CHICAGO -- Tom Ricketts was walking back to the owners meetings Wednesday when he was stopped by a few people on the street, eager to congratulate him on the Chicago Cubs World Series title.Such is life for Ricketts these days. It has been two weeks since the franchise won its first championship since 1908, and the party is still going strong.Its great. I mean the teams a member of the family for a lot of folks, Ricketts said, and the fact that we had this kind of success after all these years of not quite getting there is just magical for this whole city.Ricketts will be acknowledged by his fellow owners for the title at some point during the meetings, but otherwise its pretty much business as usual. Asked whether he might be handed a few more bar tabs as a result of the historic championship, a grinning Ricketts responded: Well see tonight.Among the steak dinners, drinks and hallway chatter at The Drake in downtown Chicago, the dominant item on the owners agenda is baseballs collective bargaining agreement, which expires Dec. 1. Negotiators for owners and players have been meeting since spring training.Baseball has not had a work stoppage since 1994-95, and Commissioner Rob Manfred appears confident there will be an agreement by December.I trust the commissioner, trust the commissioners office, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said. Theyre going to do a great job, and everybodys been working hard. Thats about all I could add.Some of the major issues include the owners desire for a draft of international amateur players, the luxury-tax threshold and whether there will be changes to the draft-pick compensation system for premier free agents.The uncertainty surrounding the CBA could affect free agency and trade talks, but Steinbrenner made it sound as if the Yankees are pretty set about their plans no matter what happens with the labor talks.I dont think its going to impact it much as far as where were going to be, Steinbrenner said. I mean weve got money coming off the payroll for the first time in a few years, and were going to put a decent portion of it back into the club, like we always do. How much remains to be seen, depending on what our needs are and whats available.The Yankees traded slugger Carlos Beltran and relievers Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman in a rare pre-deadline sell-off on their way to an 84-78 record and a fourth-place finish in the AL East. Steinbrenner reiterated his desire to get under the luxury-tax threshold, wherever it lands with the new agreement, but he mentioned upgrading the bullpen as a priority.That could lead to a reunion with Chapman, who saved 20 games for the Yankees before helping the Cubs win the World Series.Look, anytime you can get a guy thats already proven he can play in New York ... its a tough place to play and if you can get a guy thats proven he can play there, then thats a plus, Steinbrenner said.Everyone is chasing the Cubs after they won a major league-best 103 games and the franchises third championship. But winter also is the season for stadium renovations, and the Yankees and Cubs are both working on construction projects.Yankee Stadium is getting more social gathering places, and the club also is enhancing its facility in Tampa, Florida. Wrigley Field is getting what Ricketts called a home plate club of premium seats, similar to other stadiums, but nothing as dramatic as when the jumbo videoboards were added to the iconic ballpark for 2015.Now it really is primarily about rebuilding the park and adding bathrooms and adding points of sale and doing all the little things to make it not only the park you would want to watch a game in, but one that serves as then like a modern park, Ricketts said.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Kyle Hendricks Cubs Jersey . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Kosuke Fukudome Jersey . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. http://www.cubsauthentic.com/cubs-jason-heyward-jersey/ . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. Albert Almora Jr Cubs Jersey . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Willson Contreras Cubs Jersey . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup.Aged just 23, Juan Agudelo has already played with Thierry Henry, scored some incredible goals and seen a move to the Premier League collapse. The Colombian-American striker burst onto the scene with the US national team aged just 17, and after a brief stint in Europe two years ago, Agudelo is now looking for MLS Cup glory with New England Revolution.A product of New York Red Bulls academy, Agudelo moved on to the now-defunct Chivas USA before a switch to Stoke stalled due to work permit problems. After a short spell in the Netherlands, Agudelo is back in the States and aiming for MLS glory. We caught up with him to find out more about his whirlwind journey, ahead of his sides clash with New York City this weekend - live on Sky Sports.What was it like playing and training with Thierry Henry at the New York Red Bulls aged 18? Agudelo (R) played and trained with Thierry Henry at New York Red Bulls at the age of 18 I learnt so much from him. The first day he got there I couldnt believe he was right next to my locker. Im an 18-year-old kid just coming into practice and then Ive got Henry next to me!He talked to me and gave me a couple of tips on how to improve my game and complementing it.It was huge for boosting my confidence, telling me that I could be a good player and that I could play in England one day.Your move to Stoke City in 2014 didnt work out after signing a pre-contract agreement, why was that? Stoke boss Mark Hughes tried to sign Agudelo for Stoke in 2014 It was down to work permit reasons. It got denied.I just fell short of my national team appearances to automatically qualify and be automatically eligible to play in England. I had to go through a court process and it didnt work out.How did the transfer originate?Mark Hughes saw I had a couple of caps with the national team since I was 17, at a young age, and I scored a goal.When Hughes was at Manchester City at the time I heard that he had interest in me and then he went over to Stoke.I guess he talked to their scouts and told them to keep an eye on me and then eventually when my contract was running out in MLS they wanted to pull the trigger [and sign me].Growing up watching these teams like Chelsea and Arsenal, its crazy to think that I almost played in that league because thats the league I look up to. Thats the league I would have loved to play in.You played for Utrecht in the Eredivisie for four months in 2014, what were the differences between MLS and the Dutch league?I would say it was a little bit less athletic but very, very technical and the technical ability is class.If you were to set an example, the crossing was a lot better because the players were more consistent but the athleticism was a little bit less than MLS.You have 20 caps for USA but youre not in the international setup at the moment - have you had any dialogue with Jurgen Klinsmann over your international future? Agudelo last appeared for the US national team in 2015 against Germany He has been telling me that he understands that Im young and I need to prove myself outstandingly in my club and try to make the team of the month in MLS.He wants me to stand out at my club.You scored a superb bicycle kick against DC United in the play-offs last year, was it the best goal youve ever scored? Juan Agudelo scored an amazing overhead kick for New England Revolution against DC United in the play-offs last year I felt like it was one of those moments where I saw it but I couldnt really believe it.ddddddddddddt was definitely the best goal that Ive scored because I didnt believe I was going to be able to achieve it when it was in mid-air.I managed to get contact on it and it went in so definitely the best goal Ive ever scored!New England are without a win in their first three matches this season - why is that? Philadelphia made it back to back wins after a 3-0 win over New England Revolution last weekend I think we maybe just need to be a little bit sharper in the final third, including myself. Collectively, we need to be sharper and finish the chances that weve created or make that extra pass in order to put us in a better position to score a goal.What is the aim this season?Every single weekend were going to try to get three points and hopefully make the play-offs - then everything is fair game in the play-offs.You see a lot of teams that arent even in the right form going to play-offs and go on to win the MLS Cup, so I think everybody has a chance of winning.Of course, with our home record, it would be big for us to have home-field advantage because of the play-offs as were pretty good at home.How do you aim to approach New York City FC with all their star names? Agudelo will be up against the likes of Andrea Pirlo and David Villa on Saturday Weve all watched NYCFC, theyve got a new top-class manager now.They play a little bit differently now with some young, class guys out wide with Andrea Pirlo pulling the strings and David Villa trying to get on the end of things.At the weekend, just like the manager tells us, weve got to play our own game and not focus too much on the opponent. If we do our job then well get our first three points of the season.Are you excited to play against the likes of David Villa and Andrea Pirlo on Saturday? Any time I see a fixture on my phone, I see the logo of the team and pick out two or three players that Im going to say wow, Im going to play against those guys!It doesnt even have to be a player. With Patrick Vieira as head coach its crazy that Im going to be going up against a coach like him, so Im very thankful for that. Its always fun! 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