Wir suchen Dich! » PICTUREOklahoma States pressure defen

CHICAGO -- Tom Ricketts was walking back to the owners meetings Wednesday when he was stopped by a few people on the street, eager to congratulate him on the Chicago Cubs World Series title.Such is life for Ricketts these days. It has been two weeks since the franchise won its first championship since 1908, and the party is still going strong.Its great. I mean the teams a member of the family for a lot of folks, Ricketts said, and the fact that we had this kind of success after all these years of not quite getting there is just magical for this whole city.Ricketts will be acknowledged by his fellow owners for the title at some point during the meetings, but otherwise its pretty much business as usual. Asked whether he might be handed a few more bar tabs as a result of the historic championship, a grinning Ricketts responded: Well see tonight.Among the steak dinners, drinks and hallway chatter at The Drake in downtown Chicago, the dominant item on the owners agenda is baseballs collective bargaining agreement, which expires Dec. 1. Negotiators for owners and players have been meeting since spring training.Baseball has not had a work stoppage since 1994-95, and Commissioner Rob Manfred appears confident there will be an agreement by December.I trust the commissioner, trust the commissioners office, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said. Theyre going to do a great job, and everybodys been working hard. Thats about all I could add.Some of the major issues include the owners desire for a draft of international amateur players, the luxury-tax threshold and whether there will be changes to the draft-pick compensation system for premier free agents.The uncertainty surrounding the CBA could affect free agency and trade talks, but Steinbrenner made it sound as if the Yankees are pretty set about their plans no matter what happens with the labor talks.I dont think its going to impact it much as far as where were going to be, Steinbrenner said. I mean weve got money coming off the payroll for the first time in a few years, and were going to put a decent portion of it back into the club, like we always do. How much remains to be seen, depending on what our needs are and whats available.The Yankees traded slugger Carlos Beltran and relievers Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman in a rare pre-deadline sell-off on their way to an 84-78 record and a fourth-place finish in the AL East. Steinbrenner reiterated his desire to get under the luxury-tax threshold, wherever it lands with the new agreement, but he mentioned upgrading the bullpen as a priority.That could lead to a reunion with Chapman, who saved 20 games for the Yankees before helping the Cubs win the World Series.Look, anytime you can get a guy thats already proven he can play in New York ... its a tough place to play and if you can get a guy thats proven he can play there, then thats a plus, Steinbrenner said.Everyone is chasing the Cubs after they won a major league-best 103 games and the franchises third championship. But winter also is the season for stadium renovations, and the Yankees and Cubs are both working on construction projects.Yankee Stadium is getting more social gathering places, and the club also is enhancing its facility in Tampa, Florida. Wrigley Field is getting what Ricketts called a home plate club of premium seats, similar to other stadiums, but nothing as dramatic as when the jumbo videoboards were added to the iconic ballpark for 2015.Now it really is primarily about rebuilding the park and adding bathrooms and adding points of sale and doing all the little things to make it not only the park you would want to watch a game in, but one that serves as then like a modern park, Ricketts said.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenapAllen Craig Red Sox Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Eduardo Nunez Jersey . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. https://www.cheapredsox.com/401z-dustin-pedroia-jersey-red-sox.html . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Andrew Benintendi Red Sox Jersey .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Jimmie Foxx Jersey . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona.LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Oklahoma States relentless pressure caused havoc against lesser opponents through the first three games.It worked just as well in the Cowboys first true test this season.Jawun Evans had 35 points and five of Oklahoma States 18 steals, lifting the Cowboys to a 98-90 win over Connecticut Monday night in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.I love the fact we had 18 steals. Thats a great number, Oklahoma State coach Brad Underwood said. That means were being active and bothersome now.Oklahoma State (4-0) jumped on the Huskies from the opening tip, turning one steal after another into points in transition. The Cowboys hit five 3-pointers during an opening 18-3 run and finished 12 for 20 from the arc.Jeffrey Carroll and Phil Forte had 18 points each, helping Oklahoma State move on to the second round against No. 4 North Carolina or Chaminade.Evans also had six assists, four rebounds and one turnover.These two guys are awfully hard to guard and thats a great weapon, Underwood said of Evans and Forte.UConn (1-3) struggled with Oklahoma States constant pressure, turning it over 18 times. Jalen Adams had the most trouble with the Cowboys defense, turning it over six times in the opening five minutes and 10 overall.Adams finished with 34 points, six rebounds and six assists. Rodney Purvis added 20 points.The Huskies lost sophomore forward Terry Larrier to a left leg injury in the first half.I just love my kids effort. They tried to get back in the game, UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. I think we cut it to four, but it was just a little bit too late. And we just have to start off a little stronger and weve got to take care of the ball a little bit more.The Cowboys used their relentless pressure and ability to score in transition to average 107 points their first three games. Those came against lesser opponents, so Maui represented their first true test.Oklahoma State was at its harassing best against UConn early, forcing Huskies guard Jalen Adams to tturn it over six times in the opening five minutes.dddddddddddd. The Cowboys turned many of those into transition 3-pointers, hitting 5 of 8 while opening with an 18-3 run.The Huskies held their ground for the rest of the half, though it did little good. Oklahoma State led 40-26 at halftime behind Evans 16 points.UConn finally started to get a handle on Oklahoma States pressure and got some defensive stops, trimming the Cowboys lead to seven with about five minutes left.The Huskies hit a pair of late 3-pointers, but Evans finished them off by hitting three free throws in the final 29 seconds.We definitely can build off of it, Purivs said. Our main thing is we just got to get off to a good start and take care of the basketball.LARRIERS INJURYLarrier was expected to be a big contributor this season after transferring from Virginia Commonwealth. He went down after being stripped of the ball, slapping the floor and screaming as trainers rushed out to him.Larrier was unable to put any weight on his left leg and stopped by to offer his teammates encouragement after being helped to the locker room.He left the arena on crutches and a heavy brace on his left leg.I know its a knee injury, but we dont know the significance of it yet, Ollie said.BIG PICTUREOklahoma States pressure defense withstood its first real test after beating three overmatched opponents and the Cowboys knocked down their 3s, something that will be key this season for them.The Huskies allowed themselves to get sped up by the Cowboys while falling into a big early hole and now face the possibility of playing without Larrier for an extended period.UP NEXTOklahoma State moves on the face the winner between No. 4 North Carolina and host Chaminade in Tuesdays second roundUConn plays the North Carolina-Chaminade loser.---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '