SUMMARY:For the first time since 1933, Washington D.C., finally has a baseball team going to the World Series. William Brangham reports on the Nationals' unlikely run to the fall classic, and what hometown pride means for the nation's capital at a time when politics are roiled by controversy and division.
SUMMARY: The World Series was destined for a dramatic finish: The Chicago Cubs finally ended their 108 year-long World Series drought in a hard-fought victory against the Cleveland Indians. In Chicago, fans who hadn't seen a Fall Classic win in living memory were ecstatic. Hari Sreenivasan gets insight on the historic event from ESPN's Lester Munson.
HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):Was there any other way for this World Series to end, other than with an epic finish?
Two of the league's oldest teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians, were both eager to make history and ready to end decades of frustration as they battled to the end.
The series finally ended with a stunning roller-coaster ride in game seven.
MAN: The Cubs win the World Series!
HARI SREENIVASAN:After more than a century of frustration, fandom and futility, the Cubs celebrated in Cleveland. They became the first baseball team since 1979 to win the championship on the road after coming back from a three-game-to-one deficit.
The game lasted more than four-and-a-half-hours, including a rain delay, before finally ending in the 10th inning. Players raced around the field and celebrated in the locker room.
Center fielder Dexter Fowler hit a home run to start the game.
DEXTER FOWLER, Chicago Cubs:I cried. I cried like a little kid. You know, it hasn't been done in a century and some. So, to be a part of this is definitely — it's a pleasure.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Fans young and old gathered in the streets outside Wrigley Field, even writing names of loved ones on the outside wall of the ballpark, and they celebrated throughout the city.
JERRY POE, Chicago Cubs Fan: I have been waiting for a long time, 76 years old. And I couldn't wait to finally get a championship. And they did for me tonight, finally.
MAN: You could have a heart attack.
JERRY POE: Tell me about that.
WOMAN: They deserve it. This is the best team we have had in years.
HARI SREENIVASAN: The Cubs jumped out early and kept building their lead, getting runs against the best pitching squad of the postseason. By the fifth inning, they were up 5-1.
But then the Cubs pulled their starting pitcher for another ace, Jon Lester. He threw a wild pitch that led to two runs, narrowing the gap. And in the eighth inning, this happened. The game was tied. After a rain delay, the Cubs scored the winning runs in the 10th.
Suddenly, the so-called curses of past Cub lore were gone, an idea that had crept back into some players during the game.
BEN ZOBRIST, MVP, World Series: I got to be honest. When they came back in the eighth, it was on my mind a little bit.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Cubs manager Joe Maddon said it was time to end the talk of curses.
JOE MADDON, Manager, Chicago Cubs: I love tradition. I think tradition is worth time mentally, and tradition is worth being upheld. But curses and superstitions are not. So it's really great for entire Cubdom to get beyond that moment and continue to move forward, because now, based on the young players we have in this organization, we have an opportunity to be good for a long time.
THE HEAVENS—Following a 8-7 victory over the Cleveland Indians that clinched the team's first World Series title since 1908, sources confirmed Wednesday that millions of intoxicated Chicago Cubs fans are currently rioting across Heaven.
Moments after watching the game's final out from above Earth, massive throngs of intoxicated Cubs fans—most of whom went their entire lives without ever seeing the team win a World Series—poured out all over the eternal city, where they reportedly continued drinking heavily as they cheered, hugged strangers, and loudly played golden harps in celebration of their long-awaited championship.
“Let's go, Cubbies!” screamed Susan Leitch, who died of cardiac arrest in 1997 at the age of 70, before joining hundreds of fellow deceased Chicago fans as they repeatedly sang the chorus of “Go Cubs, Go!” “World Series champs! Finally!”
“Woo!” continued Leitch as she drunkenly stumbled over her feet and broke out in a fit of laughter.
According to reports, after one fan managed to affix a large “W” win flag to the top of the Pearly Gates, a large mob of Cubs fans began violently shaking the gateway as they chanted third baseman Kris Bryant's name for nearly an hour. Sources confirmed that the gold-paved streets were quickly littered with empty beer cans, cigarettes, spilled food, and other refuse, while a number of inebriated fans were also seen urinating against the sapphire, emerald, and diamond–encrusted walls that protect the sacred realm.
In addition to firing a slew of Roman candles upwards into infinity, a pack of belligerent fans reportedly succeeded in rocking the Throne of God back and forth until the seat of the Almighty Father tipped over onto the ground, after which several men and women began jumping up and down atop it.
