Braves acquire pitchers Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan from White Sox

The Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox announced yesterday that the two clubs have completed a six-player trade. The Braves acquired right-handed starting pitcher Javier Vazquez and left-handed relief pitcher Boone Logan from the White Sox in exchange for catcher Tyler Flowers, infielder Brent Lillibridge, Minor League infielder Jon Gilmore and Minor League pitcher Santos Rodriguez.

Vazquez, 32, is under contract through the 2010 season. He owns a career record of 127-129 with a 4.32 ERA in 11 Major League seasons and ranks ninth among all active pitchers in strikeouts (2,015), 14th in innings pitched (2,270.2) and 15th in games started (353). His career strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.34 ranks sixth among all active pitchers (minimum 2,000 innings pitched).

Vazquez is the only Major League pitcher to post at least 10 wins, 30 starts and 150 strikeouts in each of the last nine seasons. In 2007 he notched a 15-8 record with a 3.73 ERA and 213 strikeouts in 216.2 innings pitched. Last season he went 12-16 with a 4.67 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 208.1 innings of work.

Vazquez has pitched at least 200 innings in eight of the last nine seasons (he had 198 IP in 2004) and has recorded 200 or more strikeouts four times in his career, including each of the last two campaigns. He has also finished in his league's top 10 in strikeouts in eight of the last nine seasons, including ranking fourth in the American League in each of the last three years (2006-08).

Originally selected by the Montreal Expos in the fifth round of the 1993 draft, Vazquez has pitched for four different clubs: Montreal (1998-2003), New York Yankees (2004), Arizona Diamondbacks (2005) and Chicago (2006-08).

Logan, 24, has appeared in 144 career games (all in relief) in three seasons. The 6-foot-5 left-hander was selected in the 20th round of the 2002 draft and made his Major League debut in 2006. Logan appeared in 55 games for the Sox in 2008, going 2-3 with a 5.95 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched.

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Chicago Wolves Capture 2008 Calder Cup Championship

Jason Krog's four-point night included his second hat trick of the postseason and propelled the Chicago Wolves to the American Hockey League's 2008 Calder Cup championship with a 5-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Allstate Arena on Tuesday night.

The Wolves, top development team of the National Hockey League's Atlanta Thrashers, defeated the Penguins four games to two to win their second AHL title and first since 2002.

Krog capped a magical season by winning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs, finishing with 12 goals and a league record-tying 26 assists for 38 points in 24 playoff games. Krog, who won his first championship after reaching the Calder Cup Finals with Bridgeport in 2002 and the Stanley Cup Finals with Anaheim in 2003, was also named the AHL MVP in the regular season after leading the league in goals (39), assists (73) and points (112) in 80 games played.

2007 AHL Rookie of the Year Brett Sterling and 2007 AHL All-Rookie defenseman Nathan Oystrick also scored for the Wolves in Game 6, and Ondrej Pavelec made 25 saves to become the fourth goaltender in AHL history to win 16 games in a single postseason.

John Anderson becomes the 12th head coach to win more than one Calder Cup championship, leading Chicago to its second title in seven seasons since joining the AHL. The Wolves won the West Division with a record of 53-22-2-3 (111 points) during the regular season, then got past the Milwaukee Admirals (4-2), Rockford IceHogs (4-3) and Toronto Marlies (4-1) before defeating the Penguins in the Finals.

Chicago's victory brings the curtain down on the AHL's 72nd season. In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 84 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and this season marked the seventh consecutive year in which more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America.

Chicago Wolves Playoffs Update – June 9, 2008

Chicago Wolves – American Hockey League

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton staved off elimination for the second straight game with a 5-1 win in Game Five of Calder Cup Finals on Saturday night. Chicago still holds a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series and will have a third chance to capture their second Calder Cup Championship at home on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Each of the remaining Calder Cup Finals games can be seen live on the NHL Network.

