CHICAGO -- Wrigley Field was dark and empty when a loud cheer reverberated throughout the neighborhood surrounding the iconic ballpark.While the Chicago Cubs decided to delay their party Thursday night, their long-downtrodden fans were ready to celebrate.Chicago wasted its first chance to clinch the National League Central title but became the first major league team this season to clinch a division crown when St. Louis?lost 6-2 at San Francisco.The Cubs lost 5-4 to the Milwaukee Brewers earlier Thursday night, but they captured their first NL Central crown since 2008 when the Giants finished off their victory over the Cardinals.Wrigley was quiet when Matt Adams made the final out on the West Coast. However, it touched off a celebration in Chicago that included honking horns and chanting in the streets.And late at night, the Cubs famous marquee lit up with a message:Led by a stellar pitching staff and MVP contenders Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, Chicago got off to a sizzling 25-6 start. After stumbling into the All-Star break, the Cubs pulled away with a 22-6 August that turned the NL Central race into a mere formality.This is just the first step, manager Joe Maddon said after the Cubs game but before the Cardinals loss. I mean, we have much larger baseball fish to fry in our skillet.The Cubs likely will enter the 2016 postseason as heavy favorites. According to the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, they are 9-4 favorites to win the World Series.Indeed, the NL Central crown is not how this group of Cubs will be judged, not this year.After running roughshod over the rest of the majors for most of the season, Rizzo & Co. are trying to end the franchises famous championship drought, going all the way back to when the Cubs beat the Tigers in the 1908 World Series.Weve got a lot ahead of us. We really do, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said before the Cubs loss. It kind of all boils down to how you perform in October.This is the 16th time since the first World Series in 1903 that the Cubs have finished in first place in their league or division, but they are 2-for-15 when it comes to winning the World Series in those seasons and are on a run of 12 straight first-place finishes that didnt result in a World Series title.Its only the third time since 1903 that the Cubs have reached the postseason in consecutive seasons. They got in as a wild card last year and made it to the NL Championship Series before they were swept by the New York Mets.The offseason additions of Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward only added to the anticipation for the Cubs loyal fan base, and they have delivered up until this point. But many of those same fans also were around for the last division title, when the 2008 Cubs won 97 games and then were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division series.Theres no team Id rather be going into October with, Epstein said. But there are never favorites in October the same way there are in the regular season.Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Stats & Information was used in this report. Vans Shoes Australia Sale .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Vans Shoes Online Australia Sale . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. http://www.cheapaustraliavans.com/ . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. Cheap Vans Shoes Wholesale . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Discount Vans Shoes Australia . 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. His team swept them aside with authority, but even Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque considers it unwise to discount Western Sydney so early in the A-League season.Saturday nights 4-0 defeat left Tony Popovics Wanderers with much to work on after missed opportunities and defensive holes triggered a second-half collapse.Theyve done what they always do which is revamp the whole squad, so its a bit hard to gauge exactly how theyll fare, Brosque told AAP.Some might see it as strange that Popovic changes so often, but hes obviously shown that regardless of what 20 players he has he can get it done.Its hard to know what sort of team theyre going to be like, but before you know it theyre up the top of the table and the season is getting away.Former A-League coach John Kosmina described Popovics revamped grand finalists as lacking cohesion and fluency on Saturday night.But apart from the record scoreline, there was nothing unusual for the Wanderers about the Sydney derby loss - its now eight games since theyve won the fixture.And, more tellingly, it was not abnormal for them to leave round one winless - theyve triumphed only once in the opening three rounds across the four seasons before this, three of which ended with grand-final appearances.Despite being the leagues youngest franchise, Western Sydney undergo possibly the highest annual turnover in personnel.For that reason, Popovics squads historically spend the first few rounds addressing teething issues before players moulld into a formidable force.dddddddddddd.And this campaign will no doubt be challenging in the absence of last seasons most reliable charges.Mark Bridges attacking vision. Andreus midfield composure. Scott Jamiesons unmatched workrate.But there is promise in new faces, like exuberant striker Kerem Bulut, who may just need a few weeks to start converting the chances he missed against the Sky Blues.The skill and agility of Japanese winger Jumpei Kusukami is also sure to provide fruits, while marquee playmaker Nicolas Martinez enjoyed a promising cameo.Popovic said his latest overhaul was part of the clubs evolution as he seeks to fortify their new attacking style with extra final-third creativity.Were trying to add a few new elements to our game, Popovic told AAP.Im always searching for something; I dont know if Ill ever find it.I feel we get to a point, and then Im searching for players who can help take it another step.We were very happy last year - we finished second, made the grand final and made the Asian Champions League.Had all those players stayed again it wouldnt have been a disaster, it would have been good.But we just felt we could improve our strength and we believe that come the turn of the year well have a strong squad that can get through the group stage of the Champions League and be challenging for the A-League title again. 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