After putting the Curse of the Billy Goat out to pasture, Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts is looking to make peace with another one of the historical ghosts that have haunted the team over the years.Having ended the Cubs 108-year World Series championship drought, Ricketts now wants to contact Steve Bartman.It was just so important for this organization to put this lovable loser crap to bed, Ricketts told USA Today Sports on Wednesday. ...?We had to get past that and put that in the history of the Cubs, and not the future. We changed that dialogue, and now, its all a thing in the past.Bartman was vilified by some in Chicago for attempting to catch a ball above outfielder Moises Alou along the wall in left field during Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series between the Cubs and Marlins. Bartman made contact but didnt catch it, and neither did Alou, who would have made the second out in the eighth inning but instead jumped up and down in frustration. The Cubs fell apart and lost that game and also Game 7.At the right time, Ricketts said?of his plan to contact Bartman. Im sure well figure something out that provides closure for everybody. Hopefully, we can make it work.I never focused on ghosts or curses or Bartman or any of that stuff. ... We wanted to eventually get to that point where we can pick out rings ... and here we are.Frank Murtha, a lawyer who has served as Bartmans spokesman, told USA Today that Bartman still lives and works in the Chicago area. Bartman has not conducted any interviews since the 2003 incident.[Bartman] was just overjoyed that the Cubs won, as all the Cubs fans are, Murtha said after the Cubs clinched the title.Steven Wright Jersey . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Brian Johnson Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. https://www.cheapredsox.com/2611z-luis-tiant-jersey-red-sox.html . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Tzu-Wei Lin Jersey . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Johnny Pesky Jersey . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room.Former linebacker DeMeco Ryans filed a lawsuit against the NFL and Houston Texans, seeking more than $10 million in damages because an Achilles tendon injury he suffered due to the playing surface at NRG Stadium in 2014 effectively ended his NFL career.The lawsuit, filed Friday in Harris County (Texas) District Court, also names Harris County Convention Sports Corp., SMG, which manages NRG Stadium, and StrathAyr Turf Systems as defendants.The lawsuit states that because of the playing surface at NRG Stadium on Nov. 2, 2014, Ryans suffered a torn Achilles tendon that prematurely ended his noteworthy NFL career as without the injury he would have in reasonable probability, remained in the league for another five years.The Texans told ESPN they would not comment on current litigation.Ryans was placed on injured reserve in 2014 following his injury, which happened on a noncontact play. He played 14 games for the Eagles in 2015 but wasnt as effective following his injury and was released by the team last February and went unsigned as a free agent.At the time of Ryans injury, the Texans were playing on a grass field where modules of grass created by StrathAyr Turf Systems were grown outside the stadium and then placed by forklift onto the playing surface. The Texans switched to AstroTurf in Week 3 last season and are playing on artificial turf again this season.The lawsuit states that, on Nov. 2, 2014, there were points where the seams between the Modules intersected appeared to look like holes filled in with sand. The surface of the field was also inconsistent as some of the Modules were soft, some were firm and the Modules did not fit together well.The lawsuit cites widespread complaints by NFL players abbout the playing surface at NRG Field and significant noncontact injuries caused by the field that should have prompted the Texans to change the playing surface before the Nov.dddddddddddd 2, 2014, game.Then-New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker suffered a knee injury in January 2010, but because he played for the opposition, the Texans management and owners did not really care, the lawsuit states.Then-Texans punter Brett Hartmann suffered a knee injury in 2011 that ended his career, but the lawsuit states that to the Texans, Brett Harmann was just a punter, and because he had not been in the league for long, the Texans and the NFL didnt really care about what happened to him.The lawsuit says that it wasnt until Texans linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, taken by the team with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, suffered a knee injury in his first NFL game that limited him to four games in his rookie season, that the team cared about the situation. Then-teammate D.J. Swearinger told NFL media at the time that Clowney told him he was injured after he landed on a hole in the turf.Then, and only then, was it time for Defendants to fix the problem, the lawsuit states.Contacted by ESPN, the Texans said they do not comment on pending litigation. ProFootballTalk.com, which first reported on the lawsuit, reported the NFL had no comment when contacted about the case.Ryans, a second-round pick by Houston in 2006, spent six seasons with the Texans before he was traded to the Eagles in 2012. He was selected for the Pro Bowl twice.ESPNs Sarah Barshop contributed to this report. ' ' '