behind 3-0. Perezs solo homer in the sixth ended Pinos day and the Royals took advantage of two t

CHICAGO - The microscope is out, and every move is being watched closely. A few loose pucks could make the difference between playing for the Chicago Blackhawks and a trip to the minors. The loaded Blackhawks return mostly intact after losing to eventual NHL champion Los Angeles in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on June 1. While injuries or an upcoming salary-cap move could shake up the picture a bit, it looks as if there are very few open spots in the lineup heading into the preseason. "You look at our roster, most guys are in place," coach Joel Quenneville said. "But there are still some things to be sorted out. As you go along, competition for quality ice time internally will be in place as well. We dont have our lines set in stone game in and game out. I guess well call that competition. As far as spots, well see how that plays out." After four days of testing, practice and scrimmages at Notre Dame, the competition for that precious little roster space shifted to the United Center on Monday night for the teams training camp festival. Marcus Kruger had two goals and an assist to lead the White team to a 5-1 victory over the Red squad in the featured scrimmage. Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith and forward Teuvo Teravainen were among a group of players who rested during the festivities, which attracted a sold-out crowd even with the Chicago Bears playing on Monday Night Football. "Really impressive," said centre Brad Richards, who signed with Chicago in the off-season. "For a Red and White game ... I havent been a part of something like that. So it just makes you feel better about choosing to come here." It was the Blackhawks first public appearance at their longtime home since they were eliminated by the Kings on Alec Martinezs overtime goal in Game 7. Martinezs shot went off Chicago defenceman Nick Leddy and fluttered over goaltender Corey Crawford, a nightmare for the Blackhawks that ended their bid for a repeat title and lingered into the summer for many of the players. "You dont want to say its one situation. We got beat by a good team," Quenneville said. "But I liked how we played that game. There were a lot of positives which made it tougher than saying we threw it away." Chicago plays its first exhibition game Tuesday night against Detroit, and the preseason schedule could go a long way to answering the biggest question about the team. The Blackhawks are about $2.2 million above the salary cap and will have to make a move before the regular-season opener Oct. 9 at Dallas. General manager Stan Bowman has said the preseason will give the team a chance to take a look at which position it feels can afford to lose a veteran player. It also could create demand for Chicagos players if there is an injury on another club. But right now, it looks as if the only competition when it comes to the lineup is one of the wings on the fourth line and the last couple of defencemen. Teravainen, one of the teams top prospects, also could force his way into the mix. "We say the players make the decisions for us," Quenneville said. "How theyre competing is one way to look at it. If theyre competing hard, you know they want to be here in the worst way and they want to get better in the position theyre at as well. The battle level and how bad they want it is probably the best way to measure guys in those positions." Vans Soldes Pas Cher . PAUL, Minn. Chaussures Vans Authentic Soldes . -- Jonas Hiller is cautiously confident he has kicked his vertigo. http://www.paschervans.fr/ . This weeks topics include his take on the Kevin Pillar incident, All-Star snubs, the firing of Padres general manager Josh Byrnes and more. Vente Chaussure Vans Pas Cher . While plenty of statistics illustrate Torontos turnaround in the second year of manager Ryan Nelsens tenure, stopping goals is not one of them. Vans Pas Cher Destockage . The German has taken the pole for three straight races -- winning the first two. Hes aiming for a third consecutive win at the Yeongam circuit and, most importantly, a fourth consecutive F1 championship.MINNEAPOLIS -- Sitting in his office about 10 feet away from the Kansas City Royals locker room, manager Ned Yosts voice was nearly drown out by the thunderous hip hop music blaring and the full-throated cackling from his players in the next room. The young Royals have good reason to celebrate these days. Alcides Escobar tied a career high with four RBIs on two doubles and Salvador Perez homered to lift the Royals to a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night. "Thats what we need," Perez said. "Have some fun and play the game hard." Danny Duffy (5-7) gave up one run and four hits while striking out three in 5 2-3 innings and Mike Moustakas had two hits for the Royals. Kansas City (43-39) has won three of four and is off to its best start since 2003. "Were very confident in what we have in the tank," Duffy said. "Weve got a great offence, great lineup. The defence is always flashing the leather. When we go out there and make pitches, its going to be a good night." Yohan Pino (0-2) gave up four runs and seven hits while also striking out three in 5 2-3 innings for the Twins. Eduardo Nunez had two hits and an RBI in his return from the disabled list for Minnesota, which has lost six of its last seven games to drop into last place in the AL Central. "Weve been facing some pretty decent pitching, and I dont know if its pressing," said manager Ron Gardenhire, whose Twins went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. "I just know were just not getting enough big hits right now. Were not putting any runs on the board. A lot of pressure on our pitchers to be really good." The Royals entered the night 3 1/2 games behind Detroit in the division and 1 1/2 games out of the AL wild card. For a team that has been endlessly rebuilding and hasnt made the playoffs since 1985, those are encouraging numbers as the sseason reaches its midpoint.dddddddddddd They grabbed everyones attention with a 10-game winning streak that vaulted them into first place in June, but had lost seven of 10 games as the bats cooled off. The Royals signed 42-year-old Raul Ibanez on Monday, hoping he can help boost the teams scuffling offence and give a little extra support to a solid starting rotation. Ibanez broke into the big leagues with the Royals a decade ago, but hit just .157 in 57 games for the Angels this season. They had plenty of offence with him on the bench on Monday night. Pino was shaky early, getting tagged for a two-run double by Escobar in the second inning and an RBI-single from Alex Gordon in the fourth to fall behind 3-0. Perezs solo homer in the sixth ended Pinos day and the Royals took advantage of two throwing errors by second baseman Brian Dozier in the eighth, padding their lead with Escobars second two-run double of the game. "When youre not going good, youre not capitalizing on mistakes," Yost said. "When youre playing well, you do capitalize on mistakes. Thats exactly what we did tonight, which was big. Those were two big runs right there. Thats a lot of breathing room." NOTES: Twins GM Terry Ryan said prized prospect Byron Buxton is getting close to returning from a wrist injury that has kept him out for most of the season. Ryan said there still is no timetable for a return, but hed be surprised if Buxton wasnt back on the field sometime in July. ... Twins RF Chris Parmelee extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a double in the fifth inning. ... Moustakas made two stellar plays at 3B, a lunging catch on a liner by Kendrys Morales in the second and a scoop and force out at 3B to end a threat in the seventh. ... Twins RHP Ricky Nolasco (4-6, 5.74) will start the second game of the series against RHP James Shields (8-3, 3.79). ' ' '