SPORTS NEWS

Primer: If you were wishing for two star-powered, high-octane heavyweights going blow for blow for the Western Conference title, here they are. The Blackhawks and Ducks are packed with enough punch and playoff pedigree to ensure this series lives up to the fanfare that will come with it. Between each team’s top two players — Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews for the Blackhawks; Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry for the Ducks — you’ll see 51 playoff points combined, and you'll get even more firepower from the rank and file. Based on recent history, it’s easy to assume the lower-seeded Blackhawks hold the edge in the series, with their depth and proven ability to score opportune goals. MORE: Must-see playoff photos | Rest of Round 2 schedule But while Chicago has won two Stanley Cups since Anaheim's last championship in 2007, the Ducks are the playoffs' hottest team, having lost just once in nine games, albeit against inferior opponents. They have the requisite size, snarl and sco...

Primer: If you were wishing for two star-powered, high-octane heavyweights going blow for blow for the Western Conference title, here they are. The Blackhawks and Ducks are packed with enough punch and playoff pedigree to ensure this series lives up to the fanfare that will come with it. Between each team’s top two players — Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews for the Blackhawks; Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry for the Ducks — you’ll see 51 playoff points combined, and you'll get even more firepower from the rank and file. Based on recent history, it’s easy to assume the lower-seeded Blackhawks hold the edge in the series, with their depth and proven ability to score opportune goals. MORE: Must-see playoff photos | Rest of Round 2 schedule But while Chicago has won two Stanley Cups since Anaheim's last championship in 2007, the Ducks are the playoffs' hottest team, having lost just once in nine games, albeit against inferior opponents. They have the requisite size, snarl and sco...

Last weekend, Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 67 laps en route to victory in the GEICO 500 at Talladega as the tens of thousands of Junior fans stood and cheered in the grandstands as he did his victory lap for the sixth time in his career at the 2.66-mile track. Earnhardt and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were far and away the class of the field in the 10th Sprint Cup race of the season. The trio led 164 of the 188 laps. MORE: Memorable photos of Kansas Speedway | Erik Jones will drive the 18 at Kansas | Junior compares driving style to . . . DW's? This week the circuit moves to one of Gordon's best tracks, Kansas Speedway.  Gordon boasts a track-record 10 top fives in 18 starts at the 1.5-mile oval, a whopping 55.6 percent. He will look for the first win of his final season as a full-time driver at a track where he has won three previous times. This week's events are the Sprint Cup SpongeBob SquarePants 400 and the Camping World Trucks Toyota Tundr...