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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The crowd gathered at New England Patriots training camp broke into the first of several choruses of Happy Birthday on Wednesday morning.Tom Brady, who turned 39 Wednesday, waved to the crowd, then went back to work.Brady, of course, will miss the first four games of the regular season because of his Deflategate suspension, is allowed to practice right up until the Patriots make their final roster cuts, but then has to be away from the team.For now, however, its business as usual as Brady works along with likely replacement Jimmy Garoppolo and rookie Jacoby Brissett.Brady hasnt spoken to reporters in camp, his only public words coming when he showed up, wearing Kevin Faulks No. 33, at Faulks Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony Monday.But his birthday was a center of attention Wednesday.He didnt get it (from his teammates) too bad today, said safety Devin McCourty. I tried to make a wish for him, we celebrate his birthday with some interceptions but he wasnt for it. There were no interceptions today.Defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, a new Brady teammate, marvels at what Brady can do at his age.It hit me today when I realized he was born in the 70s, Knighton said. I dont know how hes doing it, but hes doing it at a high level. I feel bad for everybody that has to go against him because hes not slowing down.Reminded Brady would hear the 70s quote, Knighton said, Thats cool, thats cool. I told him `Happy birthday, old man, today, but I still got a few more words for him once I get back in the locker room.Asked if he could think of a gift you can give Brady, Knighton said, Not at all. I think that at this point he should be buying everyone gifts for making it through 39.Knighton, listed as 6-3/355, says he would win a footrace against Brady, adding Theres probably like three quarterbacks that can beat me in a foot race.Garoppolo, asked what he got his mentor, said, I cant tell you guys that. Come on.Coach Bill Belichick had another view of the big Jack Benny birthday.Well, first of all, I dont think we want to miss Chris Barkers birthday as long as were celebrating, Belichick said.Belichick, asked about Bradys work ethic getting him to 39 and still playing well, said, Yeah, no question, Tom works hard. (He) works very hard at all phases of the game. I think you have to, to play as long as he has.Barker, a defensive lineman, turned 26 Wednesday.I take a little piece of pride every time somebody in the crowd says, `Happy birthday Brady, he said. I just change it to Barker in my head.Asked if he heard anyone wish him a happy birthday, Barker said, Tom did, so thats all I needed right there. In the locker room right before we came out he said `happy birthday and I said `happy birthday right back.Reminded his coach gave him a shout-out earlier, Barker said, Thats a present right there. Thats good enough for me.Game notesRookie TE Bryce Williams, trying to make the team as an undrafted free agent, had his left knee wrapped in ice for most of practice. ... WR Chris Hogan reportedly wont be out long with a shoulder injury. . Rookie CB/PR Cyrus Jones, the 60th pick in the draft, but New Englands first after losing its first rounder in the Deflategate punishment, continues to impress, as does rookie WR Malcolm Mitchell, a fourth-round pick. . Best shirt spotted was a Rob Gronkowski No. 87 jersey, with Gronkowski spelled backward because of a production flaw. The little girl wearing it didnt want the spelling fixed.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFLAnaheim Ducks Jerseys . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Adam Henrique Ducks Jersey . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. http://www.authenticduckspro.com/Josh-manson-ducks-jersey/ . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Josh Manson Jersey . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Jakob Silfverberg Jersey . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason.World Series Champions. We hear those three words at the end of every postseason.For some, those words evoke remembrances of a team soaked in Champagne, one that loved playing together, worked hard and with a little luck, achieved its ultimate goal. For others, its a painful reminder of a championship they were so close to achieving, but never attained.Four teams arrive at this 2016 postseason with protracted World Series championship droughts -- Chicago Cubs (108 years), Cleveland Indians (68), Texas Rangers (established in 1961 as the Washington Senators, version 2.0, no championships) and the Washington Nationals (established in 1969, also without a title).These four franchises, with storied yet tortured pasts, know the hunger of wanting a championship. After baseball came back to life in Cleveland in the 90s, the 1997 Indians were two outs away from winning the World Series and lost. The Nationals in 2012 had the best record in baseball and were one strike away from winning Game 5 of the National League Division Series, only to see their season end. Those who played in the World Series in 2011 still cant believe it ended the way it did -- Texas was twice one strike away from winning the World Series. The Cubs in 2015, while not as heartbreaking as 1945, or 1984, or even 2003, say losing to the Mets in the National League Championship Series was disappointing, especially after dispatching their hated rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, in the National League Division Series. The Cubs expected and wanted more.In the next four days, the people who played, coached and built these teams, will tell their stories of their postseason experiences.And by looking back at their past, it will illuminate how great it could finally --?finally! --?feel for their respective fan bases to hear those three glorious words applied to their team: World Series Champions.1997 Cleveland IndiansThe night before Game 7 of the 1997 the World Series Indians general manager John Hart couldnt sleep. His team -- one nobody predicted to be the team to go to the World Series -- had just won Game 6 in Miami against the Florida Marlins. Win and he would be bringing home the first World Series championship to Cleveland since 1948.At 3 a.m., Hart got up and walked out onto his deck at the Fontainebleu Hotel in Miami. The moon was out, casting a dim light over the Atlantic Ocean. In the quiet