first Premiership start since he broke his arm on the opening day of the season.Captain Josh Beaumont went to lock and Cameron Neild replaced

CHICAGO -- Kaitlin Reap didnt listen when her dad tried to warn her about the lifetime of misery waiting for her if she cheered for the Chicago Cubs. She rejected his invitation to share with him the joys of being a St. Louis Cardinals fan. And all his talk about curses simply guaranteed him a daughter who wants nothing to do with goats.I want to be a Cubs fan, said Kaitlin, a 9-year-old third grader at Saint Andrew School, less than a mile from Wrigley Field. I think theyre going to win.Cubs fans everywhere are hoping for a World Series champion for the first time since 1908, and they have a loaded team this time, one that piled up the most wins in the majors this season. But there is also fear -- the kind of fear that is handed down from generation to generation in Chicago, the kind that comes from heartbreak after heartbreak, the kind that is fed by billy goat curses (1945), black cats (1969) and infamous plays (looking at you, Steve Bartman ).Cubs fans know this feeling as well as they know their way to the friendly confines. Theyve grown up with it.Except, that is, for the fans who havent finished growing up.For Kaitlin and her schoolmates, there is optimism that the Cubs will win it all this year and, if not, they will certainly end the long championship drought by the time they leave Saint Andrew. At nearby Hawthorne Scholastic Academy, the only fear is that the principal wont let them out of class to watch the parade they know is coming.The way these kids see it, all those older fans are being a little silly.People are a little paranoid (because) it hasnt happened, but it might be a coincidence that they havent won in a while, said Max Oldham, an 11-year-old sixth grader at Saint Andrew.All that talk about paranoia, not to mention referring to 108 years as a while, might have something to do with parents who have protected their children from what they know and what they have witnessed for themselves.We have not told him about Bartman, said Cy Oldham, who saw what unfolded from the left field bleachers after she and her husband decided to postpone their honeymoon so they could attend the playoffs. We try not to dwell on that time (and) it is not something we want to sit down and say, so, `Let me tell you how bad things used to be.Addison Casavechia could not help knowing about those times, not with a first name that her parents chose because they liked the way it sounded and because Wrigley Field is on Addison Street. That might explain why the 11-year-old sixth grader doesnt think the Cubs will win it all this year.I have my bets for next year because well have Kyle Schwarber back, she said of the player who suffered a season-ending knee injury early this season.Her mother, the assistant principal at Saint Andrew, doesnt want to see her daughter suffer. But Sarah Casavechia also sees rooting for the Cubs as part of growing up in Chicago.I think being a Cubs fan is like taking a leap of faith every year, its like falling in love, she said. You know theres a chance youre going to get your heart broken, but you do it anyway.Thats not to say the kids havent taken steps they hope might prevent the kind of misery that their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents experienced in seasons past.Bennett Patterson, a 12-year-old seventh grader at Hawthorne, makes sure to watch Cubs games accompanied by one of the white flags with the blue W on it, the kind the Cubs have been flying for years after a win and now wave from houses and car antennas all over the city.These being the playoffs, Patterson knows he has to take things a step further: I wear a W flag as a cape to watch the game.Danny Weber doesnt know exactly what he will wear for every game, but it will be blue and will have the Cubs logo on it. But he knows what he will be eating every night for dinner: rice and vegetables. It seems that growing up in the Weber family means enjoying rice and vegetables whenever the Cubs make the playoffs.My grandma did it, my dad has done it and now they are telling me to do it, he said.Weber sees it as a small price to pay, and dismisses any suggestion that the strategy hasnt worked in more than a century.It did work last year because last year they (the Cubs) got half way, he said.As for Kaitlin, she doesnt believe her team is cursed. Still, she had something to say after her dad told her about Billy Sianis, who put a curse on the Cubs after the team wouldnt let his goat attend the 1945 World Series.I am a little mad at that goat, she said. Wholesale Penguins Jerseys .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Pittsburgh Penguins Store . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Penguins Jerseys 2020 . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Penguins Jerseys 2019 . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Exeter Chiefs rose to fourth place in the Aviva Premiership with a highly impressive 21-3 victory over Sale at the AJ Bell Stadium.Rob Baxters side were up at the break after a penalty try and further scores from winger James Short and scrum-half Will Chudley put them in control.It was no less than Exeter deserved for a dominant first-half display in which Sale barely ventured into their visitors 22.However, the Chiefs failed to clinch a fourth try and subsequent bonus point during a scoreless second half, while Sale slipped to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.Sharks hooker Rob Webber made his first Premiership start since he broke his arm on the opening day of the season.Captain Josh Beaumont went to lock and Cameron Neild replaced him in the back row, while Johnny Leota and Tom Arscott came into the backline.Exeter forward Don Armand featured for the first time since September as one of six changes made by Baxter, whose side struck first when they punished Sales ill discipline in the eighth minute.Aided by back-to-back penalties, the visitors created the field position to set up driving maul from a line-out on the right flank.Referee Wayne Barnes awarded Exeter a penalty try and sent Beaumont to the sin-bin for his part in the infringements. Gareth Steenson converted to make it 7-0 but Sale soon replied when fly-half AJ MacGinty booted a penaltyy to get his team off the mark.ddddddddddddExeter continued to probe, however, and they fashioned a promising move in the 15th minute inside the left channel.The ball went through several pairs of hands and found its way to openside flanker Kai Horstmann, whose intended pass for Sam Hill was intercepted by a Sale defender.The Chiefs largely dominated territory and scored again on the back of another penalty in the 20th minute when a quick pass from Chudley sent Short over in the left corner.Steensons second conversion made it 14-3 and underlined Exeters dominance before a third try duly arrived in the 35th minute.Short found Hill with a deft pass inside the left channel and the centre then showed intelligence to send the supporting Chudley scampering clear.Steensons conversion made it 21-3 at the break and Sales cause was dealt a further blow in the 50th minute when Ben Curry was forced off with an injury.The match became a scrappy affair as chances grew scarce but rugby league convert Josh Charnley went close in the left corner with 16 minutes remaining before being hauled into touch.Sales second-half display saw a marked improvement from the first and Exeter replacement Michele Campagnaro was sin-binned during a late home rally. ' ' '