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CLEVELAND -- Jason Kipnis was raised on Chicagos North Side, and like so many other kids, he grew up idolizing Ryne Sandberg, watching Sammy Sosa smash home runs and listening to Harry Caray.He bled Cubs blue.And he never once blamed Steve Bartman -- they went to the same high school, by the way.We have a joke, the Indians second baseman said, referring to the infamous fan vilified in Chicago for a failed attempt to catch a postseason foul ball. The only thing Im mad at Bartman for is missing an easy flyball.Kipnis finds himself in a unique situation in his first World Series, facing the team that helped shape his life. The Cubs are in his DNA. Theyre the team he learned to love, the one that taught him the game and the one that often broke his heart. But while Kipnis family and friends intend to remain true to their Cubbies over the next week, his loyalties are not divided.Theres zero conflict at all, he said Tuesday on the eve of Game 1. Lets be clear about that.Kipnis, though, said watching the Cubs wrap up their first NL pennant since 1945 on TV was emotional. Some of his friends were at Wrigley Field on Saturday night and when the last out was recorded, part of Kipnis was there, too.I didnt know how to handle it, he said. I didnt know if I was happy, mad, sad. I was emotional. I was choked up, I was like, `Oh, no what does this mean right now? But its nothing more than excitement for the games.He was 11 in that magical summer of 1998 when Sosa and Mark McGwire seemed to belt a home run in every at-bat. Baseball was bulked up and booming and Kipnis was under its spell.As he reminisced during an interview session, the two-time All-Star seemed to remember every swing.Thats when I was really watching baseball closely and turning into a baseball fan, said Kipnis, who is dealing with a sprained left ankle sustained in Clevelands ALCS celebration. In the `98 season, it was `Hey, Sammys up, get to a TV every time. And on WGN there were always recaps of the games. Thats pretty much what I grew up on.He was in high school when Bartman, innocently sitting in a front row seat down the left-field field lane, became an unintentional celebrity in Game 6 of the NL Championship. The slight man, wearing a Cubs cap and headphones so he could listen to the game on the radio, reached out and tried to catch a foul ball in the eighth inning as Cubs outfielder Moises Alou tried to close in.The Cubs derailed from there, blowing a big lead and losing and then dropping Game 7.The Curse had a new chapter.Kipnis lived close to Bartman and very vividly remembers seeing police staked out around his house to prevent any zealous fans from getting at him. There are Cubs fans to this day who hold a grudge toward Bartman. He has remained in hiding.He didnt deserve that, Kipnis said. He never asked for all the stuff that probably happened to him afterward. I dont think he deserved any of that. He was probably actually a pretty loyal fan and he wanted a ball, and its just the way events turns that turned him into this scapegoat.Kipnis wishes those Chicago fans who havent been able to let go would finally forgive Bartman and turn an ugly moment into something special.I would love to see him throw out a first pitch, he said. Everyone would go nuts.Despite his Second City roots, Kipnis knows hell be treated like a complete stranger -- and sworn enemy -- when the Series shifts to Wrigley for Game 3. Hes taking solace that there will be a few welcomed faces in the crowd.But the Friendly Confines wont be very friendly.He wouldnt have it any other way.If theyre Cubs fans, theyll boo as they should if youre a baseball fan, he said. But Ill have enough there that youll hopefully hear a couple cheers.Kipnis knows what a championship would mean to fans for both teams, who have gone a combined 174 seasons without celebrating a World Series title.They have the only drought that could make our drought look small, he said. Theyve got us by 40 years. Both franchises have been yearning for this championship, but its pretty neat one of them will come to an end.And Kipnis isnt torn over which one he hopes continues.Theres not one part of me that doesnt wish this curse would keep going, he said.---This version corrects to NL pennant instead of AL pennant in the seventh paragraph.Nike Shoes From China . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. 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Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days.Haseeb Hameeds first Test hurrah and the Mannequin Challenge gave everyone pause for thought in the drawn opening Test between India and England.Coupled with Adil Rashids re-emergence as a spin sorcerer, the arrival of DRS in India and Alastair Cook eclipsing Sir Donald Bradman, it was quite a five days in Rajkot…Hameeds heroicsLets open with the teenager. Wise decision. Now, the pitch at Rajkot didnt rag square - this was no devilish Dhaka or crazy-paved Chittagong - but even so, Haseeb Hameed produced a dreamy debut that made a mockery of those who pigeon-holed his game as more attune to timeless Tests.Using the crease with the agility of a scrawny Billy Elliott, the 19-year-old scored 113 runs - becoming the third-youngest English batsman to score a fifty on debut in the process - but it was the manner in which he went about his business that impressed most.Its funny how some players look born to do play Test cricket, mused Mike Atherton, before comparing Hameeds fledgling career to the start of Joe Roots. Haseeb Hameed described the path to his Test debut as surreal Playing fully forward and fully back, Hameed countered the worlds No 1 bowler Ravichandran Ashwin with a heartening surety before