor leagues, including an 81-game stint with Charlotte in 2010 during which he hit .320, but he needs to prove that success can translate to the big leagues. Other than a surprising power surge at the end of last season, Morel really has never looked like a legit major league regular.

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

In their final mock draft to be released before Wednesday night's NBA Draft Lottery, DraftExpress.com projects the Chicago Bulls to select UC Santa Barbara shooting guard Orlando Johnson with the 29th overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Johnson, 23, emerged as a star for the Gauchos over a three-year career there, leading the school to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances during his sophomore and junior seasons. The team went 20-11 during his senior season but failed to qualify after losing in the Big West Conference Tournament to Long Beach State.

A quality shooter and rebounder, Johnson averaged 19.7 PPG on 45 percent shooting, 5.8 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.1 SPG during his senior season. Measuring in a 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, he has the size to handle both guard positions in the NBA.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more comprehensive coverage, head over to SB Nation's NBA news hub.