To shape their future, the Chicago Bulls could turn to the past.

Doug Collins, who guided the Bulls and a young Michael Jordan from 1986-89 but couldn’t get them past Detroit in the playoffs, has talked with the team about returning as coach.

“I have spoken with Bulls management recently about their head coaching vacancy and will resume conversations after the conclusion of my work for TNT in the Western Conference finals,” Collins said in a statement Thursday from Los Angeles, where he was working Game 5 of the Spurs-Lakers series. “There is no agreement in place.”

During a pre-game interview on TNT, Collins said he talked with both Bulls general manager John Paxson and team owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

“I have not been offered. I have not accepted,” Collins said.

“Jerry Reinsdorf has been a friend of mine the last 20 years so he and I have spoken on a lot of occasions over the last 20 years. … the whole thing is there’s interest on both sides.”

Collins added that as soon as the Western Conference finals were over: “We’ve agreed to sit down and talk to see exactly what is there.”

Known for his emotional style, Collins also coached the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards—when Jordan was head of basketball operations there and made a comeback as a player.

Chicago has had a vacancy since interim coach Jim Boylan was fired after the end of a disappointing 33-49 season. Boylan had replaced Scott Skiles, who was fired last Christmas Eve after the Bulls’ surprisingly sluggish start following three straight playoff appearances.

The Bulls have a nucleus of young talent and also won the recent draft lottery, giving them the overall No. 1 pick next month when they are expected to choose between Kansas State’s Michael Beasley or Memphis’ Derrick Rose.

But they are coming off a season fraught with problems that included players missing practices and having angry exchanges with coaches. Joakim Noah, last year’s first-round pick, was recently arrested in Gainesville, Fla., for having an open container of alcohol and was also charged with marijuana possession.

Collins, who appeared content to stay in TV, where is considered one of the best analysts, could be ready to tackle an NBA head coaching job for the fourth time. He’s been fired three times. Web sites at both the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune said Collins would fill Chicago’s vacancy.

Collins said he decided to explore the job after getting the go-ahead and encouragement from his son Chris, who is an assistant coach at Duke.

“Chris has always been the reluctant one. He basically really gave me the real freedom to explore opportunities that maybe I hadn’t done over the last five years,” Collins said.

Paxson released a statement that was posted on the team’s Web site.

“I have been in contact with Doug Collins in regard to our head coaching position. Contrary to some reports that are currently out there, we have not reached an agreement,” said Paxson, who played under Collins during his first stint in Chicago.

“Right now, his commitment is covering the Western Conference finals for TNT. When that series concludes, we will continue our dialogue. In the meantime, I will continue to talk to other candidates and review our options,” Paxson added.

The Bulls had been interested in former Suns coach Mike D’Antoni, but he took the Knicks job before Chicago could make an offer.

Collins had a 137-109 record during his first stint with the Bulls, going 40-42 in his first season when they were swept in the first round by Boston.

Chicago was 50-32 the next year but was beaten by the Pistons in five games in the conference semifinals. The Bulls were 47-35 the next season and again were eliminated by Detroit, this time in six games in the conference finals.

Collins was fired and replaced by Phil Jackson, whose first team also lost to Detroit in the conference finals, 4-3. The following season the Bulls swept the Pistons and went on to the first of six championships in the 90s with Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

Collins worked 2 1/2 seasons with the Pistons starting in 1995, going 46-36, 54-28 and 21-24. He was let go amid reports his style caused friction with some players.

He was 37-45 in both seasons in Washington but couldn’t get the Wizards into the playoffs. He was fired shortly after Jordan was denied a return to the front office.

Collins’ overall record is 332-287 and 15-23 in the postseason.

Criticized for his defense earlier in the week after he misplayed a fly ball that cost the Chicago Cubs a win, Alfonso Soriano responded Wednesday night with a hit that sent his team to victory.

“He has that ability just to stay up and keep on trucking, performing,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said after Soriano’s 10th-inning single gave Chicago a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and completed a three-game sweep.

“I was happy for him. A big clutch hit and it got us the win.”

