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LOS ANGELES -- One win away. Two chances at home. Seven decades of waiting.The Chicago Cubs closed in on their first World Series trip since 1945 by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on Thursday in Game 5 of their National League playoff.Jon Lester pitched seven sharp innings , Addison Russell hit a tiebreaking homer and the Cubs grabbed a 3-2 lead in the NL Championship Series.On deck, a pair of opportunities to wrap up that elusive pennant at Wrigley Field.The city of Chicago has got to be buzzing, manager Joe Maddon said. Were not going to run away from anything. Its within our reach right now.The Cubs first opportunity to clinch comes Saturday night in Game 6, when Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw faces major league ERA leader Kyle Hendricks.Thats a game we expect to win, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said.Of course, the Cubs were in the same favorable position 13 years ago -- heading home to Wrigley with a 3-2 lead in the NLCS.But even with ace pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood starting the final two games, Chicago collapsed against the Marlins in one of its most excruciating failures.More than a decade later, the franchise is still chasing its first World Series championship since 1908.Weve heard the history, center fielder Dexter Fowler said, but at the same time were trying to make history.Budding star Javier Baez was in the middle of everything for the Cubs, a common theme this October. The second baseman made a sensational defensive play when the game was still close in the seventh, and his three-run double capped a five-run eighth that made it 8-1.After busting out of his postseason slump Wednesday, Russell hit a two-run homer for the second straight game. This one was a sixth-inning drive off losing pitcher Joe Blanton that gave Chicago a 3-1 lead.Just rounding the bases, it was pretty exciting, Russell said. Pumped up, not only for myself but for the team and that little cushion that Jonny had to go forward from that.Baez had three of Chicagos 13 hits, matching the teams total in Game 4, when the Cubs snapped a 21-inning scoreless streak and won 10-2.Lester allowed one run and five hits, improving to 2-0 in three playoff starts this year. He has given up two runs in 21 innings.The left-hander struck out six and walked one in a slow-paced game that lasted 4 hours, 16 minutes.These guys won the game for us, Lester said, nodding toward Russell and Baez. I was just kind of along for the ride.Anthony Rizzos run-scoring double gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first.Los Angeles tied it in the fourth on Adrian Gonzalezs RBI groundout.Russell homered on an 0-1 pitch from Blanton, who gave up a single to Baez leading off the sixth. Baez stole second before Russells shot to left-center put the Cubs ahead on another unusually hot night at Dodger Stadium.Blanton took his second loss of the series. The veteran right-hander gave up consecutive homers in the eighth inning of Game 1, including a tiebreaking grand slam by pinch-hitter Miguel Montero.Our confidence hasnt wavered, Roberts said . This series certainly isnt over.With the Dodgers trailing 3-1 in the seventh, Gonzalez found himself on the wrong end of a replay review for the second consecutive night.With Baez playing way out on the outfield grass in shallow right, the slow-footed Gonzalez tried to take advantage with a drag bunt leading off the inning. Baez rushed in for a barehanded scoop and off-balance throw, but Gonzalez initially was called safe by first base umpire Ted Barrett. The Cubs challenged and the ruling was overturned.In Game 4, Gonzalez was tagged out at home to end the second after diving with his left hand stretched toward the plate while catcher Willson Contreras applied a tag. The Dodgers challenged, but the video review upheld umpire Angel Hernandezs out call.Chicago jumped on struggling Dodgers rookie Kenta Maeda from the start. Fowler singled leading off the game and scored on Rizzos double to right two batters later.Maeda gave up one run and three hits over 3 2/3 innings. The right-hander has allowed eight earned runs in 10 2/3 innings this postseason.The Dodgers defense fell apart in the eighth.Gonzalez tried flipping Russells slow roller to reliever Pedro Baez, who came over to cover first and bobbled the ball for an error.Contreras followed with a pinch-hit single, and the runners moved up on pinch-hitter Albert Almora Jr.s sacrifice bunt. Fowler reached on an infield single to first, with Gonzalez losing a foot race when Fowler slid into the bag as Russell scored.Kris Bryant reached on an infield single to third, with the Dodgers unsuccessfully challenging the call that he was safe.The Dodgers thought theyd finally escaped the inning when Rizzo lined out to second baseman Kike Hernandez, who nearly doubled up Fowler at second. But the Cubs challenged the call and it was reversed, prolonging the inning.Pedro Baez got yanked after walking Ben Zobrist to load the bases. Ross Stripling came on to face Javier Baez, who doubled to deep right, driving in three more runs.We can grab that momentum by one name: Kershaw, Gonzalez said. We dont want to put it all on him, but if we score a couple of runs, well feel real good.SCULLY RETURNSVin Scully was back at Dodger Stadium for the first time since ending his 67-year career behind the microphone earlier this month.The 88-year-old Hall of Fame announcer attended as a spectator and proclaimed, Its time for Dodger baseball! from an upstairs suite.UNDERSTATEDCubs outfielder Matt Szczur isnt on the NLCS roster, but hes contributing. A day after his bat was borrowed by Rizzo to hit a home run, Szczur revealed during an in-game TV interview that Russell wore a pair of his underwear leggings Wednesday after leaving his own at home.UP NEXTDodgers: Kershaw takes the mound in Chicago on an extra day of rest. The left-hander is 2-0 with a 3.72 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance this postseason. Overall, the three-time Cy Young Award winner is 4-6 with a 4.39 ERA in 17 career playoff appearances.Cubs: Hendricks 2.13 ERA was tops in the majors this season. The right-hander allowed a solo homer over 5 1/3 innings in Game 2, his longest career postseason start. The Cubs lost 1-0 to Kershaw. Akiem Hicks Bears Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Dick Butkus Jersey . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. http://www.chicagobearfootballauthentic.com/authentic-anthony-miller-bears-jersey/ . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. William Perry Bears Jersey . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. William Perry Womens Jersey . 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. For decades an inscrutable viral outbreak would descend on Kolkata on the eve of every local Test match. The generally able-bodied would cough into the phone and croak from unusually subdued throats that the doctor had advised complete rest. In this rehearsed manner, the Kolkatan would duck work, files would stay stranded on desks, and the local economy would slacken.This gent would turn up at the ground one hour before the match to watch the players at nets, be resplendent in some Rs 250 season-ticket concrete seat, feast on eggs and toast at lunch, abuse Gavaskar for getting out on zero, throw banana peels at the nearest fielder, pontificate on the geometry of a Viswanath (pronounced Bisshonaath) square cut, order lebu lojenz (lime lozenges) at tea and torch his Anand Bazaar Patrika broadsheet before taking the bus home.Our friend did not watch the India-West Indies Test this month. He explained the interrupted attendance record to an evening neighbourhood audience: Prochoor kaajeyr chaanp (Huge work pressure). He was lying. He had lost interest. Finally.Considering that more than 50% of the tickets for the Test were free - distributed through the hosting associations supply chain of clubs as their privileged entitlement - the more worrying question is whether people like our friend have irreversibly lost interest in Test cricket. Has Kolkata gone through the largest mass conversion in history without a whisper?The clue comes from an unexpected location - Kolkatas Maidan market, the Wal-Mart of all popular pirated sports jerseys in the city. One would have expected that most chest-wear in this junta-class market would be stamped Sachin or Dhoni. Ah, surprise. The November winner of the most visible jersey on view was Etihad, the sponsor of Manchester City. If this airline starts flights from Kolkata today, it wouldnt need an advertising budget; it is already the most popular airline in the city.The big question: why has Kolkata moved on?One, with lives accelerating, there is a growing preference for quicker pursuits. The one-time must-attend-every-cricket-match type flew from Kolkata to Delhi to be at the Formula 1, and was later treated for an insomnia-related disorder called EPL-itis. But when the Test match came to Kolkata, he gave his prized club-house