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The Cubs have carried a curse that would have made King Tut proud, the byproduct of which is a century-old, dust-filled trophy case that now may be filled with the work of this 2016 team.From spring training on, this team has been the favorite, a strange juxtaposition for an organization that for decades carried a suitcase full of preseason predictions that had it set for dead last. This year, grounded by the calm of manager Joe Maddon, the Cubs embraced history and expectations, fueling a chance to redefine the significance of the organizations dance with futility.I was on one team that flirted with legendary emptiness, when in 1997, we started the season 0-14. After loss No. 5, local Cubs media man Dave Kaplan declared he would eat, sleep and shower in McDonalds until the Cubs won. Nine days of his life were spent in fast food hell. The season was not a complete loss; few noticed that we actually played over-.500 ball the rest of the season. But because the season was over before it barely began, I didnt blame anyone for looking ahead to 1998.I was drafted by the Cubs in 1991, so by the time I arrived to Wrigley Field in 1996, I had ingested some of this ancient toxicity. I was not a lifelong Cubs fan, but my minor league tenure made me more than just a hired gun like I was when I returned in 2003. My first introduction to professional baseball life was through the lens of Cubs culture. The tone is often set by the organization that drafts and signs you. Yet in any organization, no matter what has happened or how bad the current team may be playing, the future is just that: the future, a true opportunity to change the narrative with fresh blood and the optimism of youth.Then it got real. Minor league life, at the lower levels, was light-years away from the big leagues. For a while, I didnt understand the enduring pain, the sciatica of devastating defeat that shot down the legs of Cubs fans. But I did understand well that I could be part of the antidote, by looking toward a future of success, albeit hypothetical, since I was not in a major league uniform at the time. I was developing, not producing, which gave me enough Teflon-coated na?veté to dismiss curses. Especially since I was always nice to goats.Then, when I was put on the major league roster, it became real, palpable. Expectations, history, future, it slaps you in the face when you walk in the major league locker room in spring training for the first time (or as a September call-up). As longtime Cubs front-office man Larry Himes would say, You can see and feel the swagger in these locker rooms, it drips off of players. I walked into spring training and saw my jersey hanging next to Ryne Sandbergs, and no matter what the history, no matter how many Strat-O-Matic baseball games I played with Ryno hitting triples for my team, I was here now, imperatively unaware enough to believe I would write my own future as the decade-long center fielder for my Chicago Cubs. After all, as a minor leaguer with a great passion for baseball history, I looked around the room and saw great players, not a cemetery of the damned. Mark Grace (.300 hitter), Shawon Dunston (rocket arm), Randy Myers (lockdown closer), Sandberg (future Hall of Famer). Everyone was awesome, so why not us? Like any other major league team, we had All-Stars, we had first-rounders, we had guys like the late Jessie Hollins who could light up the radar gun. Who could beat these guys? They were the best I had ever seen in one room.So it was a good thing that I, or any young player, didnt have the burden of the past to cloud what my optimism told me about my future and this organizations future. This is the gift of youth, something the 2016 team has despite its ability to play like veterans. As Theo Epstein shared with me before a game last season, If you can find that balance of superior talent and maturity beyond his years, you have a star and winning player, for a long time. He found it in?Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell, Javier Baez?...In 1996, I was called up, a center fielder set to play left field in my debut at Wrigley Field. I was playing a position that was foreign to me to fill a void. A team lesson: Play where you can help this team the most. Bryant?went into 2016 being a super-utility player, not just a third baseman, and he may win MVP because of it. My being out of position did not secure me a long-term future as a Cub because I was a speedy defender who was not going to hit 30 home runs as a corner outfielder. But at least, I was in the lineup.By 1997, I was correct about running into career-development issues, as Cubs GM Ed Lynch would eventually say to me at the end of my .300-hitting first full season. We tried to give the starting job to everyone else but you, and to your credit, you rose above.I would get traded that offseason, interrupting my tenure as a Cub. I learned other team cultures -- the Phillies, the Rangers, even the Yankees in 2004 spring training. All had their own issues and challenges, with various levels of success.By the time I came back in 2003, I had seen a lot; I had experienced different baseball languages and societies. The attention to detail under Buck Showalter in Texas; the lax, full-loving, chill-fest of Terry Francona in Philadelphia; the high-octane, frenetic emotion off the rails under Larry Bowa, also in Philadelphia; the slithering life of the party and confidence-evoking wisdom of Dusty Baker in Chicago; all after Jim Riggleman in Chicago.I was back, but I was a different player, a different person. I had lost my father at the end of 2002; I was down a hamstring tendon from surgery earlier in the year; the evidence was in of what kind of player I was. The future was visible, no longer a dream. Even though it was the same Cubs uniform, 12 years after my first-round draft-pick status from 1991.Yet I had a lot left to play for. Things I didnt understand as a young prospect during my rookie campaign in 1996. Family, my fathers memory, debunking mythology, a second chance at what could have been if I played my entire career as a Cub. Bartman? Curse? No, what we all experience, life and loss, yet still with a chance at rebirth, redemption, honor.My graying in the game forced me to intake more than just the final score of a game. There was too much at stake at that point, and when we lost, I lay motionless in my apartment for 24 hours, trying to reconcile the level of exhaustion with taking the next step into tomorrow. Tired for the city, tired for the organization, tired from sitting on every pitch since I was traded over at the trade deadline in July.Maybe the 2016 Cubs dont know those stories. Player to player. Man to man. And maybe they shouldnt. They have overcome the invisible hurdle that eluded my 2003 team. Closing out a 3-2 lead, playing at home with the rotation set as well as it could be set. Something we could not accomplish behind the elite arms of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.They delivered, and what we instantly come to understand is the necessity of the prior journey. It tastes sweeter after all this time; we now see fine wine in the bottle instead of rat poison adorned with skull and crossbones. It has aged appropriately and better yet, they will celebrate with their teammates and with generations of fans, players and staff who were part of the process that Joe Maddon so often talks about. As Maddon told me when asked if his team were a wine, what kind it would be:A blend. Robust and full-bodied. Complex flavors, well-rounded, with a strong finish.I could never take credit for the success of the 2016 Cubs in any direct sense, but our pain from 2003 has ripened, helping us all reinterpret the events that led to this point. History has been rewritten, or maybe weve just been patient enough to let history become our present. Nike Shox Cheap Wholesale .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Nike Shox Clearance Sale . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. http://www.cheapnikeshoxireland.com/ . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Nike Shox Ireland . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Nike Shox Outlet Clearance . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. body.device-phone table.inline-table div.rankingsTableWrapper { margin: 0px} body.device-phone table.inline-table div.full-width-element { left: 0px} table.inline-table div.rankingsTableWrapper table tr td { background-color: #fbfbfb ;}Editors note: These rankings will be updated throughout the week, so check back frequently.dddddddddddd ' ' '