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A 2-1 loss to the Kings Friday night and a 3-2 loss to the Flames yesterday put the Blackhawks in second-last place.

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

With two-tenths of a second left, rookie Tyrus Thomas tipped-in Ben Gordon's missed jumper for a 109-108 win over the Denver Nuggets. For his efforts and heroics, fans at the United Center treated Thomas to a standing ovation, and unwittingly vaulted him to a higher level of disillusioned arrogance than ever before.

Kerry Wood and Mark Prior have only been useful to the Cubs in recent years. This season will be different, the team insists. The Cubs intend to get new value out of the fragile tandem by relegating them to clean-up duties in Wrigley Field's famed bleachers this season.

Early Thursday morning, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was found asleep at the wheel by Jupiter, Fla., police. The policeman smelled alcohol and ordered the skipper of the reigning World Series champs to complete a field sobriety test. Always the strategist, La Russa tried to get out of the jam by performing two pitching changes.

This time it was a 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks. The Hawks gave away tickets through Ticketmaster last night hoping to draw a crowd. They reported just over 10,000, which means there was actually about 86 people there.

There isn't much left to say about the Blackhawks that hasn't already been said. Fans are sitting through another dismal season , watching a team hyped as a playoff contender lose game after game.