CALGARY, Alberta — On a day general manager Stan Bowman said there was no help on the horizon, the Blackhawks continued to look in desperate need of some. Bowman said the game Friday against the Calgary Flames would be an opportunity for the team to show its ability to respond after an embarrassing loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. What happened was another poor showing and a deepening of the Hawks’ worst stretch of the season. They fell to the Flames 3-1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome for their season-high fifth consecutive loss. “We were better than last night,” captain …

INDIANAPOLIS — There’s no shortage of superlatives heaped upon New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady this week as he prepares for his fifth Super Bowl appearance. A victory at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday would make him the winningest quarterback in NFL postseason history. An MVP trophy would tie him with Joe Montana for a record three. And he can pile onto the numerous postseason records he holds. But New York Giants second-year defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul doesn’t want to go overboard with the praise. “Tom Brady is a great quarterback, but at the end of the day he is …

Derrick Rose is the MVP of the NBA, and Jimmy Butler is an unheralded rookie whose game is as nondescript as Rose’s is dynamic. But they have one thing in common: They’re not afraid to fail. That’s a driving force behind Rose’s greatness, and it already has made a difference for Butler. The 6-7 swingman from Marquette, selected with the 30th pick of the first round, didn’t back down from a daunting challenge that has made far more talented players look like rookies: Play in crunch time of a tight game at Madison Square Garden. Playing all but nine seconds …

Instead of an arbitration hearing scheduled Friday, righthander Matt Garza agreed to a one-year contract with the Cubs valued at some $9.5 million, a figure less than the $12. 5 million the 28-year-old had sought but a significant increase from his $5.95 million salary in 2011.

Loyola’s winless Horizon League streak stretched to 12 straight and their overall losing streak to 10 on Friday in a 65-47 loss to Cleveland State at the Gentile Arena The short-handed Ramblers (5-17, 0-12) couldn’t match the strength of the conference-leading Vikings (19-4, 9-2), who shot 67.6 percent for the game (25-for-37) and had four players in double figures, led by 16 points from Chicago native Jeremy Montgomery. The senior guard from Lincoln Park added four assists and three of his team’s 12 steals. The 10-game losing streak is the longest for a Loyola squad since the 1992-93 season. “You …

Injuries continue to haunt DePaul, with the latest involving sophomore Moses Morgan, who was undergoing tests Friday after fainting during practice Thursday. Morgan, who had a career-best 19 points a night earlier in a loss to St. John’s, was taken by ambulance to a hospital and was all right later, coach Oliver Purnell said. But he was kept Friday to undergo tests and did not travel with the team to Cincinnati for its game Saturday against the Bearcats  (15-7, 5-4 Big East). Morgan sent a message on his Twitter account Friday saying he was ‘‘patiently waiting’’ while hospitalized. ‘‘I appreciate …

Wolves goalie Eddie Lack has been notorious for giving up first-period goals, but just as notable has been his ability to battle back from early setbacks. So when visiting the Rockford IceHogs beat Lack stick-side 86 seconds into Friday night’s game at Allstate Arena, the Wolves didn’t panic. It was the only mistake Lack made in a 4-2 victory. “He really shut the door after the first one went in and they got to us early,” coach Craig MacTavish said. “The first 10 minutes of the game, we were a little lethargic and a little rusty from the [All-Star] break.” …