As some of you know webmaster Auld (above) resides in Tucson, AZ. So that being the case I could only get caught up in the recent baseball 2001 World Series where the dreaded 3 time defending World Champs New York Yankees took on the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona was a major underdog, having only been in existence for  only 4 years.

In one of the greatest world series ever played, the Arizona Diamondbacks scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 to beat the 3-time defending champions New York Yankees.

The 97th World Series was the first to extend into November because of the postponements following the September 11 attacks.

Game 1 Stadium Security !!

Defense officials confirmed that fighter planes would be overhead during the World Series. Any aircraft within 3,000 feet above or 3 square miles, were subject to being shot out of the skies. On the ground, Phoenix police likely will create a buffer zone around the ballpark with strategically placed vehicles and barricades. Alpert said that officers also likely will let bomb-sniffing dogs sweep the park before the games.

The Phoenix Fire Department managed the World Series like no other special event, Assistant Fire Chief Bob Khan said. It will establish a command center, send paramedics on bikes into the crowds with life-support kits, place extra ambulances nearby and have a hazardous-materials response team ready.

Game 1 Bank One Ballpark, Phoenix, AZ

A multiagency task force has spent the past few days planning security in and around the ballpark. "We' were prepared for just about everything," Phoenix police Sgt. Lauri Williams said. Police and firefighters were trained for a large-scale chemical attack inside Bank One Ballpark (the stadium). Last October, about 200 officers and 45 firefighters participated in a drill to simulate an attack with a weapon of mass destruction.

Getting 2001 World Series Tickets !!

As a Diamondbacks supporter I was left with a less-than-rosy glow Monday, the day after the team clinched its first trip to the Series. People across the state griped that they couldn't get tickets, either at the ballpark, on the phone or on the Internet.

I was outraged that some scalpers used transients (homeless-bums) to wait in line to scoop up seats now selling from nearly $300 to almost $3,000. The practice isn't illegal in Arizona and often goes unnoticed.

But that may change as the intense interest and the wide audience appeal of the World Series brings scalping into sharp relief. Some lawmakers suggest it may be time to revise the law.

State Sen. Chris Cummiskey, D-Phoenix, said Arizona's scalping law is a "paper tiger" that needs an overhaul. He said the issue came up during the Phoenix Suns' 1993 trip to the NBA finals but "fell by the wayside."

"There are already 18 states that prohibit ticket scalping, including New York," he said. "Scalping (in Arizona) is just a petty offense. We need to have something on the books that makes sure local fans can afford tickets."

Arizona's statute, which was passed in 1989, prevents scalping only if it's "within 200 feet" of a stadium, arena or theater.

Gov. Jane Hull's spokeswoman said scalping is tarnishing a world-class sporting event.

"It is unfortunate that some people are trying to profit unnecessarily through scalping at other people's expense," Hull spokeswoman Francie Noyes said. "It's very possible we may learn something from this and make changes to the current law."

The Diamondbacks were overwhelmed with demand for Series tickets after the team beat the Atlanta Braves on Sunday night to win the National League pennant. The ticket staff expected to shut down around midnight, when lines for previous playoff games fell away, but fans stayed until dawn Monday.

"We just got hit so hard," said Diane Aguilar, the team's vice president for ticketing. "The demand was right up front. There's no break."

Outside Bank One Ballpark, "Hi-Tops" Bar  Phoenix,

The Diamondbacks have sold out Games 1 and 2 in Phoenix. The next three games are in New York City, with the final pair back in Arizona, if necessary.

The team is tinkering with the notion of putting Game 6 tickets on sale before it's certain the game will take place, just to restore order to ticket buying. But that would require a refund system if the game isn't necessary.

Aguilar said the Diamondbacks instituted a 10-ticket limit for each game and used a lottery system to ensure that scalpers couldn't dominate the buying. That meant people buying for the first two games could buy 20 tickets each. Other than that, she said there's little the team can do.

"Until they do something to change the scalping laws in Arizona, this will continue to happen," she said.

Scalpers, who prefer the term brokers, operate on the street or from storefronts and the larger ones handle blocks of tickets for major sporting events. Ian McHale, a salesman at Team One Tickets in Tempe, said consumers look at the hefty prices scalpers charge and see red, not knowing that many of those seats come from season ticket holders who demand premiums before the scalpers set prices.

"Season ticket holders are not stupid," he said. "They want to make money as well."

Team One's prices were running from $325 to well over $2,000 Monday morning

Game 1 Arizona  9 New York 1 (Phoenix, AZ)

Arizona, a fourth-year franchise in its first World Series, banged out 10 hits, putting together four-run third and fourth innings helped along by two Yankee errors. Curt Schilling  (below) pitches for the win.

Gonzalez, Reggie Sanders and Damian Miller had two hits apiece while Gonzalez, Sanders and Steve Finley scored twice. Gonzalez and Mark Grace drove in two runs apiece. "It really was the epitome of a team effort tonight,'' said Bob Brenly, Arizona's rookie manager.

New York starting pitcher Mike Mussina lasted only three innings, giving up five runs -- three earned -- on six hits, one intentional walk and a hit batsman. He struck out only four D'Backs.

Security was tight around Bank One Ballpark, as it has been at most U.S. sports events since the attacks of September 11, and fans forbidden to bring in bags, and police and bomb-sniffing dogs on duty all around the stadium.

In pregame ceremonies, six U.S. Marines re-enacted the famous photo of the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima in the Second World War, and three Phoenix firefighters portrayed rescue workers at Manhattan's World Trade Center hoisting a flag. Also Jewel (above left) sang the National Anthem which was "hair raising"!

Game 2 Arizona 4  New York 0 (Phoenix, AZ)