Boomer's Diamond/Gridiron Notes: World Series is set & Division leaders in the NFL

Tigers: outstanding pitching vs. Giants: dangerous line-up

The 2012 Fall Classic has its two participants. Following the Giants 9-0 Game 7 win over the defending World Series Champs, the St. Louis Cardinals, they became just the 7th team, to come back from a 3-1 series hole. The Giants outscored the Cardinals 20 to 1 in Games 5, 6, 7 of the NLCS to win their second come-from-behind series in these playoffs, as they won their six-straight elimination game. Watching the final three games of the NLCS, it had the same feel to it, like the 2007 ALCS, when the Red Sox stormed back to defeat the Cleveland Indians in seven games, after falling behind 3-1 in that series. Now, the Giants will go for their 2nd World Series championship in the past three seasons, when they go up against the Detroit Tigers starting Wednesday Night (8:00, Fox) who will have been off for almost a week following their sweep of the NY Yankees in the ALCS. Will the time off for the Tigers benefit or hurt 'em (see, 2006 World Series), or are the SF Giants destined to win it all, after a thrilling drama fitted run during their 2012 postseason. 2012 World Series: Detroit Tigers (AL) vs. SF Giants (NL)

Heading into Week 8 of the 2012 NFL season, a number of teams have already had their bye week, which makes the Division Standings uneven for a couple more weeks, while teams wait to have their bye week. Let's check out the division leaders up to this point and see if they are contenders or pretenders. In the AFC East, the NE Pats (4-3) are again on top, but don't look to run away with the division like in past seasons. The Ravens (5-2) lead the AFC North, but have a number of injuries to overcome if they want to stay on top on the standings. The Houston Texas (6-1) have the best record in the AFC South, who were the preseason favorites to run away with that division. While the Broncos (3-3) & Chargers (3-3) are tied on top of the AFC West, with the Broncos winning the 1st of two meetings between the two teams last week on MNF. In the NFC, the Giants (5-2), Bears (5-1), Falcons (6-0), and 49ers (5-2) are all on top of their respective divisions, while a number of teams trail close behind, as the NFC looks to have a little more depth then what we've seen so far in the AFC. NFL Standings

Following a 1-5 start to the season, Carolina Panthers fired
GM Marty Hurney, who had run the team since 2002.

Games to watch this week in the NFL: (Week 8 in the NFL)

Seattle at Detroit, teams that have playoff hopes, go up against each other in this "elimination game".

New England at St. Louis, The Patriots/Rams travel over the pond to play each other in London at Wembley Stadium.

Miami at NY Jets, these two teams clash in a critical AFC East game, as the two teams went into overtime in their 1st meeting of the season, Jets winning 23 to 20.

Atlanta at Philadelphia, both teams are coming off bye weeks, as the Falcons look to stay undefeated vs. the Eagles, who have seen their share of close calls thus far this season.

New Orleans at Denver, Brees vs. Peyton on SNF, the Saints go for three-in-a-row, following their 0-4 start.

San Francisco at Arizona, in a marquee NFC West meeting, the Cardinals look to snap their three-game losing skid, following their 4-0 start to the season vs. the 49ers on MNF.