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs tied it against Dodgers closer Takashi Saito on Geovany Soto’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly.

In the 10th, pinch-hitter Mike Fontenot doubled with one out off Chan Ho Park (1-1) and scored on Soriano’s single to left. Bob Howry (1-2) pitched the top of the inning for the win.

Soriano lost a fly ball in the sun with two outs in the ninth inning Sunday at Pittsburgh, allowing the Pirates to tie a game they would eventually win.

Maybe that’s why his teammates seemed extra enthusiastic when they came racing out of the dugout Wednesday night to mob him.

“It is great. They know that I am working very hard every day to be better and better,” Soriano said. “I love what I do and I believe in myself all the time.”

Dodgers starter Derek Lowe, winless since April 23, was on his way to a victory after pitching seven shutout innings with two walks and five strikeouts. Jonathan Broxton struck out the side in the eighth.

But Saito, who blew his third save in 11 chances, walked Ryan Theriot and Aramis Ramirez in the ninth before Kosuke Fukudome reached on an infield single to load the bases when Dodgers first baseman James Loney made a nice diving stop on his high hopper. Fukudome was ruled safe at first after Saito raced over to cover the bag and take the flip from Loney.

“I just missed the base,” Saito said through a translator.

“He never got to the base. I couldn’t see that from the dugout. I thought the ball beat him and that’s what my contention was, but he never got to the base,” said Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who went to first to question the call.

Soto then hit the sacrifice fly to tie the game and pinch-runner Ronny Cedeno advanced to third before Saito retired Mark DeRosa on a fly ball to end the inning.

Lowe knew what Saito was feeling after letting the win slip away.

“I really think that if anybody can understand about losing and frustrations, it’s me and that’s what makes it easier,” said Lowe, a former closer. “You root for him and games like that are going to happen. I’ve blown a lot of games in my career, so I understand the feeling.”

The Dodgers, who scored one run in each of the three games at Wrigley Field, used a bout of two-out wildness by Carlos Zambrano in the fourth inning to score on a bases-loaded walk.

Zambrano allowed six hits, walked four and had a costly hit batter during his season-high 130-pitch outing over eight innings and left trailing 1-0.

“I felt good, felt strong to finish the eighth inning,” Zambrano said.

Zambrano gave up two-out singles to Russell Martin and Loney in the fourth before hitting Matt Kemp in the back to load the bases. On a 3-2 pitch, he walked Blake DeWitt to force in the run.

“I don’t know what happened. I lost my command and it’s weird,” Zambrano said.

Andre Ethier and Martin singled with two outs in the eighth and when Theriot made an error on Loney’s grounder to shortstop, the Dodgers had the bases loaded again.

Piniella visited the mound but left Zambrano in before he struck out Kemp with his final pitch of the night.

“It was a cool night and we’ve been watching his pitch counts very carefully all year,” Piniella said. “So next time he’s out there, we’ll shorten him up if we need to.’

Zambrano, who was 4-for-5 at the plate against Pittsburgh in his previous

A few more starts like this and those minor league T-shirts Sean Gallagher distributed to his teammates will become relics.

Gallagher had his best start, and Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukudome capped a three-run seventh with run-scoring hits to lead the Chicago Cubs to their second straight 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on a bone-chilling, windy Tuesday night.

“Definitely with the wind blowing, you go out there with a little less fear,” Gallagher said after allowing one run and four hits in a career-high seven innings while striking out three and walking two.

The rookie (2-1) started the season in the minors after making eight relief appearances for the Cubs last season. If he keeps pitching like this, he’ll remain in the rotation.

“He’s still got a couple things to work on, but he’s telling us that he wants to stay in the rotation,” manager Lou Piniella said.

The Dodgers got an RBI single from Blake DeWitt in the fourth, but the third baseman’s error in the seventh allowed the tying run to score and helped turn what looked like a win for Hiroki Kuroda (2-4) into a loss.

The right-hander, who won his previous start, was charged with two runs (one earned) and seven hits while striking out three and walking three. He left with a 1-0 lead after Alfonso Soriano, his teammate with the Hiroshima Carp in 1997, lined a single to left with one out in the seventh, putting runners on first and third.

