And Ba says he is
Добавлено: 15 фев 2020, 05:04
CHICAGO -- Carl Edwards Jr. pulled a W flag over his shoulders and danced in the middle of the clubhouse. Ben Zobrist wiggled from side to side as ice cubes tumbled down his back to the drenched floor. David Ross closed his eyes as a bottle of beer was poured over his head.The Chicago Cubs had to wait until Friday to celebrate their NL Central title, but they quickly made up for lost time.Moments after Miguel Monteros 10th-inning homer lifted Chicago to a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee, the Cubs pulled on postseason hats and shirts and then partied all over Wrigley Field. It began with pictures and hugs all over the infield, and then transitioned to a boozy segment in their plush clubhouse before returning to the field to wave to their delirious fans and pose for more pictures with family and friends.We enjoy each other and we have fun together, Zobrist said, and thats (what) makes this kind of situation fun. Even if its just a regular win on a regular day, we still enjoy each other and we have fun for about a half-hour and then were done. But this one will last a little bit longer than that.The Cubs became the first major league team to clinch their division when St. Louis lost at San Francisco late Thursday night. They had a chance to wrap it up on the field, but Scooter Gennetts tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh lifted Milwaukee to a 5-4 win earlier in the night.Manager Joe Maddon and the players were long gone from Wrigley by the time the Giants finished off the Cardinals. But they were clearly ready to go on Friday.A DJ played thumping dance music as the players and coaches sprayed each other with beer and champagne. It was mostly quiet for a short time while owner Tom Ricketts toasted executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer and the best team in all of baseball, and then the party was on once again.Its always great to go to October, Epstein said. But to go in with a group of guys that you really believe in and that are committed and connected and understand whats at stake and want so badly to make it happen is great. I wouldnt trade our 25 for anyone elses.Epstein, Hoyer and several other members of Chicagos front office watched most of the game from the famed bleachers, and Epstein wore a comically fake mustache for the occasion.We made a deal with the guys that wed go out there the day after we won the division, a grinning Epstein said, and then in case something went really wrong in the game I thought it might be good to be disguised out there. Then I kind of didnt plan ahead, so last-minute, thats what the costume store had.Whatever. I was half-committed to it, but who cares? It was fun. We had a good time.The division had seemed like a foregone conclusion ever since Chicago got off to a 25-6 start, serving notice that all the preseason hype was justified. Led by MVP candidates Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo and a ridiculously deep pitching staff, the Cubs are on top of the majors with a 94-53 record.It is 108 years since Chicago last won the World Series in 1908, a drought the Cubs hope to end this year. But in the meantime, they werent taking the NL Central title for granted.Winning your division, thats a highlight, Maddon said. Its always a highlight. Being able to avoid a wild-card game ... you really want to avoid that if you possibly can.Chicago beat Pittsburgh in the wild-card game a year ago, and then eliminated St. Louis before it was swept by the New York Mets in the NL Championship Series. The Cubs had to wait until Sept. 25 to clinch their 2015 postseason spot, and that also was via a loss by another contender.This time around, Chicago is into the playoffs with a couple weeks to spare. It is still hoping for home-field advantage throughout the NL postseason, but clinching the division so early gives Maddon plenty of time to rest some position players and take care of his pitching staff.Now we have this opportunity to plan it out, slowly, really try to make some intelligent decisions while were still playing the same game with the same kind of intensity, Maddon said. Thats what were looking for.Most of Chicagos regulars were out of the lineup for the Friday afternoon start, and Maddon said he planned to wait until Saturday for more in-depth discussions with his coaching staff about their plans for the rest of the regular season -- clearing the way for what they hope will be the first of several parties this year.Its exciting, Ross said. Winning the division is pretty cool and you know a rare treat. I think weve seen this coming for a while now, but its nice to have that finally in the books.---Follow Jay Cohen at Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche.John Terry has been urged to make a summer switch to China by former Chelsea team-mate Demba Ba. The Blues skippers contract expires at the end of the season and the former England defender told Sky Sports News HQ last month that he was still hoping for a new deal despite no indications yet from the club.But Ba, who spent the 2013-14 season at Chelsea and signed for Shanghai Shenhua from Besiktas last summer, says he should join him in the Chinese Super League. He told The Sun newspaper: If Eden Hazard was to ring, Id tell him not to be silly and stay where he is, but if John contacts me, Id tell him, Get on the next plane over here. What are you waiting for?John is still a top player that can perform in any of Europes top leagues, so he doesnt need to come here. But, at the age of 35, he has nothing to prove to anybody anymore and if he can get one last huge contract here, it would be more than welcome to him I think.And it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience to live in a completely different culture. Demba Ba scored 14 goals for Chelsea during the 2013-14 season Senegal international Ba has scored 10 goals in 14 appearances for Shenhua, just one of a number of Super League sides making multi-million-pound efforts to sign Europes best talent.dddddddddddd.Guangzhou Evergrande have recently signed Jackson Martinez and Paulinho, and are managed by former Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari, while Hebei China Fortune have Gervinho and Ezequiel Lavezzi.And Ba says he is enjoying life in the Far East, adding: The city is an amazing place. Whenever you walk around the new city, it makes you feel like youre in Europe to be honest.There is a false perception that China is backwards but some of the neighbourhoods here look better than in France or England. Also See: Contes Chelsea will win league Costa to Atletico almost impossible Chelsea interested in Pjanic Harris: Conte a winner ' ' '