This collection of eleven entertaining, thought-provoking stories about sports and the games people play offers both a male and female perspective on just what's so funny about the ways we compete.

The curse itself occurred in Game 4 of the 1945 World Series. Billy goat tavern owner William Sianis was asked to leave Wrigley Field because the odor of his pet goat bothered other fans. He then uttered his famous words, "Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more."

History and discussion of the legendary Curse of the Billy Goat, the Chicago Cubs' pennant races and World Series games, and baseball's curses.

After his first Cubs game when Rich Cohen was eight, his father asked him to make a promise. "Promise me you will never be a Cubs fan. The Cubs do not win," he explained, "and because of that, a Cubs fan will have a diminished life determined by low expectations. That team will screw up your life." Here he captures the story of the team, its players and crazy days-- not just what happened, but what it felt like and what it meant. He searches for the cause of the famous curse, and came to see the curse as a burden but also as a blessing.

For 108 years, fans of Chicago Cubs baseball suffered every playofff season, with mishap after mishap each being traced back to 1945 when a friendly goat was kicked out of a World Series game. But the 2016 season felt different. Would this finally be the year that the Billy Goat Curse was reversed? Author Brad Herzog tells the story of the curse's origin and follows the Cubs right through that fateful November night in 2016 when the Cubbies could finally fly the "W."

"The Cubs Win It All!" - is a revision, which enhances and replaces the original amusing tale presented in the novel "Murphy: Billy Goat Curse." In "The Cubs Win It All!" I again take a fantasy approach in explaining how the curse is actually lifted during the fifth game of the 2016 World Series allowing the Cubs go on to become Baseball's World Champions. "The Cubs Win It All!" Finally the wait is over...after 108 years the Chicago Cubs have been crowned World Series Champs. What fans around the world do not understand is that this event was never supposed to take place. This only comes about because the curse which was placed upon the team decades ago was miraculously lifted during the fifth game of the series. The scourge in question was simply named; "The Billy Goat Curse" which when unraveled becomes a series of misunderstandings, grudges, and blindness. Although there are some who believe they know the truth, the individual who was truly scorned was not Billy Sianis, but it was Murphy the Goat. Thus, this is the reason behind the creation of this story. The Cubs Win IT All! "The Cubs Win It All!" is a fun packed fantasy for all ages born out of the frustrations of Chicago Cubs fans had over the fact their beloved team had not won a World Series since 1908. There are many who feel the main reason for the drought was due to the Billy Goat Curse which came to life in 1945. The so-called curse came to be on October 6, 1945, when Billy Sianis, a well-known Chicago saloon owner brought his pet goat Murphy to the fourth game of that year's World Series. When asked to remove his goat from Wrigley Field, he was insulted. Upon leaving, he uttered the now infamous words, "Them Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more." When Frain's army of ushers heard those words, they contributed the curse to Sianis. However, Murphy was the one who actually put the curse on the Cubs. Seeing he was the one who was insulted, it was only natural. Unbeknownst to the Cubs fans, the only way to break the curse was for someone from the Cubs organization to apologize to Murphy personally. Of course, as of 2016, the biggest problem with that happening is Murphy has been dead for many years. However, in the spirit of "Fair Play," Murphy the Goat, armed with the gift of speech, is forced to return to Earth to lift the curse. Murphy being very persistent, and annoying, has a stipulation. He will lift the curse only if and when he gets his apology. But, Murphy isn't the only one with a stipulation. No one is going to allow him back in to his reward until he lifts the curse. In need of earthly assistance, Murphy goes to the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago in October, 2016. It is here Murphy is to meet a troubled young man named Daniel Talbert who is supposed to assist him in this endeavor. When they meet Daniel has his own problems. Thus, from the start he has no intention of having a talking goat around especially as the two continue to butt heads. However, his biggest problem is his wife Sara believes he has lost his marbles. Eventually, Murphy and Daniel come to the realization they must change their ways, and join forces in order to arrive at the happy conclusion for all concern. The basic idea of the novel was originally presented in the novel "Murphy: Billy Goat Curse." All it takes to actually make the dream come true is to have the curse lifted. In "The Cubs Win it All!, that is just what happens during the fifth game of the 2016 World Series.

From acclaimed humorist William Thomas comes the funny yet poignant story of a thoroughbred racehorse that lost 100 races in a row -- but, in everyone's eyes, became the ultimate winner. On April 20, 1991, at Capritaur Farms in Upstate New York, Zippy Chippy strolled into the world. He was born from American horse racing royalty -- Compliance (his father was Kentucky Derby-winner Northern Dancer; his great-grandfather Native Dancer, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner) and Listen Lady (great-granddaughter of Native Dancer). Even before his birth, the hopes (not to mention the bill for his planned production) for Zippy Chippy were high. His pedigree was horse racing gold: Northern Dancer, Man o' War, Count Fleet, Bold Ruler, War Admiral, and Buckpasser were all ancestors. His success and glory seemed inevitable. But moments after his birth, Zippy Chippy struggled to his feet, took two steps forward . . . and stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around, took in his surroundings, maybe indulged in a little daydream, then promptly lay down for a nap in the straw. And thus began Zippy Chippy's storied racing career. Vince Lombardi, one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time, famously said, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." These words have become the battle cry of athletes, coaches, and teams everywhere, but over the years, sports have taken on a literal interpretation of Lombardi's mantra. Match-fixing, doping, sabotage, cocky and mean sportsmanship, all in the name of winning, have infiltrated and scandalized games, teams, reputations, and newspaper headlines. Yet, since his first moments in the world, Zippy Chippy ignored Lombardi and turned his nose at the concept of winning-at-all-costs. In fact, he decided to not win at all, losing, over the course of his career, 100 consecutive races, at some of the greatest tracks in the country: Belmont Park, Aqueduct, Finger Lakes, and Suffolk Downs among them. And he did so with his owner, Felix Monserrate, by his side -- a man who refused to sell Zippy, or even retire him, simply because he couldn't come in first. Soon, Zippy's cheering squad grew to include people who, enchanted by his story, would travel from all over North America to watch him lose but then happily gallop back to his stable. To them, Zippy Chippy was just like them; someone who wasn't an athlete with a million-dollar contract, or someone with movie star looks -- he was a creature who struggled, who lost, and who failed even the lowest of expectations. But, somehow, he found a way to enjoy himself and eagerly return for the next race. Told with laugh-out-loud wit and a lot of heart, The Legend of Zippy Chippy is the story of the losing-est racehorse in North American history -- a perpetual loser who would become the winning thoroughbred in professional horse racing to steal peoples' hearts.