Jonathan Broxton came in, and DeWitt booted Mike Fontenot’s slow roller, allowing Ryan Theriot to score the tying run from third.

“I should have made the play but didn’t,” DeWitt said. “I had no chance at him at home. You need to get the guy out at first base there.”

After Derrek Lee flied to right, Ramirez drove in Soriano with a single to center and Fukodome followed with a double down the left-field line that drove in Fontenot.

The Dodgers loaded the bases against Carlos Marmol in the eighth but stranded the runners after coming up empty twice in similar situations during Monday’s loss to Chicago. Marmol struck out James Loney and Matt Kemp grounded into a force to end the threat, and the Dodgers stranded eight runners after leaving 12 the previous day.

Kerry Wood then pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save in 16 chances, the crowd chanting “Kerry! Kerry!” before Russell Martin grounded out to end the game.

The game featured two of the biggest names to move from Japan in the offseason—Kuroda and Fukudome—and both came up big.

Kuroda dismissed the matchup with Fukudome, saying through an interpreter, “It was any other hitter. This is a team game and I can’t be facing individuals.”

With the game-time temperature at 42—a 33-degree drop from Monday—Kuroda froze a team that was second in the majors with a .283 average entering the game for six innings. The exception was Fukudome.

A .330 hitter with four homers against Kuroda in Japan, Fukudome had a single and walk in three trips to the plate against his countryman before doubling against Broxton. He also raced in for a diving catch on Andre Ethier’s liner to right in the sixth.

“I’m just throwing the ball over the plate, trying to throw strikes, and to have my defense like that making plays … it makes it easier,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher made it look easy for much of the night.

He distributed a box of T-shirts with his name that the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate shipped but, otherwise, bore little resemblance to a minor leaguer. There was a scare in the first, when he deflected Ethier’s infield single with his bare hand, but Gallagher shook that off. Then, he shooed away the Dodgers.

Alexei Ramirez ignored Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen’s bunt sign and it helped the White Sox win the game.

Ramirez swung away for a key single, setting up Orlando Cabrera’s fourth hit that drove in the go-ahead run in the 12th inning and the White Sox beat Cleveland 6-3 on Monday night, handing the Indians their ninth loss in 10 games.

“He went from two seconds from being in (Triple-A) Charlotte to being a hero,” Guillen said of Ramirez. “He did that on his own. I was surprised but (bench coach) Joey Cora told me he’s been working on that in batting practice.”

Boone Logan (2-1) pitched a perfect 1 1-3 innings for the win and Bobby Jenks got the final three outs for his 13th save in 15 chances.

Jenks allowed two singles, then got Jhonny Peralta to hit into a double play and struck out Franklin Gutierrez to become the second-fastest reliever to notch 100 career saves, doing so in 187 games. Kazuhiro Sasaki did it in 160 for Seattle in 2000-02.

“It’s an honor to get there,” said Jenks, who then joked: “I think I only have 500 more to catch (Trevor) Hoffman

San Diego’s Hoffman is the all-time leader with 533 saves.

The White Sox won for the 10th time in 12 games and moved 5 1-2 games ahead of the third-place Indians in the AL Central.

Nick Swisher opened the 12th with a single off right-hander Scott Elarton (0-1). Pinch-runner DeWayne Wise went to third on Ramirez’s single through the right side and scored on another single to right by Cabrera, who was then caught in a rundown trying for second.

After A.J. Pierzynski was intentionally walked, Ramirez scored on a groundout by Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye got another intentional walk. Brian Anderson then slapped an RBI double just inside the first-base line to make it 6-3.

Elarton, called up from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, was making his first relief appearance in the majors since Sept. 6, 2003, with Colorado. He had started 154 times in 155 outings since 1999.

“It’s not the way I had it written up,” Elarton said. “I just didn’t make pitches—though I was thinking dead bunt with that second hitter and threw it up and away, never thinking for a moment he’d be slashing there.”

