cheap jordans-Series preview: Twins at White Sox

All games on WSCR-AM 670.

Season series: Sox lead 4-2.

Monday: 7:10 p.m., CSN-Plus, CLTV.

LH Francisco Liriano (3-9, 4.81) vs. Gavin Floyd (7-8, 4.54).

Tuesday: 7:10 p.m., WCIU-Ch. 26.

RH Cole De Vries (2-2, 3.95) vs. LH Jose Quintana (4-1. 2.30).

Wednesday: 1:05 p.m., CSN.

RH Nick Blackburn (4-5, 7.46) vs. RH Jake Peavy (7-7, 3.22).

Who's hot: Twins catcher/first baseman Ryan Doumit is batting .354 in his last 26 games. Liriano has allowed six runs in his last six starts. Sox right fielder Alex Rios is batting .382 in his last 23 games. First baseman Paul Konerko is batting .348 in his last seven games.

Who's not: First baseman Justin Morneau was 2-for-16 before going on paternity leave. Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn is 1-for-12. Gordon Beckham is 3-for-25.

e to pl� � g i ��K zK Hossa said. "And then you look at the future. Guys with lots of concussions, their quality of life is not the same after and you don't want to end up like that. Those thoughts come to your mind."

During that time, Hossa received text messages from teammates and opponents, including Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who has a history of concussions that kept him away from the game for much of last season and put his career in peril.

"He texted me and we chatted for a little bit," Hossa said. "He went through that whole year so he knows what he was talking about. He said 'just take your time, don't rush anything. That's the best way.' "

It was around then Hossa saw the video of the hit for the first time. Hawks assistant trainer Jeff Thomas , who stayed with him a few days before heading back on the road with the team, played it on the computer.

"When you see it in really quick motion it looks like a regular hit," Hossa said. "But then they slow it down and go from different angles it was like, jump, elbow was high, hit in the chin and basically from the blindside, so I had no chance to react to it."

Then came a text from the man himself, Torres. He was asking if Hossa would speak to him by phone, and a few days later the two connected and Torres apologized.

Did Hossa accept the apology from a man who is a repeat offender of illegal hits?

"At least he called," Hossa said after a long pause. "Some guys probably wouldn't call. So that was good. I told him I wasn't happy the way the hit went and I said, 'if you hit me without the jumping you would hit me clean and I would probably be out for maybe the rest of the game but I would be back next game.' I told him, 'you can't jump because you're hurting people.' He said, 'I have lots of time to think about it now.' Hopefully, he'll learn from that."

After spending much of the next two weeks by himself, which Hossa said wasn't such a bad thing "because I had the time to just shut it down," he flew home to Slovakia and was greeted by his wife and infant daughter, Mia.

"It was a great moment," Hossa said. "After two weeks of just laying there it was the best thing to see them."

Slowly, Hossa was able to increase activity and recently has been playing tennis and golf and ramping up his offseason workout routine. He also took the time last month to get a tattoo on his right arm with his daughter's name and the date of her birth.

"I'm biking, adding speed, more weight and I don't have headaches, so the progress is good," Hossa said. "I'm looking forward to jumping on the ice and hopefully everything is going to be good."

After spending the weekend in Chicago for the Hawks Convention, Hossa will meet with doctors Monday to determine where he is in the recovery process and then will return to Slovakia to continue training, with the next big step taking the ice and eventually taking contact.

"Without the contact I feel fine," Hossa said. "The next thing is going to be on the ice. I want to see how it is when the contact starts. A little push or shot from behind could be different than just biking."

If everything goes according to plan, Hossa will return for training camp in September, and he hopes to be 100 percent healthy when the regular season begins.

"I believe I'll be fine," he said.

And what will happen the first time Hossa finds himself on the ice with Torres?

"We'll see," Hossa said. "I'm not the type of guy to try to fight. I'm just going to play my game and I'm sure somebody else will step up."

air jordans-Hossa opens up about dark days following concussion

The darkest times for Marian Hossa were literally spent in the dark.

For three days the Blackhawks veteran did nothing but lay in bed in a sleepy daze, day turning to night and back into day. At one point, he mistakenly told doctors his wife, Jana, was there with him in his Chicago home instead of where she really was: in Slovakia, eagerly waiting for an opportunity to speak to her husband on the phone.

"They were long days," Hossa told the Tribune on Sunday as he recalled the aftermath of his concussion suffered when he was hit illegally by the Coyotes' Raffi Torres during Game 3 of the Western Conference quarterfinals April 17. "I was so tired. I'd wake up and fall asleep again. All of a sudden I'd realize it was nighttime and I wasn't hungry because I'd feel sick.

"I'd try to open the window and the light hits you and you realize it's not good. The first three days were the worst days, but slowly it would become a little bit better and better."

It was then Hossa, 33, began thinking of the future. Not just about returning to the ice, but also the long-term effects of the severe concussion brought upon by the hit that ended his season and resulted in a 21-game suspension for Torres.

"First, you think about your health and if you'll be able to play again," Hossa said. "And then you look at the future. Guys with lots of concussions, their quality of life is not the same after and you don't want to end up like that. Those thoughts come to your mind."

