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CHICAGO -- Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ferguson Jenkins. Ron Santo and Ryne Sandberg, too. Hall of Famers for the Chicago Cubs, but no championship rings.They all tried. Some got closer than others, but the famed drought got the best of them all. And decades of empty Octobers eventually took on a life of their own.Now, as a new group of Cubs prepares to take aim at a lifetime of free drinks on the North Side, Sandberg, for one, believes this team might be uniquely positioned to succeed where so many others failed.I think when its talked about in that regard and you dont have a game plan for that, you know, that that can be talked about on a daily basis, Sandberg said, addressing the elephant in the room -- the 108 years since the Cubs last won the World Series. It can be brought to the players attentions, but I think this team here focuses on other things.They focus on their teammates, themselves, winning the game, having fun, somebody come up big and lets celebrate in the room in there, and I think thats their mentality. It seems to work.While the rest of baseballs postseason picture is being sorted out, the Cubs are closing in on home-field advantage for the NL playoffs and making sure they are as ready as they can be for what they hope will be the franchises first World Series since its seven-game loss to Detroit in 1945. The NL Central champions completed a three-game sweep of Cincinnati with a 9-2 victory Wednesday night and lead Washington by eight games for the best record in the National League.Playing to electric crowds all summer at a giddy Wrigley Field, the Cubs have spent most of the season looking down at the rest of the majors. And with the playoffs on the horizon, it seems as if they are only embracing the escalating pressure coming their way.I think pressure is what you make of it, said Jon Lester, one of the front-runners for the NL Cy Young Award. I mean we all know what the deal is around here. You cant run from it. All you can do is show up and play.The Cubs made it to the postseason last year as the second NL wild card and then eliminated Pittsburgh and St. Louis before they were swept by the New York Mets in the NL Championship Series. That feel-good run by a team that appeared to be coming into its own turned into a runaway division title in 2016, boosted by offseason deals for free agents Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and John Lackey.Perhaps sensing what was coming, manager Joe Maddon told his pitchers and catchers to embrace the target when they arrived at spring training in February. That slogan quickly went on a T-shirt and then Maddon poked fun at himself with Try Not To Suck, a carry-over from last year that turned into a popular shirt around Chicago this summer.Those slogans could serve the Cubs well next month.Why would you ever want to work somewhere where theres no expectations? Maddon said. I dont understand that. Theres that comfortable component of society that maybe they want to live in that moment where there are no expectations or any kind of pressure, and that to me would be absolutely no fun whatsoever.I think all of our guys, where youre trained coming up as an athlete, you want to play in the championship game. You want to be the champion.But ahead of them is one unique challenge, beyond the obvious difficulty of winning three series against baseballs best teams. One misstep in the playoffs, one bad bounce, and the Cubs twisted history -- everything from the infamous billy goat curse to the black cat that taunted Leo Durocher in 1969 and Steve Bartmans misplayed foul ball 13 years ago -- all comes roaring back to the forefront.The only comparable situation is Bostons World Series title in 2004, stopping an 86-year drought. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was the general manager of the Red Sox at the time, and Lester was a minor leaguer in the Boston system.Those guys wanted to be the team that won it, Lester said.That same attitude resides in Chicagos clubhouse at the moment. Lester signed with the Cubs in December 2014, and Heyward, Zobrist and Lackey arrived last winter -- each hoping to be on the team that put another banner on top of Wrigley Field. To do it in this city, its a no-brainer that it would be making history, Heyward said at his introductory news conference last December.So, Lester said, bring on the pressure that goes along with every Cubs postseason run.I mean its there, he said. You cant run from it. You cant worry about it. You just have to worry about what your team can control and really just try to win it. Thats all you can really do.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenapAir Max 200 Uk . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Authentic Air Max 270 . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. http://www.fakeairmaxukoutlet.com/best-max-720-trainers-cheap-uk.html . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Cheap Air Max 97 Wholesale . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. Nike Air Max 270 Cheap Uk . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August.Royal Challengers Bangalore got their 2016 Indian Premier League off to a blistering start, smashing 227 in a 45-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bangalore. AB de Villiers blasted 82 from 42 balls for RCB, with seven fours and six sixes, putting on 157 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (71 off 51 balls) after Chris Gayle fell cheaply for one.Shane Watson (19 off 8) smashed three-straight sixes later in the innings, and 18-year-old Sarfaraz Khan a stunning 35 not out off 10 balls as RCBs star-studded batting line-up racked up 227-4 from their 20 overs.Sunrisers skipper David Warner cracked a 21-ball fifty in reply before falling to his former international team-mate, Watson, in the ninth over - his side ultimately falling short on 182-6.After being put into bat by Sunrisers, Gayle was somewhat unlucky to be bowled round his legs by Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-55) in the second over, the ball deflecting off his thigh pad onto the stumps.But De Villiers signalled the start of RCBs blistering assault when taking 15 from Ashish Nehras fourth over - striking two fours and a huge straight six - while 16 came from Kumars fifth.Matters were made worse for Sunrisers as Nehra left the field with an injury to his foot, one ball into his third over and the 11th of the innings and RCB punished the depleted attack, picking up a sensational 139 runs from the final 10 - De Villiers reaching his fifty off 27 balls.Kohli was even more emphatic in notching his half century, hitting legspinner Karn Sharma (0-57) for a hhuge six over wide long-on off his 40th ball, but finally fell in the 16th over, beaten by a Kumar yorker.ddddddddddddUnfazed, Watson came in and smoked Sharma for three sixes in a row before the impressive Mustafizur Rahman (2-26) picked him and De Villiers up with back-to-back balls.Again RCB quickly bounced back - Sarfaraz smacking four fours and a six in five-straight deliveries as Kumars penultimate over of the innings went for 28.Faced with a daunting 228-run target, Warner (58 off 25) didnt waste any time, smashing the first of his five sixes off Adam Milnes second over - 35 runs coming off the first three.That momentum was somewhat stalled as offspinner Parvez Rasool (1-31) bowled Shikhar Dhawan for eight, but Warner smacked 19 from legspinner Yuzvendra Chahals first over to bring up his fifty and continue Sunrisers charge.He finally fell to Watson (2-30) in the ninth, the first of four wickets to fall for 15 runs in three overs, and although Ashish Reddy (32 off 17) and Eoin Morgan (22no off 18) put on 46 for the sixth wicket, Sunrisers left themselves with too much to do.Reddy hit Chahal for a pair of sixes in the 14th over, but with 89 needed from the final five, he was then bowled by Watson.Sharma had a bit of fun with an unbeaten 26 off 17 balls, striking three fours and a six in the final overs, but Sunrisers fell 45 short.Watch continued coverage of the IPL on Sky Sports, with the next live action seeing Kolkata Knight Riders take on Mumbai Indians from 3pm on Sky Sports 2 on Wednesday. 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