ST. LOUIS (AP) – St. Louis Cardinals radio broadcaster Mike Shannon is being honored at the Catholic high school where he starred more than 50 years ago. The former Cardinals third baseman was a three-sport star in the mid-1950s at Christian Brothers College High School as well as Missouri prep player of the year in football and basketball. His father, three sons and three grandsons are also CBC graduates. The private school is raising money toward a new Mike Shannon Stadium at Cadet Park.

The 74-year-old announcer recently had heart surgery and limited his broadcast duties to Cardinals home games during the National League Championship Series.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – In a break from tradition, there will be no bet between the mayors of this year’s World Series cities.  The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay tweeted Monday night that there will be “no mayoral sports bet.” But the Democrat said he would welcome a visit to St. Louis from Boston’s longtime mayor, Thomas Menino.

Menino was trending Tuesday on Twitter, after telling reporters he hoped the Boston Red Sox would win the “World Series cup.”  Menino wasn’t impressed with what he called “fried raviolis” that Slay sent to him to settle a bet after the Cardinals lost the 2004 World Series to Boston. Toasted, not fried, ravioli is a St. Louis specialty.

BOSTON (AP) – At least one cardinal is rooting for the Red Sox in the World Series. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, is wagering that the Boston Red Sox will beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the series that begins Wednesday at Fenway Park.

If the Red Sox win, St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson will donate $100 to Boston Catholic Charities. Should the Cardinals win, O’Malley will donate $100 to the St. Louis archdiocese’s charity fund. Catholic Charities in Boston and St. Louis provide a spectrum of social service care to thousands of people.

BOSTON (AP) — Michael Wacha remembered passing Will Middlebrooks a few years ago back in Texarkana, the small northeast Texas city where they grew up. “One of the guys that everyone looked up to,” Wacha said Tuesday. “Like he’s walking by, ‘That’s Will Middlebrooks there.’ It’s pretty crazy.”

Texarkana has a population of 36,411, according to the last U.S. census. That’s slightly fewer than the crowd that will jam into Fenway Park on Wednesday night to watch the old friends face each other when the Boston Red Sox host the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series opener.

Middlebrooks was a senior at Liberty-Eylau High School in 2007, when Wacha was a sophomore at Pleasant Grove High, about a 10-minute drive away. Now the pair will be in the spotlight as Series rivals. Wacha, 22, has been a sensation since joining the Cardinals’ rotation in September. The 25-year-old Middlebrooks has seen extensive action at third base for Boston during the last two seasons.

Big Ten football teams are getting two Saturdays off for the first time this year. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says there are a lot of unprecedented things happening these days in college football because of conference expansion. The byes give players a chance to rest and relax during two weeks when the regular season starts in late August and ends after Thanksgiving. Coaches, meanwhile, evaluate their programs, players and plays before hitting the road for recruiting.

Teams — such as Indiana against Penn State — have taken advantage of having two weeks to prepare for a game they ultimately won. The Nittany Lions, coming off a bye, hope the extra time they had last week helps them upset No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday night.