CHICAGO -- November blazed like dazzling springtime in Chicago during a massive parade and rally Friday to honor the Cubs first World Series title in 108 years and fulfill more than a century of pent-up dreams.A new generation of Cubs fans -- riding in strollers or on their parents shoulders -- joined their elders to cheer the baseball champions. For the youngest, the day would be their first bright memory of following a club once known as lovable losers.Their parents marveled at how their children will know the confident, young team as winners.Its a whole new Cubs world, said Dean Anderson, 51, of Chicago, who brought his 10-year-old son, Chase, to see the players motorcade as it rolled out from Wrigley Field at the start of the parade route. The lovable loser thing -- and all the accompanying lore embroidered by long-suffering fan loyalty -- may be lost to the newest fans, Anderson said, but weve had enough of that.A crowd, estimated by city officials at 5 million, lined Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive to cheer the motorcade of open-roofed buses carrying the players along a 7-mile parade route from the north side ballpark to sprawling Grant Park. The citys tally included everyone who lined the route and the rally throngs. Friday was already a scheduled day off for Chicago Public Schools.Revelers crawled up trees and streetlight poles to get a better view along the route. Others sat atop shoulders to watch the team buses shimmering under a spray of red and blue confetti.Steve Angelo of Chicago carried his 4-year-old son, Nicholas, who held a World Champs sign.For him, the more and more they win now, at his earlier age, the more and more excitement there is, Angelo said. Theres parades, and people talk about it more on the radio and TV. Its going to be a lot more exciting now.During the jubilant festivities at the park, 39-year-old retiring Cubs catcher David Ross posed for a selfie in front of a multitude of roaring fans.Ross and the other players put their arms around each other and sang Go Cubs Go from the stage along with the blissed-out crowd.It happened, baby. It happened! proclaimed 27-year-old first baseman Anthony Rizzo to adoring cheers.Team manager Joe Maddon -- wearing a stocking cap, sunglasses and a jersey over a We did not suck T-shirt -- looked out over a sea of blue.Welcome to Cubstock 2016! Maddon said. This is an incredible moment for all of us. Never have I experienced anything like Wrigley Field on a nightly basis. ... I want to congratulate you fans also. Thank you for being so patient.A victory party is new territory for stoical fans of the Cubs, whose last World Series title -- before their Game 7, extra-inning thriller Wednesday night in Cleveland -- came in 1908. The last time the Cubs even reached the Fall Classic was in 1945.Superstitions die hard. Miriam Santiago, 51, said she carried holy water, her rosary and a bright green lucky baseball with her during the playoffs. On Friday, the Chicago woman brought a goat mask with dynamite in its mouth and let other fans pose for photos wearing it outside the ballpark. Her lucky charms helped reverse the Curse of the Billy Goat, she said, referring to the story of a Chicago tavern owner who supposedly put a hex on the team after his pet goat was turned away from Wrigley during the 1945 World Series.For days, Cubs mania has spread throughout the city and state. The cast of the Chicago production of Hamilton led a sold-out audience in singing Go Cubs Go during the Thursday night curtain call. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner declared Friday as World Champion Chicago Cubs Day statewide. The city dyed the Chicago River a bright shade of blue to match the Cubs colors, repurposing a decades-long tradition of dyeing the river green on St. Patricks Day.Far from being sad about bidding their team farewell for the year, fans looked forward to the future.Outfielder Kyle Schwarber, 23, took the microphone Friday and put it into words for the fans: I love you guys. Were world champs. Lets do it again next year.---Associated Press writer Sophia Tareen contributed to this report. Wholesale Shoes UK Free Shipping . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. Wholesale Shoes UK . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. https://www.shoesukonline.com/ . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Shoes UK Online Store . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Fake Shoes UK . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. AUBURN, Ala. -- Danjel Purifoy and Jared Harper each scored 19 points, Horace Spencer added 12 points and Auburn topped Georgia State 83-65 on Monday night in the opening round of the Cancun Challenge.Auburn (2-0) pulled away in the second half as its shooting, which had been an issue in the first 20 minutes, picked up. They shot 56 percent in the second half to put away the Panthers, who were undone by a combination of turnovers and cold shooting.I thought we were very stagnant in the first half, much better in the second half, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. Its probably one of the better second-half defenses weve had. The defense was really good away from us tonight.Georgia State finished with 18 turnovers, which Auburn turned into 16 points.Purifoy was plagued with foul trouble early, and had to come out just three minutes into the game, and he didnt return for the rest of the half. But he scored 17 points in the second half to help propel the Tigers to a second consecutive win.The first half was tightly contested. Each team had trouble holding onto the ball, turning it over a combined 23 times -- 15 of which the Panthers were responsible for. Then, Harper canned two 3-pointers in the final two minutes to give Auburn a five-point lead at the break. It sparked the Tigers offense, and that carried over into the final frame.Every time they needed a play, they went to the point guard, said Georgia State coach Ron HHunter.dddddddddddd. I thought he was really, really special. He really set the tone for their team, you know, makes those other guys better.Jeremy Hollowell led Georgia State (1-1) with 20 points and four rebounds. Justin Seymour added 18 points and six rebounds for the Panthers.BIG PICTUREGeorgia State: The Panthers dropped their first game of the season, but theyll continue the Cancun Challenge with a chance to rebound.Auburn: Bruce Pearls squad keeps the undefeated start to the season rolling as his young team gains some much-needed experience.HE SAID ITHe was just all teeth. You couldnt get him to stop smiling, and thats something good to see because we got that win for him. He really wanted this win. -- Auburn forward Danjel Purifoy on center LaRon Smith, who played at Georgia State from 2012-14.HIGHLIGHT REELWith Auburn holding onto an 11-point lead and under four minutes remaining, guard T.J. Dunans picked off an errant pass and took it the length of the floor. He whipped a behind-the-back pass to a trailing Horace Spencer, who thundered home a monstrous two-handed dunk that sent Auburn Arena into a frenzy.UP NEXTGeorgia State travels to Purdue on Thursday to take on another Power 5 opponent.Auburn looks to start 3-0 this season when the Tigers host Eastern Kentucky on Thursday. ' ' '