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NORFOLK, Va. -- Jonathan Wade scored a career-high 34 points and Norfolk State cruised to a 91-55 win over Division II Elizabeth City State on Tuesday night.Wade hit 12 of 17 shots, including 3 of 4 from long range, and made 7 of 9 free throws.The Spartans (2-1) shot 53 percent in the first half to open a 47-27 lead. It was a four-point game at the 11:14 mark and the lead was eight with 6:34 to go before the Spartans reeled off 11 points. Bryan Gellineau started the run with a pair of layups before Wade scored the next five points.Norfolk State opened the second half with a 13-3 run and ended up shooting 58 percent in the final 20 minutes.Kyle Williams came off the bench to hit 5 of 8 3-pointers for 15 points and reserve Carrington Ward added 13.Kyree Marshall had 15 points for the Vikings (0-3).Air Force 1 High Nz . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Nike Air Force 1 Womens Nz . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. http://www.airforce1salenz.com/air-force-1-low-nz.html . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. Air Force 270 NZ .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Air Force 1 Utility NZ .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place.Erik Williams and Brad Knaub had seen every attempt to exorcise the Curse of the Billy Goat go awry, from intrepid Cubs fans who have smuggled more benevolent goats into Wrigley Field to that Greek Orthodox priest who once sprayed holy water on the dugout.Yet their beloved Cubs continued to come up short.Every year.So, the owners of Carnivore Inc., a company that produces food from responsibly raised animals, decided to take matters into their own hands. They carefully selected a goat from a farm about 90 minutes south of Chicago, had it butchered earlier this week, and proceeded to turn the bleepin bleater into traditional Merguez sausage at their shop in the Chicago suburbs.Their hope is that Cubs fans at Wrigley Field on Friday night can collectively lift the plague by devouring their delicacy before Game 1 of their NL divisional series against the Giants.The previous attempts to reverse the curse with slaughter and macabre acts are obviously only making things worse, Williams said. Its time to make Chicagoans love goat.Of course, you could write this entire enterprise off as another utterly ridiculous idea from a bunch of crackpot Cubs fans willing to try anything to finally win a World Series.Or, you could recognize that research has proven it just may work -- at least on the field. It turns out that numerous academics, principally psychologists, have been investigating for years and in great detail whether superstitions actually have an effect.And lets be honest: No sport is rifer with superstitions than baseball.Nationals pitcher Sean Burnett dutifully puts a poker chip in his back pocket before taking the mound. Rangers pitcher Derek Holland watches a certain part of the film, For The Love of the Game, the night before he pitches. And Royals outfielder Alex Gordon never stands in the on-deck circle, instead wearing out the perfectly manicured grass in precisely the same spot right next it.Many players refuse to step on baselines when theyre running on or off the field, or use the same glove or wear the same grimy helmet, regardless of how much pine tar is caked on it.Theres so much failure in this game, and there are so many repetitions, that if you find something that you think makes you go well for a while, why change that up? Nationals first baseman Clint Robinson said. I can see why baseball would be a superstitious sport.Some players call them routines. Others call them habits or quirks or customs. But in truth, thats all just semantics. Theyre still engaging in some sort of superstition.And theres a chance theyre succeeding because of it.Researchers at the University of Cologne conducted a series of experiments that found that by activating good-luck-related superstitions, such as telling someone to keep their fingers crossed, it improved performance in golfing, dexterity, memory and solving anagrams.They also found superstitions boost confidennce, which in turn improves an athletes performance.ddddddddddddDutch researchers published an article in Psychological Science that reached similar conclusions, and then deduced that superstitions are more pervasive when the stakes are high.Its hard to get much higher than the playoffs, where the Cubs are shooting for their first World Series title since 1908 -- long before Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave Game 4 of the 1945 World Series because the odor of his pet goat Murphy was bothering other fans. Sianis, as the story goes, declared that day the Cubs would never win another World Series.Dr. Stuart Vyse, a psychologist and author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, acknowledges that there is no magic behind superstitions. They dont directly affect performance.But, he said, there is growing evidence it has a psychological effect, that if you believe in luck and engage in a superstition you will actually perform better in a skilled activity. And of course, baseball does involve skill.Its worth noting that Vyse grew up a Cubs fan, though hes been rooting for the Red Sox since he moved east. And his father was a lifelong Cubs fan who never saw them win a World Series title.Now, there are superstitions in just about every sport. Basketball players spin the ball a certain way before taking free throws, and hockey goalies slap the pipes a certain number of times before a faceoff, and many athletes listen to certain playlists before they take the field.Yet superstitions are more prevalent in baseball, Vyse said, because of the laborious pace of the game. Players need something to fill their minds while they stand in the outfield or sit in the dugout, so they begin to connect success and failure to certain rituals.Baseball has all this waiting time and if you dont have anything to fill it with, it can make you kind of anxious, Vyse said. Even if youre not superstitious, coaches often recommend players develop a pregame ritual, a routine, something that they can focus on to alleviate anxiety.How does all this translate to fans? Is it possible the superstitious beliefs of a couple of Chicago sausage connoisseurs, and their slaughter of a goat, can help the Cubs win the World Series?In a very loose way, it might be one additional encouragement, Vyse mused. But theres a much more important function for the fans themselves. These people are not unlike players -- their identities are tied up in the local team. Their emotions rise and fall with the fate of the team.So especially for the group, superstitions and bonding -- it makes people feel connected to the team, as if they play a role, even though they can do nothing but be a good fan.---AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this report. ' ' '