NEW YORK -- A sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series last fall sent the New York Mets to the World Series for the first time in 15 seasons. But the Cubs are the team that looks ready to return to the NLCS -- and perhaps end a far longer drought -- as the two teams prepare for a four-game series that begins Thursday night at Citi Field.The Cubs arrived in New York fresh off a 9-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds that capped a three-game sweep at Great American Ball Park. The sweep snapped the longest skid of the season for Chicago, which lost six of seven prior to facing the Reds.This was a good series for us, said Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who hit a three-run inside-the-park homer Wednesday.The Cubs have had a lot of good series this year. Chicago, which is looking to reach the World Series for the first time since 1945 and win it all for the first time since 1908, is now a baseball-best 51-26, with a mammoth run differential -- plus-170 -- that suggests ot should have five or six more wins.The Mets, meanwhile, continued to spiral downward Wednesday with a 4-2 loss to the Washington Nationals. The loss capped a three-game sweep at the hands of the Nationals, who extended their lead over the Mets from three to six games.The loss ended a 2-5 road trip for the Mets, who were outscored 35-20 by the Nationals and Atlanta Braves. New York, which blew an early 4-0 lead in Mondays opener against the Nationals, went 23 straight innings without scoring until James Loney hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday.Were just not giving ourselves chances, Mets manager Terry Collins said. We just cant give our pitchers any room to work.At 40-37, New York is the closest it has been to .500 since April 24, though it is still only a half-game behind the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the NLs second wild card.Theyre struggling lately and theyre banged up, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. It is different (than last year) for both teams.The series opener Thursday begins an 11-game homestand for the Mets that could dictate the direction the rest of their season takes. After the Cubs exit Sunday, the Mets host the Marlins for three games and the Nationals for four games.Weve still got 11 before the All-Star Break, Collins said. Weve just got to go play them.Mets left-hander Steven Matz is scheduled to start Thursday against Cubs right-hander John Lackey. Matz is pitching through a bone chip in his right elbow and got an extra day of rest after struggling last Friday, when he was staked to an eight-run lead but allowed six runs over 4 1/3 innings and was lifted before he could qualify for the win in the Mets 8-6 victory over the Braves.Lackey will be looking to bounce back from his worst start of the season. He took the loss last Saturday, when he gave up seven runs over 4 1/3 innings as the Cubs fell to the Marlins, 9-6. Clearance Running Shoes Online . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Wholesale Running Shoes . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. http://www.cheaprunningshoes.us/ . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. Cheapest Running Shoes Store . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Cheap Running Shoes China . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Chattanooga forward and Xavier transfer Makinde London has received a waiver from the NCAA allowing him to play immediately for his new school rather than sitting out the 2016-17 season.Chattanooga officials confirmed Friday night before the Mocs season opener at Tennessee that the NCAA had granted Londons request for a hardship waiver.London, a 6-foot-10 sophomore from Nashville, Tennessee, averaged 1.6 points, 1.3 reboounds and 5.dddddddddddd3 minutes for Xavier last season after redshirting in 2014-15. He was rated as a top-100 prospect by multiple recruiting services when he arrived at Xavier.Chattanooga went 29-6 last season and won the Southern Conferences regular-season and tournament titles to reach the NCAA Tournament. ' ' '