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WILLOWBROOK, Ill. -- With one out in the first inning of the National League Championship Series Game 5 on Thursday night, Gail Schuster shuffled to the end of her motorized wheelchair, sat up as straight as she possibly could and began yelling at the flat-screen television a few feet in front of her.Hurry up! Schuster beckoned. Oh hurry up! Please hurry up!Half a country away, Chicago Cubs leadoff man Dexter Fowler was attempting to score from first base on a double into the right-field corner by Anthony Rizzo. And the 75-year-old Schuster, confined to a wheelchair for more than a half-century due to a rare bone disease, couldnt watch quietly without begging Fowler home.Hurry! she kept repeating.As Fowler rounded third, a flip phone in the Cubs bag draped over the arm of Schusters wheelchair began to buzz. CALL FROM 2-0-7... Schuster ignored it, waiting until Fowler crossed the plate, Rizzo was safely at second and her beloved Cubs had a 1-0 first-inning lead to pick up.Hello? she said to a caller who probably should have known better. Im watching the game.It was a scene surely repeated in living rooms, hospital rooms and nursing homes around the country. Elderly Cubs fans, in the late innings of their lives, starting to believe what was once unthinkable: the Chicago Cubs playing in their first World Series since 1945.You always think its going to go the same way it always does -- they freeze up, Schuster said. A couple nights ago, thats what it looked like, very much timid and afraid. But now theyve come together.There were so many years they fell apart, I never thought it would happen, added David Baker, like Schuster a resident at Chateau Center in Chicagos southwest suburbs. But maybe this is the year.At 88 years old, Baker admits that his long-term memory is a far cry from what it once was, not entirely a bad thing for a lifelong Cubs fan. Baker says he doesnt remember the collapse of 69, the ground ball rolling through Leon Durhams legs in 1984 or the crushing Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS.Steve Bartman? Baker asks. I have no idea who that is.Schuster, on the other hand, remembers all the heartbreak. But she wouldnt have it any other way. The Cubs have always been there for her, so until the day she dies she will return the favor. A self-described die-hard, she has listened to or watched nearly every Cubs game since she was a teenager and health issues forced her to drop out of school in the seventh grade and confined her to a wheelchair at the age of 21. On her darkest, most depressed days, she would turn to Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and Billy Williams to lift her spirits.I fought that wheelchair the entire time. I didnt want it, she said. But every day I looked forward to the ballgame. My mom would get hot dogs, potato chips and a Coke and I would watch them and listen to Jack Brickhouse. It helped me get through a lot of hard days.No matter what was going on, the Cubs became a constant for me. They were always there. And as I became older it was a bridge to talk to people and meet people.Schuster made her first trip to Wrigley Field in 2007 and says she has been there about six times since. Today, Schuster has no surviving family. She was never able to have children and was an only child. But in the halls of Chateau Center she has built a reputation as the biggest of Cubs fans.Night games arent exactly easy for the elderly. As Thursday nights Game 5 began, most of the other residents of Chateau Center were either in bed or on their way there. Yet there was Schuster, in the nursing homes media room, barking at the TV with the passion of someone 50 years younger.Of course I stay up and watch, Shuster explained. I dont get up at 6 a.m. like a lot of these people do. I just sleep til 10.Ninety-year-old Bobby Clark quietly watched the first two innings with Schuster before fading and heading back to his room. He planned on reading about the game in Friday mornings newspaper. I read it every day, he said.Two other Cubs fans, Baker and 86-year-old Joe Zahradnik, hung around the media room for pregame but called it a night before Fowler had even scored in the first. Said Zahradnik: I can only watch day games. And Baker: Ill find out in the morning if we won.But there was Schuster, starting her night in the media room and ending it in her bedroom, glued to the Cubs game all the way until the final out. Through the course of the night, she revealed that Kris Bryant is cute and she admires Addison Russells baby face. He looks like its too late at night for him to be out, she said. In the NLCS, shes quickly grown a dislike for the Dodgers?Adrian Gonzalez. He just seems so nasty to me. When Gonzalez struck out to end the first inning and chirped to the umpire afterward, she made note. See what I mean? she said. Hes just so intimidating. You dont need to act that way. And she was less than pleased with L.A.s baserunners jumping off first base in an effort to distract Cubs left-hander Jon Lester. I cant believe the way they are acting, she said. Its so ignorant.Schuster believes this is the Cubs year because they are no longer led by aging veterans and instead have such a young, talented core. We used to always get players at the end when they were limping on the field, she said. I dont know why we would buy them. But this new guy, Theo [Epstein], hes done some great changes.Schusters bedroom features a Cubs blanket and she regularly drinks from a Cubs mug. Wrapped around her left wrist is a Cubs bracelet and strategically positioned on her nightstand are a pair of Cubs rings that she would prefer others dont touch. She insists she isnt superstitious, yet when she found out the daughter of another resident works in Guest Services at Wrigley Field, she gave the woman a miniature plush goat that said curse breaker on it to take to the ballpark during the division series against the Giants.It worked, she said. They won.But now comes the real test. Up 3-2 in the series and headed back to Wrigley Field, the Cubs stand at the same point they did 13 years earlier against the Florida Marlins. But this time, Schuster, Clark, Baker, Zahradnik and elderly Cubs fans all across Chicago believe the outcome will be different. They have no choice. Their time is running out. They need the Cubs to beat the Dodgers and go on to win the World Series this year.And when they do?A beer, Zahradnik said. A very good beer.I will probably order a pizza, Schuster said. That would be such a great way to celebrate. Spinach, mushrooms and black olives. Yum.Baker has other thoughts.Ill celebrate quietly, the 88-year-old said. At this age, I dont need to be loud. China Jerseys . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Cheap Authentic NFL Jerseys . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. http://www.nfljerseyschina.net/ . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. Jerseys NFL Wholesale . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. Jerseys Cheap . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. The UFC announced that it had been sold for $4 billion earlier this month, changing hands from previous owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta to entertainment empire WME-IMG and a group of investors.When asked to describe his reaction to the sale, which is the largest financial transaction in sports history, one current UFC athlete said, At first, it was just one big blank.After an initial shock, many fighters said they immediately began wondering, What does this mean for me? What does it mean for the landscape of mixed martial arts?ESPN.com has spent the last week talking to various fighters and managers on those topics. The short answer is no one knows exactly what will change with this sale. Many of the conversations, however, seemed to center around certain points.There is a genuine well done feeling toward former parent company Zuffa and the Fertitta brothers, who purchased the UFC for $2 million in 2001, along with an acknowledgment of the positive effect they and UFC president Dana White have had on the sport. Cashing out to the tune of $4 billion? Good for them.At the same time, there is a genuine hope that this sale, whether directly or indirectly, will greatly improve financial aspects for the athletes.For starters, new ownership presumably has a plan for a return on its $4 billion investment, and more revenue streams flowing into the company is a good thing for everyone, fighters included.Theres also the hope of a more equal revenue share between ownership and athletes. The UFCs financial information is private, so official data on revenue splits is unavailable. Most within the sport, however, estimate athletes receive a percentage well below that of other professional sports. Athletes would like to see more benefits, including retirement packages, health care and less restrictive contracts that allow them to build their own brand.The possibility of a fighters union or association came up repeatedly during discussions about the sale.Below are direct quotes from a handful of fighters and managers on these topics. Many of those who spoke to ESPN.com were willing to be on record, but others preferred to remain anonymous. For the purpose of this story, the decision was made to keep all statements anonymous.This is a relatively small sample size, considering the number of active fighters in the UFC, but efforts were made to speak to a wide range of athletes in terms of age, value of previous fight purses, weight class, etc.ManagerGood for [Zuffa] at the end of the day. I think it just shows how healthy this sport is. Its now time to raise the bar for the athletes.Theres a huge gap in fighter pay between the haves and have nots. There is still this unknown way of negotiating. In the NFL, NBA, MLB -- there is so much visibility on information. You know going into a negotiation that there is a range to your value, and even then, those negotiations can take months. With fighters, a lot of times, its a fire sale. A big fight has been offered that is only two weeks away and now theres pressure to do a deal.A lot of fighters dont necessarily understand things on a real sophisticated level -- not because they cant, thats just not where theyre spending their time. But Im assuming a lot of them are reacting to $4 billion like, Why the hell am I only being paid this? I would dare to say the entire roster is a pissed-off motivated right now. I would guess youll see a lot more holdouts and a lot more free agency testing because this sale shows how healthy the business is.Things are already changing. The last few years, the UFC has probably experienced