Many witnesses also reported seeing at least one fan hunched over and vomiting over the side of a cloud.
“We did it!” shouted former Chicago resident Arnold Mathis, a victim of the 1918 flu pandemic, after climbing up the Tree of Life and bouncing on one of its branches. “I can't believe we actually did it!”
“Everybody's getting fucked up tonight!” added Mathis. “I've waited my entire afterlife for this!”
Some of the festivities reportedly began getting out of hand when a group of Cubs fans lit the Ladder of Divine Ascent on fire, and shortly thereafter, several teenagers dumped an entire pitcher of beer on the head of an archangel as he attempted to fly through the raucous crowds. Numerous men were later seen stripping off their shimmering Heavenly robes and streaking through God's Kingdom.
However, reports also confirmed that dozens of small children were celebrating peacefully while sitting on the shoulders of their parents or grandparents, with many wearing youth Cubs jerseys bearing the names and numbers of Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ryne Sandberg, and Jake Arrieta.
According to sources, the championship celebrations are expected to continue for much of eternity.
“Cubbies! The curse is over, baby!” said longtime fan and father of three Andrew Horton, slurring most of his words as he adjusted his Cubs hat underneath his halo. “I just fuckin' [unintelligible], you know? Man...[unintelligible].”
“Cubbies!” Horton added.
At press time, sources within Heaven confirmed that hundreds of disorderly Cubs fans had been apprehended and sent to Hell.
SUMMARY: In the wake of a new FBI investigation into emails from Hillary Clinton's aides and more sexual assault accusations against Donald Trump, syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss a campaign environment of "sleaze" and the election's outlook. But they also take a break from politics to consider the exciting Cubs-Indians World Series.
SUMMARY: It's a victory the Chicago Cubs haven't had in 71 years, a ticket to the World Series. If they win, it will be the first time since 1908. But their opponents are also hoping for an end to a long drought: The Cubs are playing the Cleveland Indians, who haven't won the championship since 1948. John Yang speaks with Al Pawlowski of Fox SportsTime Ohio and Rick Telander of Chicago Sun-Times for more.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): After all of these years, it's hard to believe this next sentence, but fans know it's true: The Chicago Cubs will face off against the Cleveland Indians starting tomorrow night in the World Series.
Life is about to change in one of these cities, whose fans have long suffered and waited decades for a baseball championship.
John Yang, who has Chicago and Cleveland roots of his own, is our guide.
MAN: The Cubs have won the pennant!
JOHN YANG (NewsHour):It's a call that hasn't been made in 71 years. The Chicago Cubs and their long-suffering fans are finally going back to World Series.
WOMAN: Oh, my gosh, I was crying the whole game. I'm out of tears.
WOMAN: It's unbelievable. Like, all you think is, are they really going to do it and am I going to be there? And we were. We were here to watch them win.
JOHN YANG:Cubs fans have seen their share of heartbreak, including losing 101 games just four years ago. The last time the Cubs actually won the World Series, 1908. The last time they won a pennant, a local tavern owner and his goat were kicked out of World Series game four at Wrigley Field. Ever since, the curse of the billy goat, and some notorious blunders on field and off, have kept them on the outside looking in.
But the Cubs aren't the only team hoping to end a World Series drought this year. They're set to face the Cleveland Indians, who haven't won the fall classic since 1948. They have made it three times since, but lost each time, most recently in 1995 and 1997.
WOMAN: Just amazing. They're doing great, and I know they're going to bring that World Series home.
JOHN YANG: Game one is set for Tuesday in Cleveland, and the excitement in both cities is running high. According to tracking site TicketIQ, standing room for Tuesday's start at $860. And for Friday's game in Chicago, $2,000.
More on this moment, the history and the mood from a pair of sports reporters covering these teams.
Al Pawlowski is host of “Indians Live,” the Cleveland pre- and post-game shows on Fox SportsTime Ohio. And Rick Telander is the senior sports columnist for The Chicago Sun-Times.
I am Retired U.S. Navy (22yrs) and a Vietnam Veteran. After my Navy retirement I was in the computer related industry, now retired. In 2000 I was a registered Republican and voted for George W. Bush. Six months of having Bush in the Whitehouse forced me to re-evaluate my political stance. I had always thought of myself as a Moderate Republican, but was a Republican by "default" NOT because of close examination of the GOP. Due to what has happened in America since 2000, I now consider myself a progressive, and registered as a Non-Affiliated voter.
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