Allen said. Ive tried to do all I can to move on from that.Alle

Erik Williams and Brad Knaub had seen every attempt to exorcise the Curse of the Billy Goat go awry, from intrepid Cubs fans who have smuggled more benevolent goats into Wrigley Field to that Greek Orthodox priest who once sprayed holy water on the dugout.Yet their beloved Cubs continued to come up short.Every year.So, the owners of Carnivore Inc., a company that produces food from responsibly raised animals, decided to take matters into their own hands. They carefully selected a goat from a farm about 90 minutes south of Chicago, had it butchered earlier this week, and proceeded to turn the bleepin bleater into traditional Merguez sausage at their shop in the Chicago suburbs.Their hope is that Cubs fans at Wrigley Field on Friday night can collectively lift the plague by devouring their delicacy before Game 1 of their NL divisional series against the Giants.The previous attempts to reverse the curse with slaughter and macabre acts are obviously only making things worse, Williams said. Its time to make Chicagoans love goat.Of course, you could write this entire enterprise off as another utterly ridiculous idea from a bunch of crackpot Cubs fans willing to try anything to finally win a World Series.Or, you could recognize that research has proven it just may work -- at least on the field. It turns out that numerous academics, principally psychologists, have been investigating for years and in great detail whether superstitions actually have an effect.And lets be honest: No sport is rifer with superstitions than baseball.Nationals pitcher Sean Burnett dutifully puts a poker chip in his back pocket before taking the mound. Rangers pitcher Derek Holland watches a certain part of the film, For The Love of the Game, the night before he pitches. And Royals outfielder Alex Gordon never stands in the on-deck circle, instead wearing out the perfectly manicured grass in precisely the same spot right next it.Many players refuse to step on baselines when theyre running on or off the field, or use the same glove or wear the same grimy helmet, regardless of how much pine tar is caked on it.Theres so much failure in this game, and there are so many repetitions, that if you find something that you think makes you go well for a while, why change that up? Nationals first baseman Clint Robinson said. I can see why baseball would be a superstitious sport.Some players call them routines. Others call them habits or quirks or customs. But in truth, thats all just semantics. Theyre still engaging in some sort of superstition.And theres a chance theyre succeeding because of it.Researchers at the University of Cologne conducted a series of experiments that found that by activating good-luck-related superstitions, such as telling someone to keep their fingers crossed, it improved performance in golfing, dexterity, memory and solving anagrams.They also found superstitions boost confidence, which in turn improves an athletes performance.Dutch researchers published an article in Psychological Science that reached similar conclusions, and then deduced that superstitions are more pervasive when the stakes are high.Its hard to get much higher than the playoffs, where the Cubs are shooting for their first World Series title since 1908 -- long before Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave Game 4 of the 1945 World Series because the odor of his pet goat Murphy was bothering other fans. Sianis, as the story goes, declared that day the Cubs would never win another World Series.Dr. Stuart Vyse, a psychologist and author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, acknowledges that there is no magic behind superstitions. They dont directly affect performance.But, he said, there is growing evidence it has a psychological effect, that if you believe in luck and engage in a superstition you will actually perform better in a skilled activity. And of course, baseball does involve skill.Its worth noting that Vyse grew up a Cubs fan, though hes been rooting for the Red Sox since he moved east. And his father was a lifelong Cubs fan who never saw them win a World Series title.Now, there are superstitions in just about every sport. Basketball players spin the ball a certain way before taking free throws, and hockey goalies slap the pipes a certain number of times before a faceoff, and many athletes listen to certain playlists before they take the field.Yet superstitions are more prevalent in baseball, Vyse said, because of the laborious pace of the game. Players need something to fill their minds while they stand in the outfield or sit in the dugout, so they begin to connect success and failure to certain rituals.Baseball has all this waiting time and if you dont have anything to fill it with, it can make you kind of anxious, Vyse said. Even if youre not superstitious, coaches often recommend players develop a pregame ritual, a routine, something that they can focus on to alleviate anxiety.How does all this translate to fans? Is it possible the superstitious beliefs of a couple of Chicago sausage connoisseurs, and their slaughter of a goat, can help the Cubs win the World Series?In a very loose way, it might be one additional encouragement, Vyse mused. But theres a much more important function for the fans themselves. These people are not unlike players -- their identities are tied up in the local team. Their emotions rise and fall with the fate of the team.So especially for the group, superstitions and bonding -- it makes people feel connected to the team, as if they play a role, even though they can do nothing but be a good fan.---AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this report. Discount Air Jordan 13 . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. Jordan 13 Cheap China .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. http://www.cheapairjordan13.net/ . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. Air Jordan 13 Cheap Sale . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Cheap Air Jordan 13 .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Alexis Jones finished a rebound shy of a triple-double while helping Baylor hand Tennessee one of the most thorough defeats the Lady Volunteers have ever suffered on their home floor.Jones had a career-high 30 points to go along with 10 assists, nine rebounds and just one turnover Sunday as the fourth-ranked Lady Bears trounced No. 22 Tennessee 88-66, matching the Lady Vols biggest home loss ever.I didnt know how close I was until I came out, Jones said. And then they told me all I needed was a rebound.Jones would have become the first Baylor player to ever post a triple-double that included points, rebounds and assists. Baylors last triple-double came from Brittney Griner, who had 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks against West Virginia on March 2, 2013.Baylor (9-1) scored the games first 11 points and never looked back to earn its seventh straight victory. The Lady Bears led by as many as 35 points before coasting to victory in this SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup.The one loss that we suffered this year, we felt that it was a lack of focus, a lack of mental toughness, Baylor forward Nina Davis said in reference to a 72-61 loss at Connecticut on Nov. 17. We felt like we werent aggressive. Thats something that were not trying to have happen again, so each and every game were coming in with a mindset that were going to come in and dominate from the beginning of the game to the end.Davis had 20 points and nine rebounds for Baylor. Khadijiah Cave added 10 points.Mercedes Russell had 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for Tennessee. Jaime Nared had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Diamond DeShields added 13 points.The only other time Tennessee (4-3) fell by as many as 22 points at home was a 74-52 loss to Texas on Dec. 1, 1985, at the old Stokely Athletics Center. Tennessee moved from Stokely to Thompson-Boling Arena in 1987-88.Weve got players that are underachieving, Tennessee coachh Holly Warlick said.ddddddddddddWere just underachieving and were not playing hard. I dont know. Honestly, I dont have an answer. (Baylor) looked a lot better prepared than the Lady Vols.THE TAKEAWAYBaylor: The Lady Bears capitalized on their size to dominate this game from start to finish. Baylor outscored Tennessee 58-28 in points in the paint. Baylor didnt need much Sunday from Kalani Brown, who scored just two points. Brown entered the day averaging 14.2 points per game to rank second on the team.Tennessee: The Lady Vols need more from DeShields. After committing 10 turnovers in a loss at Virginia Tech last week, DeShields shot 4 of 14 and had five turnovers against Baylor. She scored just two points in the first half.POLL IMPLICATIONSTennessees loss leaves the Lady Vols in danger of falling out of the Top 25. Tennessee ended a string of 565 consecutive weeks in the Top 25 late last season when it fell out of the rankings for the first time since 1985.NOTABLE NUMBERSOnly a major discrepancy at the foul line prevented the score from being even more lopsided. Tennessee was 23 of 33 on free throws while Baylor was 7 of 9. Baylor didnt attempt a single free throw in the first half.I dont know if Ive ever coached a game where we never shot a free throw until the middle of the third quarter -- and youre winning (by) 35-40 points, Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. I dont know how you explain that. We never got to the foul line. If you look, they shot three or four times as many free throws. That has to speak volumes for how well (our) team played.QUOTABLETheyve got to go down swinging, Warlick said. Theyve got to carry a big stick. Were carrying a little twig right now, and that aint working.UP NEXTBaylor hosts Texas State on Tuesday.Tennessee visits No. 14 Texas on Dec. 11. ' ' '