ticket to someone who gave it away to someone who gave it away to someone.Two, the football spectacle has got grander as television screens have become larger, audio systems more sensitive and high density de riguer. When the camera comes in from the top-of-the-ground position and the crowd roars Mehsee! Mehsee!, Kolkatas bar stools fill up, grandparents sidle into sofa corners and even the maidservant stands and watches en route to the dining table.My friend Arvind, who runs Shisha, Kolkatas swinging nightclub, says that on nights when the bar licence allows him to serve liquor until 2am, the place stays full with people sipping their whatever and hollering at the giant TV screen. On the other hand, when two teams engaged in a Test match on November 14 - with the understanding that we would only know who won/lost on November 18, and the outside chance that it could well be neither - people at Arvinds place nibbled at their starters and, for a change, looked into each others eyes.Three, in an inflation-obsessed Kolkata, football is a cost-killer. One English willow will set you back Rs 12,000; an equivalent amount can fund one football and jerseys, shorts, shin pads and boots foor 22 players.dddddddddddd Watching a Test match can set you back a few thousands; a number of those who bought tickets for the 2008 Maradona exhibition match paid Rs 100 per head. Nearly 70,000 turned up to watch East Bengal play Mohun Bagan, paying down to Rs 40 a ticket.Four, cricket continues to be snootily elitist in an informal Kolkata. It is surface-sensitive, requires patient rolling and watering for accident-free results. Football tolerates dust and slush (the more the better). A game of cricket on a turf wicket on a formal Kolkata ground costs Rs 5000; football is generally free, because after 9am most grounds are free for most people.Five, the excellence of any sport is reflected in the intensity of its orgasm. In cricket, say, 30 years ago, the big thing was a batsman, tied down for overs, suddenly stepping out and lifting the spinner for a six. The Eden Gardens crowd would break into knowledgeable appreciation. Ki jaajment! (What judgement!) the Bengali would extol, nudging his son. Today, if 70% of the batsmans runs have not been derived from boundaries, he is dismissed as a plodder; five sixes in an innings is now the new cutoff for public recall (lasting four days). So when people say there has been a surfeit of cricket (which has been the running complaint for at least a decade), what they are really saying is: The outstanding is now more commonplace than ever. We dont know how excellent excellence is any longer. In the absence of any index to rate a great innings different from a common one, people have drifted. Kolkata football has picked up the spillover.Six, from the parochial perspective, Kolkata had probably given up on Test cricket years ago but had politely never let on, what with Sourav Ganguly still playing. Now that the Prince of Calcoota has retired and there is no Bengali interest left in international cricket, why bother whether Tendulkar gets his 100th century, or Laxman yet another Eden whopper, or whether India wraps up the match in four days.Seven, the biggest blow has come from electronic surveillance. In the good old days, you could bank on someone at the office to sign you in (Guru, aaj key baanchiye dibi, or Boss, you must save me today). Card-swiping has made attendance in most Kolkata offices fudge-proof. Besides, for the exec type, there is the ubiquitous con-call. For the marketing rep there is the target. For the slacker, there is the pink slip. For the middle-level boxwallah, who does not respond to the email from the US client, there is always the Damocles at the weekly review meeting - You didnt revert for a full 27 minutes. So is Test crickets romance with Kolkata over? Yes and no.Yes, the time when the BCCI could put out any second-rate side and expect the Eden Gardens queue would snake all the way to Esplanade is over. The worm has turned. After years of watching rubbish without complaint, the Kolkatan has finally said no.No, the Bengali will come back when better teams stop by in Kolkata (India versus Pakistan would draw 63,000 on the opening day), if he can buy tickets on the net or from malls, and if the Test begins on Thursday so he can squeeze in two weekend days to watch in person (as opposed to starting on Monday, as happened with this Test) without depleting his casual leaves.If not, football will continue to give cricket a kick in the… forget it. ' ' '