Tribune News Services

TORONTO -- Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke's youngest son was killed in a car accident in snowy Indiana on Friday.

The team issued a brief statement confirming the death of 21-year-old Brendan Burke. Brian Burke also is the general manager of the U.S. Olympic team.

"The National Hockey League grieves tonight for the family and friends of Brendan Burke, a young man of courage and character," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a release. "Words simply cannot express our sorrow over his loss. We send our deepest, most heartfelt condolences to Brendan's father, Brian; his mother, Kerry; everyone in Brendan's family and all who were inspired by his love for hockey."

By Chris Kuc

The Blackhawks fell for the third consecutive game for the first time this season as they dropped a 2-1 shootout decision to the Coyotes on Friday night at the United Center.

Former Hawk Adrian Aucoin scored the winner in the shootout for Phoenix as it won its sixth consecutive game.

Colin Fraser had the lone goal for the Blackhawks in regulation. Radim Vrbata, also a former Hawk, had a second-period goal for Phoenix.

Full story | Box score | Updated NHL standings

By K.C. Johnson

ATLANTA -- A brutal start to the fourth quarter cost the Bulls a winnable game Friday night at Philips Arena.

The Hawks sent the Bulls to their third straight loss with a 91-81 victory.

Playing without Joakim Noah, the Bulls led 70-64 after three quarters but surrendered a 16-2 run to open the fourth. The Bulls missed eight of their first nine shots and committed two turnovers, scoring two points in the first 7 minutes, 9 seconds.

Josh Smith's triple double of 18 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists led the Hawks. Eight of his rebounds were offensive.

Luol Deng's 20 points led the Bulls.

Full story | Box score | Updated NBA standings

Video from espn.com.

By Chris Kuc

In a slow-moving second period, the Coyotes got a late power-play score from Radim Vrbata to tie the Blackhawks 1-1 after two Friday night at the United Center.

Colin Fraser scored in the first for the Hawks, who hold a 21-16 shot advantage.

The Hawks are 7-1-2 this season when tied after two periods while Phoenix is 7-3-1.

By K.C. Johnson

ATLANTA -- All five starters have reached double figures and the Bulls lead the Hawks 70-64 after three quarters Friday night at Philips Arena.

The Bulls closed the quarter with a 14-5 run that featured Taj Gibson dunking off a feed from Devin Brown and Tyrus Thomas stealing the inbounds and scoring on a drive in the final seconds.

Luol Deng leads the Bulls with 18 points.

Joe Johnson and Josh Smith have 12 each for Atlanta, which is shooting just 41.8 percent.

Tribune News Services

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Duke's Jon Scheyer and Kansas' Sherron Collins are among the finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the top point guard in college basketball.

Collins graduated from Crane High School and Scheyer went to Glenbrook North.

The 11 finalists announced Friday by the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame come from a list of 73 original nominees from all three NCAA divisions.

The other finalists, all from Division I, are: Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga; Devan Downey, South Carolina; Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin; Jeremy Lin, Harvard; Kalin Lucas, Michigan State; Ronald Moore, Siena; Scottie Reynolds, Villanova; and Greivis Vasquez, Maryland.

The winner will be announced April 5 at the Final Four.

Photo: Scheyer and Collins. (AP / Sara D. Davis; Rich Sugg / MCT)

By Chris Kuc

The Blackhawks figured to be plenty motivated for Friday night's game against the Coyotes at the United Center. The Hawks are trying to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season and Phoenix after five consecutive wins is closing in on them in the Western Conference.

So far, so good for the Hawks. They hold a 1-0 lead over the Coyotes after one period in front of a season-high crowd of 22,169. Colin Fraser scored his second goal of the season early in the period. The goal came from a shot from the right circle after Phoenix goaltender Jason LaBarbera kicked aside a Duncan Keith blast.

The Hawks appear to have caught a break as LaBarbera got the call in goal for the Coyotes instead of Ilya Bryzgalov, one of the top netminders in the league. Cristobal Huet turned aside all nine of the Coyotes' first-period shots for the Hawks.

By K.C. Johnson

ATLANTA -- Luol Deng has 14 points and the Bulls have pulled to within 50-46 of the Hawks at halftime Friday night at Philips Arena.

The Bulls trailed by as many as 11 early.

Derrick Rose is just 3 for 11 with two of his baskets on dunks. Brad Miller added 10 points for the Bulls.

Josh Smith's 10 points leads the Hawks, who also got a quick seven-point run by Jamal Crawford during the quarter.  Crawford has nine.

Tribune News Services

SEATTLE -- U.S. customs officials say nearly 17,600 Fox Sports NFL robot action figures seized at the Seattle waterfront last month were contaminated with lead paint.

Officials said Friday the NFL Team Cleatus toys were manufactured in the Guangdong province of southeastern China and were destined for a distributor in the Seattle area. But they declined to identify either the manufacturer or the distributor.

The toys arrived in the U.S. in two container loads on Dec. 11. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized them Jan. 12, after tests showed they contained six times the allowable amounts of lead.

Agency spokesman Mike Milne says the toys are valued at more than $96,000 and will be destroyed.