David Dellucci and Jhonny Peralta hit solo homers in the first and fifth innings for Cleveland, but the Indians’ offense continued to struggle. Cleveland came in last in the AL with a .232 average, and stranded 13 baserunners while going 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. The Indians are 2-for-25 with RISP in their last two games—both extra-inning losses.

“Things are not going our way right now,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “That’s why we play six months and we’ve got four-plus to go.

“We’ll come out of this stronger. We have to be competitive in this division.”

The White Sox, next-to-last in hitting with a .243 mark entering the game, weren’t much better until their winning rally.

They opened the game with three straight hits off Paul Byrd, but scored only once, on a groundout by Jim Thome.

Dellucci’s fifth homer in the bottom half tied it and the Indians copied Chicago’s early effort in the third when their first three batters all reached safely, but only one run scored on a single by Victor Martinez to make it 2-1.

Peralta hit his 10th homer with one out in the fifth and Thome hit his 10th — and fifth of the year against his former team—in the sixth to get Chicago within 3-2. It was Thome’s 517th career homer, three behind Oakland’s Frank Thomas for 18th all-time.

Byrd gave up 10 hits and three runs over 6 2-3 innings.

“I pitched OK, not great,” Byrd said. “There’s no use denying it by just talking positive. We’re losing. We don’t like it, especially with a chance to make up some ground against the White Sox.”

Chicago had only two hits in its previous 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position until Pierzynski singled to center off reliever Rafael Perez with two outs in the seventh to tie it at 3.

White Sox starter Javier Vazquez gave up three runs and nine hits over six innings.

You won’t find Carlos Quentin’s name on an All-Star ballot, but he’s right where he belongs in the middle of a first-place lineup.

The White Sox weren’t positive their new outfielder would even make the roster out of spring training because of a bum shoulder, yet the Arizona castoff is turning his surprise start into a starring role.

Quentin hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Chicago beat the Cleveland Indians 3-1 Thursday night for its eighth straight victory.

“That’s the reason he’s batting third,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

Quentin had two RBIs, giving him 40 this season, and Jermaine Dye added a run-scoring single in the eighth to finish off a three-game sweep of the punchless Indians, who have scored only 13 runs during their six-game losing streak.

“It’s fun today,” Guillen said. “But I take it one day at a time. You can’t get too high, you can’t get low. We’ve got a good thing going. When you have a run like this you can’t wait to get back to the ballpark.”

The Indians, 4 1/2 games behind AL Central-leading Chicago, return home after a winless road trip and in a profound hitting slump. They had just two hits: Grady Sizemore’s RBI double in the third and Ben Francisco’s bunt single in the sixth.

“You can’t give into it,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said of the team’s slugging woes. “I know the results aren’t there. I’m not happy about it. They’re not happy about it. But you’ve got to keep fighting.”

Scott Linebrink (1-0) got the win, striking out two in the eighth. Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth for his 12th save for the White Sox, who own a 3 1/2 -game lead over second-place Minnesota.

White Sox starter Mark Buehrle didn’t get a decision, but pitched one of his best games of the season, allowing one run and two hits with four walks in seven innings. Buehrle had been struggling, but has given up just two runs in his last 13 2-3 innings.

“Any starting pitcher wants to win,” Buehrle said. “But I’ve always said I can go 0-0 and if they win all my starts we’ll be in the right place at the end of the year.”

Jermaine Dye watched A.J Pierzynski go hard into second base to help break up a double play. Dye then delivered big shot of his own.

Dye hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning, and added solo shot in the seventh, and the Chicago White Sox won their seventh straight game with a 7-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night.

Michael Aubrey hit a solo home run in the second inning for the Indians, who have lost a season-high five straight games.

With a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning, Indians starter Paul Byrd (2-4) allowed a leadoff single to Orlando Cabrera and walked Pierzynski.

Carlos Quentin followed with a sharp grounder to third baseman Casey Blake. Blake started what could have been a 5-4-3 double play, but Pierzynski slid hard at second, putting pressure on second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera.

Cabrera got off an accurate throw, but first base umpire Paul Schrieber called Quentin safe. After Indians manager Eric Wedge argued the call, Dye hit a 2-1 pitch into the left field seats, putting the White Sox ahead.