more than they ever have in the way of an FTC investigation, an antitrust lawsuit against them, athletes pushing the envelope -- it has changed, you know? And I think Lorenzo was like, S---, Im out.Fighter (more than five years with UFC, has fought for title)I am cautiously optimistic about what this means for fighters. I feel like their opinion and their attitude toward fighters so far is that we need the UFC more than the UFC needs us. Were expendable. There are 1,000 other guys ready to line up and fight, which is true, but its kind of a s--- place to be.I make a good living doing what I do. Ive been one of the more fortunate, but I feel fighters should be more secure. A lot of these guys are paycheck to paycheck, fight to fight. We pay coaches, managers, taxes -- were taking all the physical risk and only pocketing half our money. When you see a fight purse, 50 percent of that is going elsewhere. We are going to be living with long-term ramifications of competing in a combat sport, and it would be nice to have some security, maybe a monthly stipend for training.Were technically independent contractors, but were subject to things like the new Reebok deal, where we have to wear something required. We have limited health care, but we dont have health care for our families. We have no retirement. It would be awesome to be getting even a fraction of what other pro athletes are getting paid. These new owners might be able to expand the brand and get more opportunities to continue taking MMA mainstream. Im cautiously optimistic that could include some of the these things.I think if fighters organized we would definitely have a lot more leverage. I dont know what thats going to look like with regards to the new ownership. I know the Fertittas have been fighting unions in their casino business for years, thats fairly well known. With them out of the picture, Im wondering if it would be easier for us to organize. But if there were something like a fighter strike, theres a lot of ifs involved. Were in a tough position. The UFC keeps the top guys happy, and those are the key figures youre going to need in order to have any leverage. Without them, you dont have s---.ManagerSomebody just spent $4 billion. So, if you expect them to come in and say, We just spent $4 billion based on the numbers these guys have had on the books, now the first thing were going to do is raise the numbers for our athletes and dwindle our profits? The chances of that happening are slim to none, but I think its something that can happen over time. The new ownership needs to come in and create more income streams. When they do that, there will be more money for everyone, including the fighters.Im assuming all contract negotiations go through Dana White now. Whatever deals [UFC matchmakers] Joe Silva and Sean Shelby dont do, those will go through Dana. I doubt these new guys would get involved with something they dont really know yet. I dont know if you can call [WME head] Ari Emanuel and have him negotiate an MMA deal tomorrow.In the past, the negotiating process was different for each athlete. Some guys get on better with Dana, others got on better with Lorenzo. Now that Lorenzo is stepping down, you would hope theres some sort of balance added to Dana. In other words, Im hoping that whoever comes in will be a good balance with Dana. If theres a fighter Dana isnt high on, is there a CEO or someone else who would understand that and say, I should handle this one.I think there would be more worry if Dana wasnt staying on, if these guys were selling and walking away completely. But I also only believe Dana White wiill stay for a transitional period.dddddddddddd I dont think hes going to be with the company for a long time. Its hard to wake up every day and listen to somebody new when you have $400 million in the bank.Fighter (less than five years with UFC)Im very lucky in that Im a younger guy. There are people who have paved the way for me through blood, sweat and tears. Ive been hearing athletes say, Were going to get that professional athlete money now. Lets be honest, were not near that yet.The former owners were so invested in it because its something they created. It was theirs. In many ways, they believed, right or wrong, the UFC was their brand so they should be making 70 percent of the profits or whatever it was. This company taking over maybe doesnt have that same emotion. Maybe theyll look at it as, It will help our product if our athletes make X amount of money, because now they can focus more on it. Theres another punch to this, and thats the next generation. Soccer moms taking their kids to soccer, maybe that turns into MMA. If youre looking at it through the perspective of the parents, if theres a future in MMA, maybe theyll push them in that direction.The sport is only 20 years old. Everything is relative to time. You look at hockey or football, whatever, there were times when, yeah, those guys were professional athletes, but they still had day jobs. In boxing, you have all this history behind it, the Muhammad Ali Act, the systems that are now in place, thats all part of the culture. This sport doesnt have that yet. This, like any other sport in many ways, is an opportunity for rich men to -- whats the word Im looking for? -- were chess pieces for billionaires to take on other billionaires.But I think its