Theo Epstein and his team said they never gave much thought to the Chicago Cubs' superstitious billy goat curse.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, when Epstein, the Cubs' president of baseball operations, made it back to the Windy City after the Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years, he had one request -- a roasted goat.
Jed Hoyer, the Cubs' executive vice president and general manager, was on the phone with restaurateur Kevin Boehm and Epstein was in the room, listening.
"He was recapping the game, and in the background, Theo says he wanted roasted goat for lunch," Boehem said. "I said we'd make it happen."
Boehm, co-owner of Boka Restaurant Group, along with partner Rob Katz, enlisted chef Stephanie Izard to prepare the special meal, a specialty at her Girl & the Goat restaurant, which also serves goat liver mousse, goat carpaccio, goat empanadas, goat shank and goat legs.
For Epstein's executive team, Izard oven-roasted a 9 1/2-pound goat, and Boehm, Katz, and Boka Vice President Ian Goldberg delivered it to Epstein.
"They were all sitting in the left-field bleachers in an empty Wrigley Field. They ate it right there," said Boehm.
The Curse of the Billy Goat was supposedly placed on the Cub in 1945 by Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis. During Game 4 of the 1945 World Series, Sianis was asked to leave Wrigley Feld because the odor of his pet goat, Murphy, was bothering other fans. Outraged, Sianis allegedly said, "Them Cubs, they ain't going to win no more."
Until last week, the Cubs had not reached the World Series since.
No word from Epstein's crew on what they thought of goat lunch.
"They've said there are no curses, that it was just a matter of putting together a great baseball team," Boehm says. "But they were happy to eat that goat."
Good grief
Sunday's NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers wasn't really remarkable, but it will be remembered, thanks to Steelers kicker Chris Boswell.
Down 21-14 to the Ravens with 48 seconds left in the game, Boswell attempted an unorthodox onside kick, referred to as a "rabona." Boswell deflected his own kick less than a yard with his other foot, then earned a penalty for booting it downfield a second time, leaving Baltimore to wrap up the victory.
According to NFL.com, one Ravens player couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"He looked like a moron out there," Ravens safety Eric Weddle said. "When it didn't go anywhere, I just started laughing. I'm like, 'Why are they still running after the ball?' It's a penalty, guys. The game's over. It was classic. And that kick's going to be infamous."
USA Today reporter Mike Coppinger called it a "Charlie Brown moment," saying it ranks up there with Mark Sanchez's "butt fumble" and Dan Orlovsky's scramble out of the end zone for a safety.
Birthday benching
New York Jets defensive linemen Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson were benched for the first quarter of Sunday's loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media confirmed Monday that both Wilkerson and Richardson had demonstrated a "pattern of showing up late" to team meetings and not at all in "at least one case."
More to the point, Wilkerson allegedly skipped a walk-through the day before the Jets played the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 24. Wilkerson's 27th birthday was Oct. 22, and the team had planned a celebration for him in the meeting room.
"It was his birthday weekend and they had planned a birthday celebration in one of the defensive meetings rooms," Garafolo said. "I'm told he didn't even show up for that. They even had a cake ready to go for him."
Skipping birthday cake? Wilkerson deserved to be benched.
Sports quiz
Who was the manager of the Chicago Cubs in 1945, the last time they reached to the World Series before this season?
Answer
Charlie Grimm
Sports on 11/08/2016