CHICAGO -- Carl Edwards Jr. pulled a W flag over his shoulders and danced in the middle of the clubhouse. Ben Zobrist wiggled from side to side as ice cubes tumbled down his back to the drenched flr. David Ross closed his eyes as a bottle of beer was poured over his head.The Chicago Cubs had to wait until Friday to celebrate their NL Central title, but they quickly made up for lost time.Moments after Miguel Monteros 10th-inning homer lifted Chicago to a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee, the Cubs pulled on postseason hats and shirts and then partied all over Wrigley Field. It began with pictures and hugs all over the infield, and then transitioned to a bzy segment in their plush clubhouse before returning to the field to wave to their delirious fans and pose for more pictures with family and friends.We enjoy each other and we have fun together, Zobrist said, and thats (what) makes this kind of situation fun. Even if its just a regular win on a regular day, we still enjoy each other and we have fun for about a half-hour and then were done. But this one will last a little bit longer than that.The Cubs became the first major league team to clinch their division when St. Louis lost at San Francisco late Thursday night. They had a chance to wrap it up on the field, but Scter Gennetts tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh lifted Milwaukee to a 5-4 win earlier in the night.Manager Joe Maddon and the players were long gone from Wrigley by the time the Giants finished off the Cardinals. But they were clearly ready to go on Friday.A DJ played thumping dance music as the players and coaches sprayed each other with beer and champagne. It was mostly quiet for a short time while owner Tom Ricketts toasted executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer and the best team in all of baseball, and then the party was on once again.Its always great to go to October, Epstein said. But to go in with a group of guys that you really believe in and that are committed and connected and understand whats at stake and want so badly to make it happen is great. I wouldnt trade our 25 for anyone elses.Epstein, Hoyer and several other members of Chicagos front office watched most of the game from the famed bleachers, and Epstein wore a comically fake mustache for the occasion.We made a deal with the guys that wed go out there the day after we won the division, a grinning Epstein said, and then in case something went really wrong in the game I thought it might be gd to be disguised out there. Then I kind of didnt plan ahead, so last-minute, thats what the costume store had.Whatever. I was half-committed to it, but who cares? It was fun. We had a gd time.The division had seemed like a foregone conclusion ever since Chicago got off to a 25-6 start, serving notice that all the preseason hype was justified. Led by MVP candidates Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo and a ridiculously deep pitching staff, the Cubs are on top of the majors with a 94-53 record.It is 108 years since Chicago last won the World Series in 1908, a drought the Cubs hope to end this year. But in the meantime, they werent taking the NL Central title for granted.Winning your division, thats a highlight, Maddon said. Its always a highlight. Being able to avoid a wild-card game ... you really want to avoid that if you possibly can.Chicago beat Pittsburgh in the wild-card game a year ago, and then eliminated St. Louis before it was swept by the New York Mets in the NL Championship Series. The Cubs had to wait until Sept. 25 to clinch their 2015 postseason spot, and that also was via a loss by another contender.This time around, Chicago is into the playoffs with a couple weeks to spare. It is still hoping for home-field advantage throughout the NL postseason, but clinching the division so early gives Maddon plenty of time to rest some position players and take care of his pitching staff.Now we have this opportunity to plan it out, slowly, really try to make some intelligent decisions while were still playing the same game with the same kind of intensity, Maddon said. Thats what were lking for.Most of Chicagos regulars were out of the lineup for the Friday afternn start, and Maddon said he planned to wait until Saturday for more in-depth discussions with his coaching staff about their plans for the rest of the regular season -- clearing the way for what they hope will be the first of several parties this year.Its exciting, Ross said. Winning the division is pretty cl and you know a rare treat. I think weve seen this coming for a while now, but its nice to have that finally in the bks.---Follow Jay Cohen at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Vapormax Cheap Sale Vapormax Flyknit 3 Cheap . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. http://www.airvapormaxcanada.com/nike-just-do-it-shoes-canada/air-max-plus.html .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Vapormax Mens Canada . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Vapormax Canada Sale .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. SEATTLE -- Rkie forward Jordan Morris came off the bench to score two second-half goals and the Seattle Sounders beat West Ham United of the English Premier League in an international exhibition game on Tuesday night 3-0.Herculez Gomez also scored for the Sounders, converting a penalty kick late in the first half.Morris first goal came in the 70th minute, just eight minutes after subbing into the game. He slid into the rebound of a shot by Oalex Anderson and drove it into the back right corner past West Ham reserve goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel.Just two minutes later, Morris caught up to a long through ball from Joevin Jones and blasted it past Spiegel from the top left corner of the 6-yard box.Morris, drafted out of Stanford after leading the Cardinal to the NCAA championship last fall, is Seattles leading scorer in MLS play with six goals.Gomez converted a penalty kick in the 42nd minute. Aaron Kovar sent a through ball into the right side of the box, which Gomez ran onto.West Ham starting goalkeeper Adrian came off his line to play it, but tk down Gomez instead. Gomez drove his spot kick into the back right side, with Adrian going the opposite way.The teams combined fr 35 shots in the free-flowing game: 17 for Seattle (with 10 of those on goal) and 18 for West Ham (six on goal).ddddddddddddThe Sounders are struggling in MLS play with a 5-9-2 record that has them tied for last in the Western Conference. They have gotten results in their past three games: a penalty-kick tiebreaker victory against Real Salt Lake in a U.S. Open Cup game last week, and a come-from-behind MLS tie at Toronto last Saturday on goal by Morris, prior to Wednesdays win in the friendly.West Ham United is coming off a seventh-place EPL finish, achieved with a club-record 62 points.The Hammers were without Dimiti Payet, last seasons leading scorer with 12 goals (nine in EPL play, three more in the FA Cup). He is still with France in the Euro Championships with a semifinal game against Germany on Thursday.Seattle did not have Clint Dempsey, who still hasnt returned to MLS action following the United States fourth-place finish in Copa America.Both teams substituted liberally after halftime: 10 players for West Ham, and nine for the Sounders. ' ' '