as TBS did for the Atlanta Braves.Transplanted fans clearly seek the Wrigley experience, even when in remote places such as Denver, as the recent contr

As much as were loyal to Section 416, its great to see the Cubs play away from home. Rich, Old Style and I went to St. Louis in 2015, and this year, we journeyed to Milwaukee.For better and worse, Cubs fans are never lonely on the road.Our trip to Americas Dairyland was, like everything else about the 2016 season, different. Last year in St. Louis, we could have used a modern Moses to part the sea of red shirts and caps. A distinct and gently heckled minority, we watched the Cardinals beat the Cubs not long before Maddons team began its hot streak into October, and we didnt have a lot of fellow Chicagoans to commiserate with.At Miller Park this year, Cubs fans werent just a few stray visitors. We were an invading army. Our downtown hotel lobby teemed with folks in Arrieta, Bryant and Banks jerseys. Whole families in matching Cubs caps huddled in corners, trying to figure out the shuttle to the park. The restaurant was jammed for pregame chicken wings, burgers and beer.Only the preponderance of children and the vast parking lots around Miller Park kept Milwaukee from feeling wholly like Wrigleyville.Cubs fans dont just travel. They live everywhere. Thanks to the Rust Belt Diaspora that has sent so many people from Chicago to cities in the South and West, Cubs players can count on cheering and autograph-seeking fans at any ballpark from Atlanta to Phoenix to San Diego. Baseball fan identity is as much about who your mother or father rooted for as it is about where you were born, so the children of Cubs fans who moved to the Sun Belt are just as genuine as any born and bred on the North Side.Beyond relocated Chicagoans, cable TV superstation WGN helped to create a nationwide Cubs fan population during the 1980s and 90s, much as TBS did for the Atlanta Braves.Transplanted fans clearly seek the Wrigley experience, even when in remote places such as Denver, as the recent controversy over a young fan throwing a Rockies home run ball back onto the field suggests. Security came and escorted the lad and his family away, which showed that Wrigley bleacher traditions dont exactly translate to other ballparks. Luckily, some common sense prevailed, and the family was able to return to their seats.One key difference between the experience at Wrigley, with 2016s high expectations and great record, and other ballparks: You can get great seats out of town without dealing with scalpers. Rich scored tickets in the 10th row behind home plate. Officially obstructed view because of the protective netting, these were among the best seats weve ever had at any level.But things werent perfect, and the worst part of this particular experience was something peculiar to a Wisconsin road trip: high expectations about sausages. I have had nothing but good encased meat experiences north of the Illinois border. But the crowd was apparently more than the Miller Park concessions workers were prepared for.Lines were long and slow, and when I finally got my brat, it was cold. And it wasnt cooked all the way through. No amount of mustard and onions could save it.I threw it back like an opponents home run ball -- not onto the field, though, as that wouldve been ejection-worthy -- and headed to our seats.It soon became obvious how many Cubs fans were there. Based on the volume of cheering at Dexter Fowlers leadoff home run in his first at-bat after being on the DL, at least half the place wasnt pulling for the Brew Crew. This sort of split crowd changes the dynamics of a game.Usually, theres a rhythm to crowd reactions. When the home team gets a hit or a strikeout or makes a good defensive play, the vast majority of the crowd cheers. When the visitors do well, its boos or stony silence. The intensity ratchets up in the late innings of a close contest, but the noise ebbs and flows.Not so with the Cubs on the road this year. Every play, whatever its result, gets raucously cheered, either by Cubs fans or by the home teams rooters, and so the noise is pretty much constant. As the Cubs cruised to a 5-2 victory, the Brewers fans got quieter and the rhythm of the crowd noise felt more like Wrigley.The guys seated directly behind us, though, made clear the potential negative of Cubs fans taking over opposing ballparks.There are lots of varieties of Cubs fans, and the guys behind us were of the drink-an-inning/know-it-all variety. Besides loading up on beer and Long Island Iced Tea, one of them loudly questioned every decision made during the game. Whatever pitching or defensive move Maddon made, whatever pitch Miguel Montero called, whatever pitch a Cubs batter took or swung at, this mope would ask, What was that?! What are they thinking?! When the move worked (Justin Grimm got the third out in the seventh, striking out the only batter he faced), well, then he cheered for what was obviously the right move all along.Nine innings of that got a bit tedious. But unlike the experience with season tickets -- you get to know and love, or know and not love, the people sitting around you -- you can put up with almost anything for one game.Except an under-done bratwurst. Discount Sneakers . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Cheap Sneakers From China .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. http://www.cheapsneakers.us/ . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Adidas Sneakers Cheap . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. Cheap Nike Sneakers . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). SEATTLE -- No. 4 Washington will be without its best edge pass rusher for the rest of the season, no matter how long the season lasts.Washington defensive end Joe Mathis will miss the rest of the season after it was determined surgery was the best way to repair a foot injury suffered a few weeks ago, coach Chris Petersen said Monday.Mathis had been rehabbing the foot in the hopes that a non-surgical treatment could get him back on the field toward the end of the regular season or potentially the postseason. But the decision was made late last week that the best long-term solution for Mathis was to have surgery.He might have been able to rehab and get in there for some games down the road but just between him and the doctors and all that stuff after rehabbing for a couple of weeks, I dont think he was going to feel real comfortable, Petersen said.Mathis injury is a huge blow to a defense that has been having a standout season. Mathis led Washington with five sacks and was particularly disruptive in two of the Huskies more impressive victories, against Stanford and Oregon. Mathis had two sacks against the Cardinal and had three tackles for loss against the Ducks. But the lasting image of Mathis season may have been his pass rush against Stanford that knocked over right tackle Casey Tucker.Mathis was injured between Washingtons win at Oregon on Oct. 8 and its game two weeks later against Oregon State.Getting pressure off the edge was one of the big questions Washington faced entering the season afteer the graduation of Travis Feeney and Cory Littleton from last years team.dddddddddddd That duo combined for 14 sacks and 28 + tackles for loss in 2015.Mathis helped fill that void immediately along with linebacker Psalm Wooching rushing from the other side. The duo combined for 9 + total sacks.Mathis was originally recruited to Washington by former coach Steve Sarkisian and struggled at first to fit into Petersens system and his mandates for playing for the Huskies. Mathis tweeted at one point after Petersens arrival about wanting to leave Washington. Mathis stuck around even through a brief suspension during the 2014 season.Hes had a lot of stuff football-wise too, injuries and stuff. Hes had a lot of things to weather and hes done a really good job with it, Petersen said. Its unfortunate that he cant finish his senior year out here. Football is important to him and hes a good player for us and all those things. I think all the things that hes been through, on the field, off the field, put him in a position to be able to handle this and I think hes really positive hell get his foot fixed and try to keep playing.Connor OBrien will continue to start in Mathis place, as he has for the past three games. Since stepping into Mathis role, OBrien has 16 tackles, 2 + tackles for loss and one sack in the past three games.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '