The three network morning shows all led today's episodes with news of the Cubs' World Series win despite this being the final week of a historic presidential election. ABC's "GMA" aired a report under the header "Cubs Win! Cubs Win!,” while NBC's "Today" used the similar “Cubs Win!” header and "CBS This Morning" went with “Cubs Crush Curse.” Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts appeared live from Cleveland's Progressive Field, while NBC’s Bob Costas appeared on “Today” and ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza was on “GMA.” All three had live reports from Cleveland (THE DAILY). CBS’ Charlie Rose said, “The team known for losing completes a historic World Series comeback in an extraordinary Game 7” ("CBS This Morning," 11/3). NBC's Savannah Guthrie said, “The party still raging this morning.” NBC’s Matt Lauer said of last night's Game 7, “I said to my son, ‘This is a game you’ll tell your kids about’” ("Today," NBC, 11/3). ABC’s T.J. Holmes said of watching the game from Progressive Field, “We could not believe what we were witnessing, and why would we? We’ve never seen it before in our lifetimes” (“GMA,” ABC, 11/3).
ATTENTION GRABBER: Illinois residents woke up this morning to newspapers across the state giving the Cubs' win the front-page treatment. The Chicago Tribune goes with an on-field picture of players celebrating moments after the final out with the header, "At Last!," while the Chicago Sun-Times goes with a shot of fans celebrating outside Wrigley Field with the header, "Worth The Wait." The Decatur Herald & Review goes with "Cubs Win! Cubs Win!," while the Peoria Journal-Star runs with "Won For The Ages." The State Journal Register in Springfield goes with "A Win For The Ages." Meanwhile, the Cleveland Plain Dealer has a shot of Indians RF Michael Martinez walking back to the dugout after the final out and the header, "History," while the Columbus Dispatch shows a dejected Indians fan with the header "Curses!" The following are some other front-page headlines from newspapers across the country (THE DAILY).
Bakersfield Californian: "Holy Cow!"
Denver Post: "At Last!"
Miami Herald: "Cubs Break Curse"
Prescott Daily Courier: "Reverse Of The Curse!"
Quad-City Times: "Finally!"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Cubs Celebrate A New Century"
San Diego Union-Tribune: "Cubs Reverse Curse"
USA Today: "A Century In The Making"
LATE-NIGHT LAUGHS: Despite being taped before the start of Game 7, the late-night talk shows all referenced the game in their monologues. NBC’s Jimmy Fallon said, “I saw that a pair of tickets to tonight's Game 7 sold on StubHub for almost $40,000. The couple still left in the seventh inning to beat traffic." He added, "I saw that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have run national commercials during the World Series games, marking the only time Cubs and Indians fans were booing at the same time” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 11/2). ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel noted Game 7 was between the "long-suffering Indians and the even longer-suffering Chicago Cubs." Kimmel: "What a year for the city of Cleveland: They host a World Series, won an NBA title, they got to see Chachi speak at the Republican National Convention” ("Jimmy Kimmel Live," ABC, 11/2). TBS’ Conan O’Brien, who was broadcasting from the Apollo Theater in N.Y., said, "What an insane week this is, this is crazy. The Cubs may win the World Series, Donald Trump may be elected president and the whitest man in America is on stage at the Apollo! It’s officially the end of days” (“Conan,” TBS, 11/2). CBS’ “The Late Show” opened with host Stephen Colbert giving two separate congratulations messages to the Cubs and Indians. He said, "Congratulations, Cleveland. You played great ball. Your city should be proud. This is the kind of triumphant win that makes us briefly forget your mascot” (“The Late Show,” CBS, 11/2).
