Tonight’s sports spotlight is on the City by the Bay
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The World Series gets under way tonight in San Francisco. Both the hometown Giants and visiting Detroit Tigers worked out yesterday at AT&T Park and say they’re ready.
The Tigers haven’t played a meaningful game since Thursday, when they completed a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees for the AL pennant. Detroit manager Jim Leyland will hand the ball to his ace, Justin Verlander.
The Giants are still riding the wave of euphoria from Monday night’s Game 7 victory over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. Skipper Bruce Bochy is going with lefty Barry Zito in this evening’s opener of the best-of-seven showdown.
San Francisco has home-field advantage thanks to the senior circuit’s victory in this summer’s All-Star game.
Storen among arbitration players
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Washington reliever Drew Storen, who failed to hold a ninth-inning lead against St. Louis in Game 5 of the NL division series, is among six extra players eligible for salary arbitration this winter under baseball’s new labor contract.
San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera, New York Mets catcher Josh Thole, Tampa Bay outfielder Sam Fuld, Colorado outfielder Tyler Colvin and third baseman Chris Johnson also are eligible because of the new deal.
Under the labor contract agreed to last November, the top 22 percent of players by service time with at least two years but less than three are eligible for arbitration along with the 3-to-6 year players. From 1991 through last year, the top 17 percent in the 2-to-3-year group had been eligible.
The cutoff was 2 years, 139 days, down from what would have been 2 years, 144 days under the old rule. Seattle outfielder Michael Saunders still fell one day short.
Players reach out, owners pull away
NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL Players Association has notified the league that it’s ready to return to the bargaining table as early as today in an effort to save a full schedule. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly quickly told the union to forget it.
Daly told The Associated Press he didn’t anticipate any negotiations taking place for the balance of the week, saying the union has rejected the proposal management made last week and is not offering another one.
The league set an Oct. 25 deadline for the two sides to work out a new collective bargaining agreement before the NHL cancels regular-season games for good.
Rogge says cycling will stay in Olympics
LONDON (AP) — IOC President Jacques Rogge is defending the international cycling union’s anti-doping efforts, saying it would be wrong to kick the sport out of the Olympics after the Lance Armstrong scandal.
Rogge says cycling’s governing body “has always been at the forefront of the fight against doping” and was one of the first sports to introduce biological passports to monitor blood profiles.
He says the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that painted Armstrong as a central figure in a systematic doping ring is “shocking.”
Rogge reiterated that the IOC is awaiting more UCI action before possibly stripping Armstrong of his bronze medal from the 2000 Olympics.