“You can’t teach hustle. No matter if you’re hitting good or you’re struggling you can still go out and hustle. Certain plays are the key in the ballgame,” said Dye. “It definitely was a big play. Anytime you break up a double play with the middle of the lineup coming up, you never know what can happen.”

Byrd saw the play differently.

“Instead of letting Jermaine Dye hit a sacrifice fly or making my pitch, I tried to strike him out,” said Byrd. “The play definitely changed the game but I can’t cry about it or blame anybody else. The umpire made a mistake but I have to adapt and overcome that and make the pitch.”

Javier Vazquez (5-3) overpowered a struggling Indians lineup with seven strikeouts in seven innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and ended his outing by striking out Jhonny Peralta.

“He seemed to get better as the game was going on. He didn’t have a real good breaking ball tonight, but he battled through it,” Pierzynski said.

 Suddenly, a coaching search isn’t the only big decision facing the Chicago Bulls.

Now they have to figure out what to do with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

The Bulls were the surprise winners of the draft lottery Tuesday night, giving them the right to choose between Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose.

Hiring a new coach and deciding what to do in free agency already figured to take up plenty of general manager John Paxson’s time. He never figured one of college basketball’s stud freshmen could land in his lap.

“I try to stay realistic through all these things for the odds,” Paxson said on a conference call. “Tonight for some reason that ball popped up for us and we were there. Now it’s my job to make the most of it.”

Coming off a miserable season and still without a coach, the Bulls vaulted from the No. 9 spot, where they had a 1.7 percent chance of landing the top choice

“After this season, we needed a break and I think we just got one tonight,” said Steve Schanwald, the Bulls’ executive vice president of business operations who represented them on the podium.

Chicago will almost certainly choose between Beasley, the Kansas State forward who averaged 26.2 points and an NCAA-best 12.4 rebounds, or Rose, the point guard who carried Memphis within minutes of the national title.

“We’ll have an opportunity to get close to those guys. We’ll really take a long look at what makes the most sense for our basketball team,” Paxson said. “Having the pick puts you in a unique position to make your team better.”

The Miami Heat, who had a 25 percent chance of landing the top pick thanks to their NBA-worst 15-67 record, fell to second. The Minnesota Timberwolves will go third.

The Seattle SuperSonics, who moved up to No. 2 last year to pick Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, fell from second to fourth. Memphis will pick fifth, followed by New York, the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee, Charlotte and New Jersey.

Indiana has the 11th pick, followed by Sacramento, Portland and Golden State. The lottery settled the top three spots. The remainder of the first 14 picks are determined inverse order of their record.

The NBA draft will be held June 26 in New York.

Chicago came into the season with high expectations after reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. But the Bulls never recovered from a dismal start and finished 33-49. They fired coach Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve and have already decided not to retain interim coach Jim Boylan.

The Bulls failed to land the coach they wanted, Mike D’Antoni, but the position became much more appealing Tuesday, giving them a chance to draft first for only the second time. The Bulls, who took Elton Brand No. 1 in 1999, could turn this time to hometown star Rose, who D’Antoni said was like Jason Kidd with a jump shot.

“Everybody was picking us to go to the conference finals last year, actually to the NBA finals because we won 49 games the year before and pushed the Detroit Pistons to six games in the second round last year and we have a very exciting good corps of young players, and we added Joakim Noah to that mix,” Schanwald said. “Now we will get a chance to add another great player, a really great player. So it is very exciting for us.”

Schanwald gave a fist pump early on when he realized he would move up, then took a deep breath and pumped both fists after beating out the Heat, represented by All-Star guard Dwyane Wade.

Only twice have teams with the worst record won the lottery since the current format began in 1994. Though the lottery is weighted to give teams with the poorest records the best chance to win, the longshots keep finding a way.

Last year, Portland and Seattle moved up to grab the top spots, taking Greg Oden and Durant. Again, two star freshmen are the top prizes.

“Obviously the lottery as a precursor to the draft is a time of great hope,” commissioner David Stern said.