great to have a Hollywood agency in charge moving forward. With Bellator MMA, you have Viacom behind them and everything they do on the television side. Thats part of some of the contracts Bellator has written, that you can have a television show built around you. I look at myself and see the free agency as a huge positive right now, with the sides that are involved.Fighter (more than five years with UFC, has fought for title)I feel like what MMA will become some day and how fighters will be treated, I probably wont feel that during my years in the sport. Thats something Ive accepted. Im getting the most out of it while I can.The genius part of what the UFC did is they were able to write all these different responsibilities into the same contract. And they can provide additional opportunities or take them away. No matter how good you are at one thing, they can pull you off in a second and replace you with someone else. Were all just spokes on a wheel. The UFC was able to sell for $4 billion because they were able to create a situation where, as athletes, were promoting the business. We dont promote ourselves as individual athletes without promoting the overall business of the UFC.What do I do to change that? You tell me. Im a spoke on a wheel and Ive accepted that. What if the UFC were to tell me, Well take every fight youve ever had and well hold it. Well stop showing it. Every fight youve had with us does not exist now. Well cut your contract. Thats it. I dont exist now. Its not that they would do that or have ever threatened to do that, but I understand the realness of the situation. I think being sold for this amount of money is a step in the right direction. Is a fighters union something we all might need? Possibly, yes. But Im looking at it realistically and saying that during my career, I dont see it happening. I will have helped the company out more than my own brand. I need the UFC platform to grow, so Im going to continue helping it grow. I like having a job. I need this job. Im a blue-collar individual. Im not rich. When youve worked as long as I have, you learn how to be happy with what you get when you get it.Fighter (more than five years with UFC, has fought for title)?If I had 50 cents for every action figure I signed, Id be a millionaire. The UFC tells me to sign autographs, and I dont see any money from that. I turn on a UFC video game and see myself on there, and Im asking, When did I sign a contract that let people put me in a video game without paying me for it? How am I allowed to sign that contract? I dont know if that will change or not with the new owners. These are guys are smart, powerful people. I hope so.Fighter (more than five years with UFC)Fighters, a lot of times, are uneducated. Theyre happy to get their $20,000 scraps and say, Whatever, man, Im just happy to work. The idea of a union is tough, because you have a few guys who can afford to say, I dont have to fight for a year. Then youve got a whole bigger group of guys who say, F--- that, Ive got to fight.What is this going to turn into? What does the sale have to do with it? I think it has lit a fire under peoples ass. Youre going to have to take one of the biggest champions, one of the brightest stars, to go to a press conference and drop the ball and say, F--- everybody, this is what Im doing. Thats what it would take. Who in their right mind would do that? Its really risky, to say, Im going to turn down $10 million to fight on pay-per-view but Im going to put my name in history forever to start this thing. That, in my mind, is what has to happen.ManagerI think Lorenzo especially saw there were other avenues for other interests he wants to pursue, and it was his time to move forward. We dont know what Danas role is going to be. He can say nothing has changed, but in the corporate world you understand how it works. People dont put money into something to not have control.When this new ownership takes over, I hope theres a window of opportunity for a collaboration between fighters, managers and agents to change some of the things that are very controlling in their contracts. They are very limiting. And I think some of the UFCs growth has been stymied by the leash that has been put on the fighters. I do think this opens a big door for a fighters union, because I think there is a lot of interest now in whats being done in this sport. I think it has to change. WME understands the acting and sports world. The athletes they represent in other sports have associations to back them. Actors have the Screen Actors Guild. I just dont see how that is not pursued in this sport within the next couple years.Fighter (more than five years with UFC, has fought for title)I think its good. I know that WME was a big part of the UFCs success and Ronda Rouseys success because they represented her. Now its going to be interesting because there are going to be two sides of this thing. Theyre going to try to build fighters as big as possible, which they have the means to do that with access to so much media, but then theyre also, as the owner, going to try to keep the fighter pay to a minimum.So I think its going to be a good thing overall. The bigger a person gets, the more notoriety and clout they get, the more they can demand. I think all in all, having this entertainment group behind us is going to be a good thing. ' ' '