World Series

I think that Fox Sports' starting coverage of the 2002 World Series was extremely flawed by not showing Jackie Autry throwing the first pitch. This was disrespectful to Gene Autry and to all fans of the game. GEORGE BIRD Eagle Rock Who are these baseball experts who know so much more than Tim McCarver, who played 21 years and hit over .300 in three World Series? As to his ability at analyzing the game, may I remind you that he called the ninth-inning hit that won the 2001 Series for Arizona?

SAN FRANCISCO - There was no anger or frustration in the voice of Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly. His team had just lost again - - on a walkoff hit, against the rival San Francisco Giants, for the second consecutive night - - and Mattingly sounded surprisingly chirpy. “In a sense, it's encouraging, as much as you can be encouraged from a loss,” Mattingly said. “It's as good as you can feel about a loss.” Guillermo Quiroz hit a walk-off home run off Dodgers closer Brandon League in the 10th inning on Saturday, lifting the Giants to a 10-9 victory over the Dodgers.

Another NoCal team seemingly on the verge of its first championship. Another SoCal team comes from the depths of despair to stay alive. Was that Robert Horry I saw shooting a three-point shot for the Angels last night? Michael Lee Manous Lynwood I'd like to thank Barry Bonds for not being a team player. By being Barry Bonds, he doesn't just assure you of a home run, he assures you of a defensive blunder or two. Oh sure, it may not show up in the scorebook as an error, but Barry plays for Barry.

There is a discolored mess on the brick wall behind center field at AT&T Park. The mess is what was left behind when a plaque honoring Barry Bonds and his all-time home run record mysteriously vanished. The San Francisco Giants say they'll put up a new one. We could not help thinking back to the winter of 2006-07, with Bonds on the verge of setting the record. The Giants signed Barry Zito - for the most money ever given to a pitcher at that time - and declared the face of the team henceforth would be the smiling Zito, not the scowling Bonds.

Two days after their flag was displayed upside-down at Game 2 of the World Series between the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays, thousands of Canadians loudly responded Tuesday night before Game 3. They stood and sang the U.S. national anthem. They sang it louder than it was sung in Atlanta last weekend, and when Jon Secada sang "land of the free," they erupted in cheers.

  The San Francisco Giants will take on the Detroit Tigers in the World Series this year, and Times baseball columnist Bill Shaikin, Dodgers writer Dylan Hernandez and Angels writer Mike DiGiovanna will discuss the upcoming Fall Classic today at 11:30 in a Google+ Hangout. As Shaikin wrote on the heels of the Giants winning Game 7 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday: "You say the San Francisco Giants might have to be pretty crazy lucky to beat Justin Verlander . You might be right, but you haven't seen pretty crazy lucky until you see the ball Hunter Pence hit on Monday.

The Detroit Tigers swept the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The San Francisco Giants came back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. So now that we know who is in the World Series, it's time to debate who will win it all -- the well-rested Tigers or the battle-tested Giants. Writers from around Tribune Co. will offer their predictions. Check back throughout the day for their responses and join the conversation by voting in the poll and leaving a comment of your own. Peter Schmuck, Baltimore Sun The San Francisco Giants certainly have shown tremendous resilience, fending off a St. Louis Cardinals team that seemed born to be the wild-card world champion, but that seven-game NLCS is going to cost them in the World Series.

The Detroit Tigers won't be the only ones eager to forget the World Series. The San Francisco Giants sweep of the Tigers in the Fall Classic may have been great news for the City by the Bay but it was bad news for Fox. According to Nielsen, an average of about 12.7 million viewers watched the 2012 World Series, which makes it the least watched on record. The previous low for a World Series was in 2008, when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays in five games. That series averaged 13.6 million viewers.

The San Francisco Giants won the World Series! Let's go set a bus on fire! Or maybe we can flip cars, break windows or set off explosives near young children! Really, the possibilities are endless! Proving once again the utter stupidity of some sports fans, members of a large crowd in San Francisco on Sunday night used violence and vandalism to display their pleasure at the fact that their beloved Giants had just swept the Detroit Tigers to win their second World Series championship in three years.

  Top that, Jack Black. We know who the best Kung Fu Panda is. San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval was named the 2012 World Series MVP after the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers on Sunday night, and was presented the trophy in an emotional ceremony you can watch above. Sandoval, who became the fourth person in baseball history to hit three home runs in one World Series game when he went deep three times in Game 1, .500 with three homers, a double and four RBIs in 16 World Series at-bats.

Clayton Kershaw's performance Monday ranked among the most memorable Andre Ethier could recall ever witnessing at Dodger Stadium. "There are no superlatives you can use," catcher A.J. Ellis said. "Sign him," center fielder Matt Kemp implored. Against the backdrop of negotiations that could make him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history, Kershaw enjoyed a season opener for the ages, taking center stage on an afternoon when the Dodgers unveiled their $230-million roster and renovated ballpark.

