CHAMPIONS

^AP-APNewsAlert<,0028< ¶ ST. LOUIS (AP) _ The St. Louis Cardinals have won the World Series in five games beating the Detroit Tigers 4-2.

It took 24 years -- and four tries -- but the Cardinals finally have their 10th championship.

That's not to say that this wasn't a struggle. In 1985, Don Denkinger's blown call at first base helped the Kansas City Royals win their lone title. Two years later, the Minnesota Twins were the longest of longshots to win it all. And, in 2004, the Cardinals just didn't seem to bother to show up and were swept by the Boston Red Sox.

Consider the following:

• The Cardinals became the team with the fewest regular-season wins (83) to win a World Series. The 1987 Twins had won 85 games before their playoff run.
  
• St. Louis had a 7 1/2-game lead in the NL Central on Sept. 20, and nearly pissed it all away before getting into the playoffs.
• They needed to defeat fellow division winners San Diego and the New York Mets before facing the Tigers -- a team many expected would sweep the Series. Rob Neyer of ESPN.com fame went so far as to predict Detroit would win in three games.

"The team that wins a world championship is the team that played the best," winning manager Tony La Russa said.

But what makes me happiest about this win? Easy -- Cubs fans get to suffer for the second straight season, though I don't know what will make me smile more. Last year, it was the cross-city rival White Sox that ended an 88-year championship drought. This time around, it's the Cubs' most-hated divisional rival that gets to celebrate.

For those counting, it's been 98 years since the Cubs won the World Series.

Oh, yes, life can be good! Toasted ravioli for everyone!