A new name has emerged in the Colorado Rockies’ managerial search. The Denver Post reported yesterday that San Francisco Giants bench coach Ron Wotus is a candidate. Wotus would not be interviewed until the conclusion of the World Series. The 51 year-old Wotus has been with the Giants as a coach since 1998. He has never managed in the major leagues, but was a minor league manager in the Giants system for seven years. Current Rockie Jason Giambi continues to be a strong internal candidate for the position as well.

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.

Guillen is one and done

MIAMI (AP) — Ozzie Guillen’s mouth got him in trouble seven months ago. The Florida Marlins’ record got him fired.

Guillen has been let go after just one season with the team. The Marlins went 69-93 during a campaign in which Guillen praised Fidel Castro, another factor in his dismissal. Team president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said the positive comments about Castro didn’t help the team or Guillen.

Miami’s last-place finish in the NL East came after the team signed free-agent All-Stars Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle (BUR’-lee) and Heath Bell to contracts worth a combined $191 million.

The Fish still owe Guillen $7.5 million for the three years remaining on his contract.

Miami’s next manager will be the fifth for owner Jeffrey Loria since early 2010.

No. 7 Beavers go with Mannion against Huskies

UNDATED (AP) — Quarterback Sean Mannion will start for No. 7 Oregon State against Washington on Saturday, less than three weeks after undergoing a surgical procedure on his left knee.

Mannion missed two games after he was hurt in an Oct. 6 victory over Washington State in Seattle. Cody Vaz started in Mannion’s place and Oregon State has remained unbeaten, rising to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Pac-12.

Golson’s a go

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly says quarterback Everett Golson is 100 percent and will start against eighth-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday in Norman. Kelly says Golson did well during a full workout after sitting out last week’s win over BYU while recovering from a concussion.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul?

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Central Florida will be eligible to compete for both the Conference USA championship and a bowl game this season. Knights coach George O’Leary says the NCAA has scheduled the school’s appeal hearing of a one-year postseason ban for late January.

UCF’s football team is 5-2, with a 3-0 record in conference play. If the school loses its appeal, the football ban would be served in 2013 when the Knights enter the Big East.

The ban was the only penalty UCF challenged as part of sanctions levied in July for major recruiting violations in football and basketball. Central Florida also received a one-year postseason ban in basketball, a $50,000 fine, five years’ probation, reduction of basketball scholarships, and limits on football recruiting.

When Nebraska takes the field against Michigan on Saturday in Lincoln, their defense will deal with one of the most dynamic talents in the country. Wolverines quarterback Denard Robinson accounted for 263 total yards in Michigan’s 45-17 win over the Huskers last season. He presents the biggest threat to the Huskers defense, which has struggled against mobile quarterbacks. But Husker defensive coordinator John Papuchis says Robinson isn’t the only player his defense will be concerned with as they prepare for Saturday’s game. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 7 PM.

Listen to John Papuchis’ post-practice remarks by clicking play below.

Husker senior running back Rex Burkhead sat out practice for the second consecutive day, raising doubts about whether or not he will be ready to play when Nebraska hosts Michigan on Saturday. Burkhead re-aggravated his left knee injury in Saturday’s win over Northwestern. The Huskers have gotten some good injury news elsewhere. Cornerback Josh Mitchell, who missed Saturday’s game with an ankle injury, is expect to play against Michigan, as is defensive tackle Kevin Williams. Defensive tackle Chase Rome is also hoping to return, but he first must be cleared after he suffered a concussion. The returns of Williams and Rome would help shore up a defensive tackle rotation that was frighteningly thin last week. The team has already lost true freshman tackle Avery Moss for the season with a shoulder injury.

(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) – Ron Brown, running backs coach at the University of Nebraska who has served on NU’s coaching staff under both Bo Pelini and Tom Osborne for a combined 22 years, has been elected to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Champions.

FCA is the world’s largest Christian sports ministry.

Brown, who served as FCA’s State Director in Nebraska for four years in between stints as a Cornhuskers assistant, has been a contributing writer to FCA Magazine (formerly Sharing the Victory) for a decade, and hosted FCA’s national radio program, Sharing the Victory, for two years. He has also been a frequent speaker at FCA events through the years.

Brown joined Nebraska’s staff in 1987 following a four-year stint as an assistant at his alma mater, Brown University in Providence, R.I. He worked for legendary Cornhuskers coach and current Director of Athletics Tom Osborne from 1987-2003, helping Nebraska win three national championships during that time. The 2012 season marks the fifth year Coach Brown has worked as an assistant to Pelini. Last year, Brown was nominated for the Frank Broyles Award, which is given to the nation’s top assistant football coach.

Brown’s reputation as a man of exemplary and uncompromising Christian character put him in position last fall to help bring healing to the college football world. It was Brown, whose Cornhuskers were playing at Penn State in the Nittany Lions’ first contest after legal charges were filed against former PSU assistant Jerry Sandusky, who was invited by Penn State’s team to lead the two teams in prayer prior to kickoff of a nationally televised game.

Brown, a two-time All-Ivy League selection as a defensive back at Brown who is a member of the university’s All-Century Team and its Sports Hall of Fame, joins former NFL quarterback Neil Lomax and longtime high school athletic trainer and Indiana Fever chaplain Kathy Malone Sparks as this year’s inductees into FCA’s Hall of Champions.

The honorees are determined by an FCA selection committee following a nomination process that includes staff, volunteers, athletes and the organization’s Board of Trustees.

The Hall of Champions was established in 1991 to honor individuals who have demonstrated a consistent commitment to Jesus Christ through the ministry of FCA. They are considered volunteer “All Stars” who have given above and beyond the call of duty and have upheld the Four Core Values of FCA – Integrity, Serving, Teamwork and Excellence.

— Mickey Seward, National Director of Communications, Fellowship of Christian Athletes

The Colorado Rockies will indeed look outside of their organization for managerial candidates. The club has already interviewed current bench coach Tom Runnells and current first baseman Jason Giambi as they look to fill the void left by Jim Tracy’s resignation over two weeks ago. Outside candidates for the position may include Cleveland Indians coach Sandy Alomar Jr., Oakland A’s third-base coach Mike Gallego, and San Diego Padres special assistant Brad Ausmus.