Mariano Rivera, the New York Yankees' future Hall of Fame reliever who returned this season after a major knee injury, confirmed the worst-kept secret in spring camp Saturday morning when he announced that he'll retire at the end of the 2013 season -- preferably doing what no other reliever in the history of baseball has done, saving the World Series-clinching game. “It's not too easy when you come to a decision like this,” Rivera said surrounded by family and teammates at a news conference in Tampa, Fla. “After this year, I will be retired .... Now you're hearing it from me. It's official now.” When he hangs up his jersey, the No. 42 -- now retired by Major League Baseball in honor of Jackie Robinson -- will also be a thing of the past.

PHOENIX - Having won two of the last three World Series, the San Francisco Giants would be clear-cut favorites in the National League West in almost any other season. This isn't any other season. The Dodgers have transformed baseball's landscape, with their new owners investing a projected $230 million, which would be a record opening-day payroll. "It's gone from where the Dodgers were dominant to where the Giants have won two of the last three," Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully said.

After once going three decades between College World Series appearances, UCLA is on the verge of becoming an Omaha regular. The Bruins advanced to the World Series twice in the last three years. UCLA enters Friday's opener against Minnesota ranked second by ESPN/USA Today and 12th by Baseball America. And with every starting pitcher and an All-American reliever back from a team that finished 48-16 overall, 20-10 in the Pac-12 Conference last season, the Bruins might be positioned for another run to Omaha.

Here's a little dream that's been spinning around unfulfilled since 1966 -- a freeway World Series. Dodgers vs. Angels, cars streaming back and forth on the Golden State Freeway, all the baseball world focused on Southern California. It's never come close to happening, though oddsmakers think -- drum roll, please -- this could be the year! Las Vegas has installed both the Dodgers and Angels at 7-to-1 odds of advancing to the World Series, along with the Tigers. Guess the Angels will have more work to do. The Washington Nationals are listed at 8 to 1. Also on the Web: -- Yahoo Sports' Tim Brown continues his rankings' countdown of all MLB teams, with the Dodgers coming in third . His top two are yet to come, with the Tigers and Nationals still awaiting.

PROSPER, Texas - Torii Hunter plops down in a leather chair in a room of his 19,900-square-foot, Mediterranean-style estate that is part sports bar, part shrine. Three flat-screen TVs are tuned in to ESPN and MLB Network. A trophy case is filled with Gold Glove awards and an array of memorabilia. There's a pool table, bar and a life-sized cardboard cutout of the former Angels outfielder in action. It's a dream room for any serious sports fan, but it's missing the one thing Hunter covets most, something the $135 million he's made in 14 big league seasons can't buy: A World Series ring.

  The San Francisco Giants will take on the Detroit Tigers in the World Series this year, and Times Dodgers writer Dylan Hernandez and Angels writer Mike DiGiovanna discussed the upcoming Fall Classic today in a Google+ hangout. The long layoff may hurt Detroit, and "it could take a game or two for them to find their game legs," DiGiovanna said, but the Tigers have an answer to that. "Justin Verlander is the great equalizer," DiGiovanna said. "He will give the Tigers hitters a chance to get their legs back under them, knowing they won't have to score six or seven runs right now. Verlander is the best pitcher in the game right now. " DiGiovanna went on to compare Verlander to Jack Morris and Orel Hershiser.

GAME 1 Oct. 27 Arizona 9 New York 1 * GAME 2 Oct. 28 Arizona 4, New York 0 * GAME 3 Oct. 30 New York 2, Arizona 1 * GAME 4 Oct. 31 New York 4, Arizona 3 (10) * GAME 5 Nov. 1 New York 3, Arizona 2 (12) * GAME 6 Nov. 3 Arizona 15, New York 2 * GAME 7 Nov. 4 Arizona 3, New York 2 * BEST OF SEVEN Arizona wins, 4-3

The conference room of Magic Johnson's Beverly Hills office is long and narrow. The most prominent images hang from one of the long walls, three photographs taken at Dodger Stadium. In one, Johnson smiles in the stands, all by himself. In another, Johnson smiles on the field, with his partners in ownership. The third offers a panoramic view of the ballpark. It is as if Johnson never played for that struggling pro basketball team across town — until he starts talking. Johnson won five championships with the Lakers, the last one in 1988.

Jerry Hairston Jr. will call it a career if he wins another World Series ring this year. “If we win the World Series, I guarantee you I'm going to retire,” Hairston said. “You can't get any better than that.” Hairston, the Dodgers' 36-year-old utilityman, won a World Series with the New York Yankees in 2009. “It would be cool to say I won one with the Yankees and won one with the Dodgers,” he said. But Hairston, whose family was honored Saturday at the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation gala, will first have to come back from a hip operation that cut short his 2012 season.