2008 Calder Cup Finals Finals (Best-of-Seven)
Gm. Date Location Result Series
1 5/29 Chicago 5-4 (CHI) 1-0 (CHI)
2 6/1 Chicago 4-2 (CHI) 2-0 (CHI)
3 6/4 W-B/S 6-1 (CHI) 3-0 (CHI)
4 6/6 W-B/S 3-2 (W-B/S) 3-1 (CHI)
5 6/7 W-B/S 5-1 (W-B/S) 3-2 (CHI)
6 6/10 Chicago
7* 6/12 Chicago

* if necessary

Game Five – June 7 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5, Chicago 1

After a scoreless first period rookie center Bryan Little gave the Wolves a 1-0 lead midway through the second period with his eighth goal of the postseason. Chicago was unable to capitalize on the lead and surrendered five unanswered goals to the Penguins in a 5-1 defeat. Jordan LaVallee and Brett Sterling picked up the assists on Little’s goal. Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec turned away 26 of 31 shots in the loss.

Chicago Wolves Playoffs Update – June 7, 2008

Chicago Wolves – American Hockey League

The Wolves missed their first opportunity to capture the 2008 Calder Cup Championship on Friday night after suffering a 3-2 Game Four loss in Wilkes-Barre. Chicago will have another chance to close out the Penguins tonight at 7:35 p.m. Each of the remaining Calder Cup Finals games can be seen live on the NHL Network.

2008 Calder Cup Finals Finals (Best-of-Seven)
Gm. Date Location Result Series
1 5/29 Chicago 5-4 (CHI) 1-0 (CHI)
2 6/1 Chicago 4-2 (CHI) 2-0 (CHI)
3 6/4 W-B/S 6-1 (CHI) 3-0 (CHI)
4 6/6 W-B/S 3-2 (W-B/S) 3-1 (CHI)
5 6/7 W-B/S
6* 6/10 Chicago
7* 6/12 Chicago

* if necessary

Game Four – June 6 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3, Chicago 2

Chicago found itself down 1-0 after one period of play for the second straight game on Friday night. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opened up a 2-0 lead early in the middle frame, but two goals by Darren Haydar knotted the game at 2-2 heading into the third. The Penguins scored the game-winning goal at the 2:21 mark of the third period to push Chicago to a Game Five tonight. Haydar scored the only goals for the Wolves, while Jesse Schultz (two assists), Jason Krog (one assist) and Joel Kwiatkowski (one assist) all found their way onto the scoresheet. Rookie goaltender Ondrej Pavelec made 20 saves on 23 shots in the defeat.

Chicago Wolves Playoffs Update – June 5, 2008

Chicago Wolves – American Hockey League

After a decisive 6-1 Game Three victory on Wednesday night, the Wolves hold a 3-0 series lead and can wrap up the Calder Cup Championship with one more win. Game Four will be played in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, June 6 at 7:35 p.m. Each of the remaining Calder Cup Finals games can be seen live on the NHL Network.

2008 Calder Cup Finals Finals (Best-of-Seven)
Gm. Date Location Result Series
1 5/29 Chicago 5-4 (CHI) 1-0 (CHI)
2 6/1 Chicago 4-2 (CHI) 2-0 (CHI)
3 6/4 W-B/S 6-1 (CHI) 3-0 (CHI)
4 6/6 W-B/S
5* 6/7 W-B/S
6* 6/10 Chicago
7* 6/12 Chicago

* if necessary

Game Three – June 4 – Chicago 6, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1

After a sluggish first period which left Chicago down 1-0 and outshot 12-5, the Wolves rallied for a team-record five-goal second period en route to a 6-1 victory and a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Calder Cup Finals. Jesse Schultz led the Wolves with two goals, while Joel Kwiatkowski, Jordan LaVallee, Matt Anderson and Mike Hamilton each chipped in a goal apiece. Joey Crabb led the team with two assists in the win. Jason Krog and Darren Haydar each earned one assist to extend their point streaks to 12 and 11 games respectively. Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec backstopped the Wolves with 24 saves on 25 shots.

For the First Time, Women’s Pro Softball Fans Can Catch the Chicago Bandits’ Season Live and Online

BUSINESS WIRE--The Chicago Bandits will be the first women’s pro softball team to broadcast their 2008 home season online, starting with the kickoff game this Friday, June 6, 2008. Partnering with online broadcasting company Network Foundation Technologies™ (NFT), the Chicago Bandits is the first team in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league to break away from the Pay-Per-View model and offer fans FREE-For-View content – programming that is live and free of charge.

