Last season, Wake Forest was the No. 1 team in the country with a 17-2-2 record before falling in the quarterfinals to the eventual national champions Stanford in overtime. This season, the Demon Deacons en

I wont even dignify them with their names.The purported curses that have prevented the Cubs from winning a World Series since 1908, or going to one since 1945, are all nonsense, the purest media-driven bull ... stuff.The Cubs have been losers not due to supernatural causes, but because of perfectly straightforward factors: they had bad owners, bad front offices, bad field managers and bad players.When the Cubs somehow fielded good teams despite these long-term structural handicaps, other teams were better that year, or that series, or that one game.To take these purported curses from most famed to most recent, lets begin with the male capra aegagrus hircus (all right, all right: the billy goat).Full disclosure: When I give tours of Chicago to my students, they always end at a certain tavern on the lower level of Michigan Avenue. When I teach my Chicago Saloon History class, I assign a book about the place by Rick Kogan. I have been a semi-regular there for decades, and I respect and admire the hospitality, work ethic, and publicity smarts of the Sianis clan, whose late patriarch tried to bring his ... animal into Wrigley Field during the 1945 World Series.If it were somehow true that this particular curse exists, wouldnt the many times that the Cubs have welcomed a Sianis with a goat on a leash into the park have removed it? (Yes, that has happened; go there and look at the pictures on the wall.) If curses are real, couldnt they lift it as well as impose it?This particular narrative has more to do with the intersection of saloon culture and journalism than the supernatural.William Sianiss tavern was frequented by many writers from Chicagos newspapers. They needed material, and so they wrote about the tavern, its owner, and his curse. Then, that story became something (especially after 1984) that any deadline-pressed, ink-stained wretch could fall back on. The Cubs couldnt just lose, they had to be cursed! Those 800 words write themselves, then whose round is it? Good sportswriters would use it as a joke or a pivot, but others just retold the story, endlessly.Could it be the Cubs lost in 1945 because they were up against Hal Newhauser, Dizzy Trout, and Hank Greenbergs Detroit Tigers, a better team?Then, they lost for the next 39 years because of bad ownership, managers, and players.First, the ownership: The Wrigleys, William and his son P.K., were not particularly interested in or knowledgeable about baseball. When they hired good general managers, they fielded good teams, and did go to the World Series five times -- in 1929, 33, 35, 38 and 45. P.K. was particularly uninterested in baseball, and much more concerned about yachts and chewing gum. (The familys yachting interest is why Wrigley is festooned with maritime-style flags to this day.)Ironically, baseball incompetence probably saved Wrigley Field. As Stuart Sheas magisterial book Wrigley Field recounts, Wrigley knew that with bad teams, the Cubs had to sell fans on the park experience rather than on, oh, winning. So unlike some of its contemporary ballparks in other cities, Wrigley Field was well-maintained. The team promoted it as the Friendly Confines, a cozy family venue to enjoy an afternoon picnic. Even if the team stank to high heaven, you had sunshine and hot dogs and beer and ice cream and a lovely lake breeze.Had P.K. Wrigley been a hard-charging owner, looking to maximize baseball revenue to put an expensive -- but winning -- team on the field, Wrigley Field would probably not exist today. The team wouldve demanded, and gotten, a 1960s-era concrete bowl stadium next to an expressway exit in Arlington Heights or Schaumburg, and there would be no Section 416 as we know it today. Wrigleys not-so-benign neglect of winning helped Cubs fans win with this ballparks survival.Seatmate Azz would blame the fans, along with bad owners: We kept coming to the ballpark even when the team was terrible, giving ownership little incentive to win. That might be true since the mid-1980s, but during many of the Cubs lean decades, the park was mostly empty. Their average attendance between World War II and 1984 was less than 14,000, with some years as low as 7,528 (1962). I personally credit baseball executives -- even incompetent ones -- and players with always wanting to win. Not being good enough isnt a curse. Sometimes, its just reality.After 1945, 1969 would be the next