The Crusaders have kept pace with the Chiefs at the top of Super Rugbys New Zealand conference by thumping the Melbourne Rebels 85-26 in Christchurch.The home side ran in 13 tries to four on Saturday night, with wing Johnny McNicholl getting a hat-trick, as they celebrated stand-in skipper Sam Whitelocks 100th match in style.With one round to go, the Crusaders are back to a point behind the Chiefs, who had secured their own bonus-point victory on Friday against the Queensland Reds.The Rebels, who leaked 50 points last weekend against the Stormers, were out of finals contention before the match at AMI Stadium.But the Crusaders, smarting from their loss to the Chiefs in Suva, had plenty to play for.With regular captain Kieran Read given a rest, Whitelock led from the front, with the lock charging forward from the kick-off and then scoring the first try inside two minutes.The Crusaders continued to show plenty of attacking intent as they went on to run in seven tries in the opening spell, with centre Ryan Crotty grabbing a double.They were helped by handling errors, turnovers and missed tackles by the Rebels, who also struggled at set-piece.The visitors had something to cheer late in the opening spell when, with the score at 38-0, skipper Nic Stirzaker finished off a strong run by winger Sefa Naivalu.But the one-way traffic continued early in the second half as the Crusaders added three touchdowns in seven minutes, including a brace by hooker Codie Taylor.There was a period of resistance from the Rebels, which included a kick-and-regather try by midfielder Reece Hodge before he went off injured.The Crusaders responded with two tries in two minutes.The Rebels then produced a late charge, with lock Culum Retallick dotting down from close range and Naivalu finishing off a counter-attack.But McNicholl had the final say, getting his third five-pointer after the hooter. Custom Jeffery Simmons Jersey . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. Authentic Custom Titans Jersey . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. http://www.customtitansjersey.com/ . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Custom Titans T-shirts . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Jeffery Simmons Jersey Large . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. CHICAGO -- Greg Maddux was the Opening Day starter in his Braves debut when he beat his former team in Chicago in April of 1993. Cubs fan Dan Lepse remembers it well.Cubs lost 1-0, he said. Coldest I have ever been in my life.Lepse also recalls it was the day he proposed under the Wrigley Field marquee to his future wife Tricia, who immediately ran for the bathroom because it was the only place that had heat.The first person she told we were engaged was the bathroom attendant, he said.Ah, the Cub fan. Much has been said, mocked and dissected in regard to this unique species. Motivated by a deep, often familial and civic loyalty, energized by unbridled and childlike optimism and distinguished by a gnawing and perpetual state of angst, Cubs fans may resemble those from other cities and towns, but its the rare combination of these traits that sets them apart.Psychiatrist and lifelong Cubs devotee Neal Spira would not go so far as to mix business and pleasure and say Cubs fans are a textbook example of any particular psychosis.No, no, not textbook, Spira said. Maybe a paper, though. You could definitely write a paper about the psychology of the Cubs fan.Dr. Leo Weinstein, Spiras colleague at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, goes back to a central theme of psychotherapy in probing Cubs fans, and the theory that unconscious childhood feelings get expressed in adulthood.It taps into this feeling a lot of us have that things should be fair, that people should take turns and its our turn to win, he said. It also taps into the idea a lot of us believe subconsciously that if you suffer enough, youll be rewarded.Cubs fans have suffered for 108 years, so it only makes sense well be rewarded -- not because our team is good or that Theo Epstein and the front office have assembled a winning team, but because its right. And when [that] turns out not to be true, were upset. People have a hard time giving up that feeling ... but its a problematic way to live your life.Dan Lepse laughs at the prognosis but doesnt altogether dispute it.Lepse is a resident of Seattle, and he became a Cubs fan for life at age 8, when his father took him on a Midwestern baseball swing after their hometown Pilots moved to Milwaukee. On their trip to Wrigley, Seattle native Ron Santo hit a home run, Fergie Jenkins earned the win and a little boy fell in love.This year, Dan and Tricia celebrated their Sandberg anniversary, or in laymens terms, their 23rd. (Ryne Sandberg played as a second baseman for the Cubs and wore No. 23.)In addition to remembering the 40-degree temperatures and the wind whipping off the lake on that day in April 93, Dan also remembers his wife being none too happy with the amount of time she had to wait [for the proposal].But I guess that was the Cubs fan in me, he said.dddddddddddd Always leave em wanting more.The couple have three daughters: Sammy (after Sosa), Kerry (after Wood) and Addison (after the street bordering Wrigley). Dan has a Wrigley Field turnstile in his house.And when Lepse interviewed for his current job of sports information director at Seattle Pacific University eight years ago, he told them if the Cubs made the World Series, he would need to take that week off.Lepse would buy a ticket and go see the Cubs by himself during summer visits to his brother in Chicago.I have seen so many things in that ballpark that should have driven me away, things major leaguers should never do, the bad baseball you encountered seeing the Cubs at Wrigley for any number of years, Lepse said. Ive left the park really frustrated. But theres something about going to see a win, even if your team [is] in last place. Thats uplifting. Its not a lost cause.Psychologist and happiness researcher Stephen Schueller likened the addiction and devotion Cubs fans have to their team to learned helplessness.As things replay over and over, its easy to rationalize away a one-year thing, said Schueller, assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern. You fail so often, you feel theres nothing you can do.Youre doomed to fail because youre a Cubs fan. Its a little sad. But Im an optimistic person, so I hope they win and break the curse.Of course, they already have broken the one that extends 71 years, the last time the team reached the World Series, which comes into some conflict with Schuellers study of happiness.Happiness is based on low expectations, he explained. When you have high expectations, a lot has to be delivered to get emotional. The Cubs were always that team you didnt expect to make it. ... But this year, they were a team of destiny and started out the season on such a historic pace, so fans had really high expectations, and thats really dangerous as far as ones emotional impact.A World Series loss could be very tough to take.It will be really hard on people, depending on how it goes, Spira said. If they really fold, I think people will be destroyed. If they go for it, people could feel good about it.Its inconceivable to some that the Cubs traditional cry of Wait til next year would take on a whole new meaning if they win the World Series. In the meantime, that long lost child in every Cubs fan can do little but wait.It has been 108 years [since the Cubs last won the World Series], so its long overdue, Weinstein said. For that reason, the thinking goes, we will win. The worlds magical forces will make the world just.Every year, were just waiting for justice to occur. ' ' '