CHICAGO (AP) — Pitcher John Grabow became the first of the 171 free agents to reach agreement on a new deal, getting a $7.5 million, two-year contract Friday from the Chicago Cubs.

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian soccer fans burned Algerian flags and rioted outside the Algerian Embassy in Cairo, smashing cars and shop windows, in an escalating row between the two countries over a bitter World Cup rivalry.

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks overpowered the Calgary Flames in a rematch of their first-round playoff series.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Until Thursday night, Pau Gasol had made more appearances this fall on "CSI: Miami" than in the Los Angeles Lakers' starting lineup.

Danielle Dlabal didn’t even expect to be on varsity this season.

DeKALB – When Casey Jepsen touched the wall and looked up at the scoreboard at the St. Charles East Regional last Saturday, she was in shock.

LAKE FOREST – As a “gunner” on the Bears special teams units, most of Corey Graham’s favorite statistics never will appear in a box score.

Molly Meier made five three-pointers to lead Genoa-Kingston to a 58-47 win over Rockford East at the Harvard Turkey Tournament.

The Kishwaukee volleyball team moved two steps closer in its goal of winning the NJCAA Division II National Championship on Friday, defeating North Platte and Johnson County at the Chula Vista Resort in The Wisconsin Dells.

The Kishwaukee College volleyball team beat North Platte 25-23, 21-19, 25-16 in the first round of the NJCAA Division II tournament at the Chula Vista Resort in The Wisconsin Dells on Thursday.

PHOENIX (AP) — Reliever Aaron Heilman has been acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks from the Chicago Cubs for two minor league prospects.

CHICAGO (AP) — Some teams lost money in 2009, baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday after the final owners meeting of the year.

The 2009-10 high school basketball season is here and the Daily Chronicle covers every local angle.

Players to Watch: Jenna Thorp, senior, guard/forward. The Northern Illinois signee is one of the state's best players but doesn't always get credit for it after averaging just over 12 points per game last season.

Player to Watch: Brian Michaels, senior guard. Michaels is a four-year starter that averaged over 16 points per game last season. With last season's other four starters gone, that number could soar over 20 this season for the sharp-shooter.

Player to Watch: Montia Johnson, Sycamore, junior, forward. Johnson helped put the Spartans on the map last season with her tough inside play and over 11 points per game. This year, her game has matured while Johnson and the Spartans will be even better.

Starting 5: Harlan Johnson, Joe Strack, Luke Johnson, Josh Reed, Tom Brown

Indian Creek Boys Basketball

Indian Creek Girls Basketball

Starting 5: Mallory Carlson, Nicki Ott, Andie Strang, Emily Heimerdinger, Kelly Evers.