being undone by some drift from around the wicket in the first dig and selflessly going on the offensive in the second.The pick of his shots? A six down the ground off Ravindra Jadeja. Refreshingly, his demeanour is as cool, calm and collected off the pitch as it is on it and, based on the speed of his reactions as he snapped up Amit Mishra, there are the makings of an exceptional close catcher in there too. Nasser Hussain analyses Hameeds technique at the crease Mannequin mayhemSir Ian Botham is usually in perpetual motion but even he paused to take part in the latest craze sweeping social media - the Mannequin Challenge - offering a prolonged view of the very rare sight of Beefy getting the teas in.Time had not, as Nasser Hussain would later suggest, stopped still while Mike Atherton told one of his stories - rather the statuesque commentators struck a pose for the 71-second video which quickly went viral around the world.Nowhere more so than in India where the sight of Kapil Dev tucking into some tiffin and the ever-stylish Laxman Sivaramakrishnan doing his barnet are presumably must-see sights. Ian Botham and Michael Atherton join in the commentators Mannequin Challenge Nasser would later do his own version of the Mannequin Challenge in the nets when attempting to hit a young spinner for four - advancing only to then appear motionless as he was beaten in the flight to be stumped by an absolute distance.This mishap came just a day after the Sky Sports commentator kicked a stumped out of the ground after dragging another spinner, with an action eerily reminiscent of Graeme Swann, into his wicket. Englands Jonny Bairstow had some advice as Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain padded up for a spin demo.dddddddddddd Rashid re-bornIf England have answered the eternal question of who will partner Alastair Cook long-term at the top of the innings (until he retires, at least), then they might just have the solution to their spin-bowling conundrum too after Adil Rashid returned his best match figures in a Test - following up his first-innings of 4-114 with 3-64.After a baffling array of deliveries in Bangladesh, Englands spin attack in general upped its game in Rajkot with Rashids improvement the most telling: improved pace + control = wickets + confidence boost.Unsurprisingly, Cooks belief in his leggie also took a sharp upturn and the stock of spin coach Saqlain Mushtaq is certainly on the rise. England spinner Adil Rashid heaped praise on spin coach Saqlain Mushtaq Those tempted to pack Rashid off back home before the series even began suddenly had to think again - Bob Willis even remarking: One swallow doesnt make a summer but it was fine bowling and I take my hat off to him. That counts as high praise from Bob!The temptation was to throw Rashid into the attack as early as possible - a temptation Cook resisted in both innings in part, presumably, because of the difficulty of gripping the newer, more slippery ball. Whatever the reason, Rashids form bodes well for England for the rest of the series.The right decisionOh, the trials of technology. The arrival of DRS into India was greeted jubilantly in some quarters, most conspicuously by the family of Cheteshwar Pujara after Indias number four successfully overturned an lbw decision won by Zafar Ansari when he had 86 in the first innings - Pujara going on to make 124.His second innings dismissal goes to show that your fate is only as good as your batting partners judgement - Pujara falling lbw to an Adil Rashid delivery that Murali Vijay failed to spot had pitched outside leg. Cheteshaw Pujara scored his ninth Test century after a successful review Youve got to wonder about these sharp-eyed opening batsmen - Alastair Cooks wicket the first to fall in the Test when Hameed didnt insist he reviewed a Ravindra Jadeja delivery that was slipping down leg. Way to impress your skipper!Hameed then compounded his slip up by wasting a review on his dismissal when trapped in front by Ashwin. The presence of DRS ramped up the tension in the final session as England probed for a clatter of wickets but it also led to a little mischief earlier in the Test - England comically reviewing a not out decision against Vijay after he middled a Moeen Ali delivery, knowing that the new ball and two new reviews were just around the corner.Cook cracks onThe most surprising aspect of Englands first-innings 537 was that Cook wasnt one of the three players to make a hundred. The combined efforts of Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes ensured that, for the first time in almost 55 years, the tourists chalked up three centuries in an innings on the sub-continent.Once Murali Vijay and Pujara had countered with tons of their own, Cook was back in 2012 mode as he cruised to his fifth century in India - a new record as he eclipsed the four apiece scored by South Africas Hashim Amla and West Indian duo Clive Lloyd and Everton Weekes. Watch Cook crack up another ton in the highlights of day five The 30th Test ton of his career also took him above Australian legend Sir Donald Bradman (who scored his 29 hundreds in rather fewer Tests - taking just 52 in comparison to Cooks 136) and level with Australian Matthew Hayden and West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Seriously, why would you even entertain the idea of retiring from the captaincy when in such nick - a point Cook was keen to impress on the media before the Test. And you know what? I reckon he got Englands second innings declaration pretty much spot on too.Watch the second Test between India and England at Visakhapatnam live on Sky Sports 2 from 3.30am on Thursday.Also See:India hold out for drawScorecardWatch highlightsCommentary ' ' '