Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Thursday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT:- CHICAGO -- No more Lovable Losers. Forget about curses, too. For the first time in 108 years, the Cubs can -- get this -- turn their attention toward a championship repeat.- CLEVELAND -- Nobody gave the Indians a chance all season, yet there they were in extra innings in Game 7 of the World Series. The future looks promising for a team that spent 2016 overcoming every obstacle in its path.- CLEVELAND -- Theo Epstein, baseballs drought-buster, ended long runs of failure for the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. Its safe to say this baseball guru will find his way to the Hall of Fame.- Theyll relive the game for generations, these Cubs fans, talking about the magical night in Cleveland when the skies opened and the curse of the Billy Goat was buried once and for all.- MIAMI -- President Barack Obama invites the Cubs to visit him at the White House. But Obama (a White Sox fan) reminds them to act quickly. He leaves office in mid-January.- TAMPA, Fla. -- Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons try to tighten their grip on first place in the NFC South when they face Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Game starts 8:25 p.m.- FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady has played in only four games, but at 39 he is in the conversation to become the oldest winner of the MVP award.- ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Wade Phillips didnt lose his sense of humor when Melvin Gordon plowed over him on the sideline. The Broncos defensive coordinator discusses the jarring crash.- OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kevin Durant faces Russell Westbrook and the rest of his former Oklahoma City teammates for the first time since joining Golden State. Oklahoma City is 4-0. Game starts 10:30 p.m.- NEW YORK -- Rookie sensation Jimmy Vesey and the surging Rangers look for their sixth win in seven games when they play the Western Conference-leading Edmonton. Game starts 7 p.m.- Two Top 25 college football games Thursday night: No. 12 Oklahoma at Iowa State (7:30 p.m.) and UCLA at No. 21 Colorado (9 p.m.).- The AP announces its womens basketball preseason All-America team.- VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Villanova has basked in a championship celebration for seven months. Now its time to defend the crown. The Wildcats are the Big East favorites and ranked fourth in the nation.- PARIS -- Marin Cilic earns a spot in the ATP finals by defeating David Goffin to reach the Paris Masters quarterfinals. The 2014 U.S. Open champion will next face top-ranked Novak Djokovic or Grigor Dimitrov.- LAS VEGAS -- Opening round of Shriners Children Hospitals Open on PGA Tour. Davis Love III is playing for the first time since he was the winning captain at the Ryder Cup.Air Max 95 NZ Wholesale . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. Cheap Air Max 95 NZ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.airmax95pnz.com/ . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Air Max 95 Sale NZ . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Buy Air Max 95 NZ . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency.Just over a fortnight ago North Queenslands bid for back-to-back NRL premierships appeared in tatters.The Cowboys had just been beaten by the lowly Sydney Roosters 22-10 - their third loss in a row - and any hope of a top-four finish seemed gone.Fast forward two weeks and the Cowboys are back on track.Victories over the Warriors and Canterbury mean the premiers will finish fourth with a win over Gold Coast at home on Saturday, giving them a double chance in the finals.Centre Justin ONeill admits the teams confidence took a hammering during the run of defeats and says they had to rediscover their desire to turn things around.The fire in our belly definitely came back in our last couple of games, he said.That was something we were lacking aa little bit.dddddddddddd That hunger to win games and do whatever it took to win.The last couple of games has really helped get confidence and morale back up around the club.No club has gone back-to-back in a unified rugby league competition since Brisbane in 1992-93.The Cowboys have long stated that defending their title is a driving force and ONeill admits securing a top-four finish will go a long way to achieving that ambition.It was definitely a goal for us, he said.We definitely wanted to finish in the top four. Weve put ourselves in a good position to do that and the rest is going to be up to ourselves. ' ' '