high point in the various Curse narratives, with the black felis domesticus crossing Ron Santos path at Shea Stadium. Come the heck on. The Mets beat the Cubs in 1969 because of bad management. Leo Durocher played his regulars to death, and the Mets were just better. Yeah, the Cubs went on a late slide, but the Mets were on fire, going 28-8 after Sept. 1. And they had some pretty good players too. You have heard of Tom Seaver, yes?The Wrigley Reign of Indifference ended when the Tribune Company bought the team in 1982. Competent GM Dallas Green arrived, and lo and behold, pretty-good field manager Jim Freys boys won the NL East in 1984.Then, it wasnt any Capricorn curse that did them in; it was baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth and television. With the better record, the Cubs should have hosted three games in that years LCS. But with no lights (thanks, past bad owners!), TV networks insisted on giving San Diego three home games for more night games and higher ratings. The Cubs beat the Padres in the first two games at Wrigley, and then lost three in a row at Jack Murphy Stadium. Might things have gone differently had they played three games at home? Well never know, and blaming the ground ball Leon Durham muffed is also nonsense. No team loses three games on any one play, unless youre trying to build a curse narrative.Then theres the Innocent Fan Who Did Nothing Wrong Curse from 2003. This one, even moreso than 1969, must be laid at the feet of bad field management and the media. The Cubs were up 3-0 going into the eighth inning of NLCS Game 6, Mark Prior was dominating ... and Dusty Baker had no one up in the pen.I dont care if youve got reincarnated Walter Johnson on the mound, when youre six outs away from the World Series with a slim lead, you have a righty and a lefty warming up in case things go south for your starter.But the year before, Baker had been excoriated for lifting his starter, Russ Ortiz, too soon (according to 20/20 hindsight) in Game 6 of a World Series his Giants would lose to the Angels. So -- either being bad at his job, or remembering the media noise from a year earlier -- Baker opted to let his stud pitcher walk to the hill feeling invulnerable.One utterly unjustified Moises Alou tantrum, one muffed double-play ball by shortstop Alex Gonzalez, and eight runs later, and we have a new curse.But the Cubs couldve won Game 7 of that LCS. Hell, Carlos Zambrano should have won Game 5 in Miami two days earlier -- but Josh Beckett, a better pitcher, shut the Cubs out. The only reason anyone talks curse is the national media and a local newspaper columnist teamed up to invent yet another story. This poor guy got death threats and had to relocate abroad. His life was ruined -- and its not funny in the least. I will not use his name, to add anything I write to his lifelong Google burden. He did nothing wrong.Bad field management continues the 21st centurys non-curse narrative.In 2007 and 2008, well, Lou Piniella was no Dusty Baker, but neither was he an Earl Weaver, despite his umpire-baiting, base-throwing, dirt-kicking expertise. The D-backs and Dodgers were just better, and maybe the players choked due to the pressure. Or maybe its a bad idea to save your best starter for Game 4 in a five-game series where, as always, all games after the third are designated if necessary.Last year? I have heard no 2015 curse talk, mostly because no one expected Joe Maddons team to go more than 81-81. Getting as far as the Cubs did was great -- especially beating the Cardinals in the NLDS at Wrigley. But the Mets pitching, and one of their hitters, overwhelmed the young Cubs. As in so many other years, the Cubs got beat by a better team.After the last out of a failed Cubs postseason run, people like to blame curses for the same reason some people prefer to credit Abner Doubleday with inventing baseball, rather than baseball evolving from other games. We prefer dramatic narratives with direct cause-and-effect over complicated stories.If the Cubs dont win the last game they play this year, curse talk will come to the fore yet again. Baseball is a beautiful and complicated and cruel game, and teams win or lose for myriad reasons.Curses are not among them.Cheap Pirates Jerseys . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Bryan Reynolds Jersey . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Rabbit Maranville Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Bob Miller Jersey .