The Bulls already had a busy offseason planned. Besides hiring a coach, they have to make contract offers to restricted free agents Luol Deng and Ben Gordon.

Now they’ve got another decision: Beasley or Rose?

“As I sit here tonight, what I think is again you’ve got two players who are different and unique,” Paxson said. “One is point guard. The point guard is a natural leadership position on a team. It’s something every team covets. And the other … just has the unique ability to put the ball in the basket, just will be a go-to scorer.

“I’m certainly not going to throw myself into this thing and do something quickly.”

Nor will the Heat. President Pat Riley likes both players, but implied the pick could even be traded.

“Based on their performance and what they did in one season, both of them showed that they can help their team win,” Riley said. “Both showed enough physical maturity to be dominant at times as a 19-year-old. All of the intangibles when it comes to competitive desire and when it comes to leadership and character and all of those things, we still have a lot of work to do in terms of a lot of players in the draft.”

The Bulls’ surprising victory should quickly restore interest in the underachieving team. Interviewed immediately following the result, Schanwald read the number for callers to buy season tickets.

“I thought it was a waste of time. I thought coming here was an absolute waste of time. I knew I would get a great meal out of it, but I thought it was a waste of time,” Schanwald said of the Bulls’ chances.

“I’m on top of the world. I feel great. It’s the most exciting day of my life,” he added

Geovany Soto didn’t get the automatic home run he deserved. Cubs manager Lou Piniella thinks he probably likes it that way.

Soto was credited with an inside-the-park three-run homer in the fourth inning despite replays showing that it should have been an automatic home run in Chicago’s 7-2 win over Houston on Monday night.

The ball bounced just to the right of the yellow line on the wall in left-center field.

“It was a home run, but I think he’d probably rather have the inside-the-park home run anyway,” Piniella said.

Astros center fielder Michael Bourn scooped it up and threw it home, but Soto scored easily before the throw got there.

“Never in my whole life had I had an inside-the-park home run,” Soto said. “I didn’t think it was out. It’s so big that left-center area I didn’t think I hit it over it. I thought double, maybe triple if they misplayed it.”

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ chances for another rare win over the Chicago Cubs got away from them. Walked, actually.

Phil Dumatrait walked seven batters and Reed Johnson hit a sacrifice fly that put the Cubs ahead for good in their 4-3 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday.

“I was terrible. I wasn’t pounding the strike zone and walked entirely too many guys. If I just throw like I can, I feel like we had a good chance to win today. I just didn’t get the job done,” Dumatrait said. “Today, that was all on me.”

The Cubs have taken eight of the nine meetings with the Pirates this season.

Alfonso Soriano also drove in a run on a fly and Kosuke Fukudome and Ronny Cedeno had RBI singles to help the Cubs beat the Pirates for the eighth time in nine meetings this season.

Adam LaRoche hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs for the Pirates.

“I was terrible. I wasn’t pounding the strike zone and walked entirely too many guys. If I just throw like I can, I feel like we had a good chance to win today. I just didn’t get the job done,” said Dumatrait. “Today, that was all on me.”

Nick Swisher clearly is still popular in these parts—and he appreciates it.

He can also appreciate what he accomplished Sunday: success as a pinch-hitter.

The former fan favorite across the bay in Oakland spoiled the San Francisco Giants’ day with a tiebreaking three-run double in the eighth, helping the Chicago White Sox to a 13-8 victory Sunday and their fifth straight win.

He’s not used to such a role and hadn’t come through in seven previous chances. His hit was one of many clutch at-bats by the White Sox.

“It’s huge,” said Swisher, traded from the Athletics in the offseason. “All I’ve heard so far is how bad the White Sox play on the West Coast. I think we kind of turned that around here. … How many pinch-hit chances have I ever had? Not very many. I just happened to float one in there.”

Orlando Cabrera homered twice and drove in three runs, Carlos Quentin hit a go-ahead, two-run shot in the sixth and Joe Crede also connected in Chicago’s eighth win in 11 games, wrapping up an impressive 7-3 road trip.