The team’s strong roster boasts Olympic Champion Jennie Finch, who won the Team USA Softball Gold in 2004 and is on her way to compete in the Beijing Olympics with the 2008 National team. Finch will not be playing the 2008 season due to her Olympics commitment, but will rejoin her team after Beijing. However, popular and fellow 2004 Gold medalist Amanda Freed will be playing this season. Freed and Finch shine as marquee players in the fast-growing popularity of women’s softball, and the Chicago Bandits’ online broadcasts will help the sport continue cultivating and reaching its vast fan base.

NFT’s unique video broadcasting solution incorporates a customizable, downloadable player that broadcasts content directly to the viewer’s computer desktop. Fans can go to www.chicagobandits.com and download the team’s official TV player to gain access to the “Bandits TV” network, which will play all home games and content for the 2008 season.

With the ability to reach large, geographically diverse audiences at a fraction of the bandwidth cost of other online broadcasting technologies, NFT’s platform is a viable solution for many content providers who want to deliver high quality, live television-style programming that is free of charge to viewers. “The Chicago Bandits are on the cutting edge of women’s sports. We pride ourselves on being the leader in setting trends for women’s pro softball. Our attendance numbers are the largest in the league, and our games have received the most televised coverage. We recognize that streaming media is the new frontier that will offer significant exposure for our team and sponsors,” said Bill Conroy, owner and general manager of the Chicago Bandits. “We are excited for the opportunity to work with Network Foundation Technologies and TheSoftballChannel.com to make this happen.”

“NFT is proud to further activate the Chicago Bandits’ brand and bring women’s pro softball to fans worldwide. The Chicago Bandits are the first NPF team to step away from Pay-Per-View and embrace our innovative technology. The sport’s fan base has steadily increased, and we are excited to be able to offer this content to fans all over the world and participate in the booming growth and recognition of women’s sports,” said Marcus Morton, President of NFT.

NFT’s distributed broadcast model avoids the pitfalls inherent in peer-to-peer file sharing systems by enabling the distribution of live content, eliminating the need to store data on each viewer’s hard drive, and limiting use of Internet connections to only those time periods when the viewer is actively tuned to a program. This patented technology builds and maintains a highly stable broadcast network by using the turnover inherent in distributed networks to drive the most reliable active connections to the most critical regions of the network, ensuring that quality of service remains high. By never requiring any computer in the network to retransmit more than two copies of the broadcast stream, the network can continue expanding while keeping bandwidth costs low and controlled.

NFT’s emerging presence in the world of sports and events is strong. The company has ongoing partnerships with top sports leagues such as arenafootball2, USA Weightlifting, USA Judo and the Central Hockey League.

Chicago Wolves Playoffs Update – May 24, 2008

Chicago Wolves – American Hockey League

The Wolves clinched a berth in the 2008 Calder Cup Finals with a 4-2 win against the Marlies on Friday night. Chicago won the best-of-seven series 4-1 to advance to their third Calder Cup Final in seven years since joining the American Hockey League in 2001. The Wolves won the Calder Cup in 2002 and also captured the International Hockey League’s Turner Cup Championship in 1998 and 2000. Chicago will square off against either the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins or the Portland Pirates, who are tied 3-3 with Game Seven scheduled for tonight. Game One of the Calder Cup Finals will be played on Thursday, May 29 in Chicago.

2008 AHL Western Conference Finals (Best-of-Seven)
Gm. Date Location Result Series
1 5/16 Chicago 4-1 (CHI) 1-0 (CHI)
2 5/18 Chicago 5-0 (CHI) 2-0 (CHI)
3 5/20 Toronto 4-1 (CHI) 3-0 (CHI)
4 5/21 Toronto 6-1 (TOR) 3-1 (CHI)
5 5/23 Chicago 4-2 (CHI) 4-1 (CHI WINS)

GameFive – May 23 – Chicago 4, Toronto 2

Darren Haydar broke a 2-2 deadlock with only 5:08 remaining in the third period and Kevin Doell added an empty-net tally as the Wolves came away with a 4-2 victory on Friday night to advance to the 2008 Calder Cup Finals. Defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski and rookie Bryan Little added one goal apiece for the Wolves, while Jason Krog paced the team with two assists. Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec turned aside 23 of 25 shots in his 12th post-season victory.