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup.HOUSTON -- Stanford got off to a rough start this year, but rebounded in a season where everyone wanted to take the Cardinal down to make it back to the College Cup.After winning the first national championship in program history last season, No. 5 Stanford continues its title defense in the second semifinal on Friday night against No. 9 North Carolinas. In the first semifinal, No. 2 Wake Forest faces undefeated No. 6 Denver.Stanford had with three ties and a loss in its first six games before winning 13 of its next 16 games to win a third straight Pac-12 championship and return to the College Cup.I think it was kind of a wakeup call seeing how hard we were going to get played and I think we adapted to that as the season progressed, said defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce, who was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last month.Stanford hopes to become the first team since Indiana in 2003-04 to win consecutive national championships. Coach Jeremy Gunns team is the first to return to the College Cup the season after winning the national championship since Wake Forest returned in 2008 after winning it all in 2007.Stanford lost some key players from last season, including MLS Rookie of the Year and the reigning Hermann Trophy winner Jordan Morris. But it returns six starters from last seasons team. Five of those players were named to the All-Pac-12 first team last month, and one was on the second team.We had some great players leave after last year and I think some people wanted to write us off this year, Gunn said.Stanford is led by Co-Pac-12 player of the year Foster Langsdorf. The junior forward has led the teams attack this season, scoring 15 goals, including one in each of Stanfords three tournament games. In their 10 Pac-12 games, Langsdorf scored 12 goals.North Carolina comes to Houston for its first College Cup appearance since winning a national championship in 2011. The Tar Heels also reached the national semifinals in 2009-10.Some things to know about the College Cup.H-TOWN CONNECTION: The Tar Heels come to Houston with many connections to the area. Three Houston Dynamo players, defenders Jalil Anibaba and Sheanon Williams and goalkeeper Tyler Deric, played at North Carolina, while head coach Carlos Somoano is from nearby Seabrook, Texas. The Tar Heels leading scorer, Tucker Hume, said players from the Dynamo have reached out to them and that theyll be at Fridays game.ddddddddddddMy formative soccer years and experiences were done right here in Houston, Somoano said. So for me its very special to be back here.YOUTH MOVEMENT: After losing key players from last season, including three who were selected in the top 12 of the MLS SuperDraft, North Carolina has had to rely on its youth in 2016. The Tar Heels have 12 players who have appeared in all 20 games this season, six of whom are either freshmen or sophomores. Sophomore forward Nils Bruening leads the team in goals with eight, while redshirt sophomore goalkeeper James Pyle has allowed just 10 goals this season.Theyve been a bit of a revelation for us, Somoano said. Its just fascinating to see how they evolve through the year. Theyre not the same players now than they were in August.FAMILIAR FACES: Denver head coach Jamie Franks and Wake Forests Bobby Muuss have plenty of history. Muuss was an assistant coach for the Demon Deacons during Franks freshman season in Winston-Salem and was the coach at Denver from 2007-14, with Franks serving as his assistant for three seasons. When Muuss took over at Wake Forest before the 2015 season, Franks took his place at Denver.I love Wake Forest . but at the end of the day, these are my boys, Franks said. These are my kids, and Wake Forest is standing in our way.WAKE EYES REDEMPTION: Last season, Wake Forest was the No. 1 team in the country with a 17-2-2 record before falling in the quarterfinals to the eventual national champions Stanford in overtime. This season, the Demon Deacons enter the College Cup with an 18-2-3 mark with a pair of shutouts in wins over Coastal Carolina and Virginia Tech.DOMINANCE REWARDED: Since Franks took over as the Denver head coach, the Pioneers have lost just one game, a defeat to SMU that ended the 2015 season. The team feels its 35-1-6 record under Franks it has not received enough credit, mostly because the Pioneers play in the Summit League. This is Denvers first appearance in the College Cup and the players are embracing their underdog role.Its more a historical thing than an actual thing because no one in our locker room is surprised to be here, we expected to be here, sophomore forward Andre Shinyashiki said. ' ' '