of the night he came to peace with whatever the results would be. Clarity came to him that night in the form of a memory. He remembered playing baseball in his backyard as a little boy, dreaming of being in Game 7 of the World Series. Now here he was. He had done everything he could to get the Indians to this point. Win or lose, he would be at peace.I can tell you this, the game is about the players, said Hart, who is now the president of baseball operations for the Atlanta Braves. You need good players to win. You dont always need to have the best players, but you need good players.He had good players in 1997. They won 86 games and the American League Central Division title. But their postseason journey would begin in the American League Division Series, facing the New York Yankees, who won 96 games and were the reigning World Series Champions.Just getting to Game 7 of the World Series wasnt easy.? Postseason highlight and heartache: 1997 Cleveland Indians2012 Washington NationalsAfter losing Game 5 of the 2012 National League Division Series, Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo walked into a scene in the clubhouse he will never forget.It was dead silence in the clubhouse, Rizzo said. I remember saying, Remember how you feel at this exact moment, and lets work hard so we never feel this way again.Rizzo had been in the Diamondbacks front office in 2001 when they won the World Series. He had been through the postseason process before: the buildup, the stress, and the pressure that goes with expectations to win it all. But his young team -- and a team that just moved to town in 2005 -- had never experienced the added outliers of the postseason.We had high expectations for ourselves that year, said Rizzo. I thought we had the talent to progress forward. We thought in 12 we had the roster to win the World Series.The first step in 2012 for this young and talented team to win their first championship since the franchise began play in Montreal in 1969, was to beat the reigning World Series champion Cardinals in the National League Division Series.? Postseason highlight and heeartache: 2012 Washington Nationals2011 Texas RangersA day after the Texas Rangers lost the 2011 World Series, at 1 p.ddddddddddddm. in Arlington, Texas, general manager Jon Daniels quickly conducted his end-of-the-year staff meeting.There was so much going on in the backdrop during the World Series, said Daniels. Ron Washingtons mom was really ill. We got home Friday night and she passed away on Monday. I knew he was suffering through that.Daniels wanted to get Washington home, so the meeting on Saturday was quick. They didnt talk much about the World Series, a wound still too fresh to dissect. But the one thing Daniels will always remember as they left the meeting was a quote from Bill Walsh that his director of professional scouting, Josh Boyd, shared with the group.It talks about how at the moment of your greatest despair, let it fuel you, said Daniels. Embrace it, dont run from it. Let if fuel you and make you better.Everyone involved in the 2011 World Series -- from player to coach to front office member -- walked away feeling some emotion. Maybe it was pain or joy or hope or disappointment or even thankfulness. The feelings were different for everyone, but no one was left untouched.To understand how the 2011 World Series had such an impact, our story begins in Game 6 when the Rangers were ahead 7-5 with two outs in the ninth inning. With a 1-2 count on Cardinals third baseman David Freese, and 12 pitches into the at-bat, reliever Neftali Feliz and the Rangers were one strike away from winning their first World Series.? Postseason highlight and heartache: 2011 Texas Rangers2015 Chicago CubsAs the Chicago Cubs faced the New York Mets last season in the National League Championship Series, Jed Hoyer was hoping the Cubs would grab momentum, get back to playing well and take a game in the series.We never had a lead in the series, said Hoyer, the Cubs executive vice president and general manager. They just kind of throttled us from the beginning to the end.Every year the Cubs make the postseason -- its been 108 years since they last won a World Series in 1908, in case you havent heard -- their most awful moments are revisited. From The curse of the Billy Goat from the 1945 World Series to the 1984 National League Division Series against the Padres to the 2003 National League Championship Series in which the Cubs were five outs from the World Series, the heartaches are replayed, rewritten and relived. Every. Single. Year.Meanwhile, down Interstate 55 four hours south of Chicago, the St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships and have had 28 playoff appearances since 1908. Including 2015 and beginning with their World Series win in 2011, the Cardinals were in the postseason five consecutive years.One of the greatest rivalries in sports: Cubs and Cardinals, said Ryne Sandberg, the Hall of Fame second baseman who in 1984 led the Cubs to their first postseason appearance since 1945.Every year before he left spring training, Sandberg remembers, he looked through the Cubs schedule for one thing: He wanted to know when the Cubs played the Cardinals.No matter what the standings were or how the teams were playing, it just had a totally different feel to it, said Sandberg, who is now involved with the Cubs as a team ambassador. During my years, there was an added excitement. It started with the atmosphere of the fans, even before the first pitch and all the way through the game.You can imagine the anticipation when the two teams met in the NLDS in 2015. The Cardinals won 100 games and finished first in the National League Central. The Cubs won 97 games, arrived in the postseason (ahead of their rebuilding schedule), won the wild-card game against the Pirates and found themselves playing in their first NLDS since 2008.To see the Cubs in the postseason last year was somewhat of a pleasant surprise because of all the young players that they were counting on, Sandberg said. The quality of play, along with the combination of excitement and having fun and playing the game the right way as a team was very evident.As the Cardinals and Cubs faced each other for the first time in the playoffs, a win in the National League Division Series would not only say a lot about the Cubs future but could also change the course of the history between the two teams.? Postseason highlight and heartache: 2015 Chicago Cubs ' ' '