A.J. Pierzynski looked around the clubhouse and started to smile. ''One word to describe this year? Roller coaster,'' the White Sox catcher said without a pause. Getting past the "piranha"-filled waters was tough enough for the White Sox. It took getting the Minnesota Twins out of their home-tank advantage for an extra game — and playing it in ‘‘blackout’’ conditions — before the Twins finally grinded their teeth too small to bite. But this is different. This is having to deal with a shark. Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre brought their winning postseason ways to the Los Angeles Dodgers — and Wrigley Field. James Loney hit a go-ahead grand slam off a wild Ryan Dempster, Ramirez and Russell Martin homered and the new-look Dodgers beat the Cubs 7-2 in their NL playoff opener Wednesday night.

Lauren Wicinski had 13 kills and eight digs to lead Geneva to a 25-22, 19-25, 31-29 win over Glenbard South in girls volleyball action. Grace Burns added 16 digs for the Vikings.

GENEVA -- Facing a strong Glenbard South squad, unbeaten Geneva got two huge plays on special teams late in the game to turn possible defeat into a stunning last-minute 14-7 victory before an overflow crowd at Burgess Field.