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A18 SPORTS
Saturday 31 december 2016
AP sports story

Continued from Page 17

That would have been Ali was mourned all over
enough to make it one of the world after his death in
the top sports stories of any June at age 74. President
year, but an epic finish only Barack Obama called his
added to the luster of the wife, Lonnie, to express his
franchise’s third champi- condolences, and a pub-
onship. lic memorial in the boxer’s
The Cubs dropped three of hometown of Louisville,
the first four games in the Kentucky, drew an eclec-
World Series against the tic mix of celebrities, ath-
Indians, and then rallied letes and politicians.
to force Game 7 in Cleve- “He was a tremendous bolt
land. of lightning, created by
After Chicago blew a 6-3 Mother Nature out of thin
lead in the finale, outfield- air, a fantastic combina-
er Jason Heyward got his tion of power and beauty,”
teammates together dur- comedian Billy Crystal said. In this June 8, 2016, file photo, a portrait of Muhammad Ali is displayed next to a pair of boxing
ing a short rain delay be- James called Ali “the first gloves at the “I Am Ali Festival” at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, Ky. Ali
fore the top of the 10th. icon,” and announced in died on June 3, 2016.
The Cubs caught their November he planned to Associated Press
breath, and then finished donate $2.5 million to sup-
off the famed Billy Goat port a museum exhibit hon-
Curse with an 8-7 victory oring the former heavy- ond title for Cleveland, but stein said. “It was a nice the whole curse narrative
that will live on in the bars weight champion. they fell just short. way to celebrate and flush once and for all.”q
of Wrigleyville for many He also is producing a doc- A day after Game 7, a
years to come. umentary on Ali for HBO. hungover and hungry
“The players-only meeting It was quite a year for crew of Epstein, general
during the rain delay was James, who powered manager Jed Hoyer and a
emblematic of this team,” Cleveland to its own couple friends were back
Epstein said. “Instead of comeback from a 3-1 defi- at Wrigley Field when they
lamenting the blown lead cit against Golden State decided to get something
or pointing fingers, the for the city’s first major pro- to eat. The main dish was
players rallied around one fessional sports champion- fitting.
another and picked each ship since 1964. He tried to “We enjoyed some warm
other up.” cheer the Indians to a sec- goat and cold beer,” Ep-

In this June 19, 2016, file photo, Cleveland Cavaliers forward
LeBron James, center, celebrates with teammates, including
Kevin Love, third from left, after they won Game 7 of basketball’s
NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif.
Associated Press