During that time, Hossa received text messages from teammates and opponents, including Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who has a history of concussions that kept him away from the game for much of last season and put his career in peril.

"He texted me and we chatted for a little bit," Hossa said. "He went through that whole year so he knows what he was talking about. He said 'just take your time, don't rush anything. That's the best way.' "

It was around then Hossa saw the video of the hit for the first time. Hawks assistant trainer Jeff Thomas , who stayed with him a few days before heading back on the road with the team, played it on the computer.

"When you see it in really quick motion it looks like a regular hit," Hossa said. "But then they slow it down and go from different angles it was like, jump, elbow was high, hit in the chin and basically from the blindside, so I had no chance to react to it."

Then came a text from the man himself, Torres. He was asking if Hossa would speak to him by phone, and a few days later the two connected and Torres apologized.

Did Hossa accept the apology from a man who is a repeat offender of illegal hits?

"At least he called," Hossa said after a long pause. "Some guys probably wouldn't call. So that was good. I told him I wasn't happy the way the hit went and I said, 'if you hit me without the jumping you would hit me clean and I would probably be out for maybe the rest of the game but I would be back next game.' I told him, 'you can't jump because you're hurting people.' He said, 'I have lots of time to think about it now.' Hopefully, he'll learn from that."

After spending much of the next two weeks by himself, which Hossa said wasn't such a bad thing "because I had the time to just shut it down," he flew home to Slovakia and was greeted by his wife and infant daughter, Mia.

"It was a great moment," Hossa said. "After two weeks of just laying there it was the best thing to see them."

Slowly, Hossa was able to increase activity and recently has been playing tennis and golf and ramping up his offseason workout routine. He also took the time last month to get a tattoo on his right arm with his daughter's name and the date of her birth.

"I'm biking, adding speed, more weight and I don't have headaches, so the progress is good," Hossa said. "I'm looking forward to jumping on the ice and hopefully everything is going to be good."

After spending the weekend in Chicago for the Hawks Convention, Hossa will meet with doctors Monday to determine where he is in the recovery process and then will return to Slovakia to continue training, with the next big step taking the ice and eventually taking contact.

"Without the contact I feel fine," Hossa said. "The next thing is going to be on the ice. I want to see how it is when the contact starts. A little push or shot from behind could be different than just biking."

If everything goes according to plan, Hossa will return for training camp in September, and he hopes to be 100 percent healthy when the regular season begins.

"I believe I'll be fine," he said.

And what will happen the first time Hossa finds himself on the ice with Torres?

"We'll see," Hossa said. "I'm not the type of guy to try to fight. I'm just going to play my game and I'm sure somebody else will step up."

cheap air jordans-Wiggins becomes Britain's 1st Tour de France winner

PARIS -- Bradley Wiggins was greeted by thousands of Union Jack-waving fans on the Champs Elysees when he claimed the 99th edition of the Tour de France to become the first British winner of the famous race on Sunday.

Wiggins finished safe in the bunch on the 20th and last stage, a 120-km ride from Rambouillet, as he helped his Sky team mate and fellow Briton Mark Cavendish to victory.

"What a finish, that was something, Mark won the stage after we led him out in the finale. Wonderful, wonderful," Wiggins told reporters.

"Mark remains unbeaten on the Champs Elysees, that was the plan this morning.

Asked about making history, Wiggins added: "I've got to start getting used to that now which is strange. It's mission complete."

Next year, pure climbers Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck are expected to return to the race after a doping suspension and injury respectively.

A potentially hillier route next July could also threaten Wiggins' domination, as could Team Sky rival Chris Froome who finished second this year.

Cavendish, who has now surpassed Andre Darrigade and Lance Armstrong with his 23 Tour stage wins, has won all four sprints he has contested on the landmark avenue.

He is also the first reigning world champion to win on the way up to the Arc de Triomphe.

Belgian Eddy Merckx holds the record with 34 stage wins on the Tour.

"It's incredible," Cavendish told French TV, holding his baby girl Delilah Grace in his arms.

"For me this race is everything, it's what my whole year is built towards every year," he later told reporters, aware that the London Olympic road race takes place next Saturday.

Overall, Wiggins led compatriot Chris Froome by three minutes 21 seconds and Italian Vincenzo Nibali by 6:19.

"Have a safe journey and don't get too drunk," Wiggins told the thousands of fans as he topped the podium.

Australian Cadel Evans, who started the three-week race as the defending champion, finished seventh overall and was beaten by his BMC team mate Tejay van Garderen, with the American taking fifth place and the white jersey for the best Under-25 rider.

France's Thomas Voeckler claimed the polka dot jersey for the best climber and Slovakian Peter Sagan snatched the green jersey for the points classification. Cavendish was best sprinter last year.

RadioShack-Nissan won the team classification and Dane Chris Anker Sorensen was voted the most aggressive rider.

Wiggins, the first rider to win an Olympic track gold medal and the Tour, snatched the yellow jersey in the seventh stage at the end of the brutal climb to La Planche des Belles Filles.

The Athens and Beijing Olympic pursuit champion consolidated his overall lead with an awe-inspiring performance in the individual time trial on stage nine before Team Sky rode defensively in the mountains.