The crowd had barely calmed itself from the buzz created by the appearance of ceremonial first-pitch honoree Muhammad Ali when Clemens put the National League in a quick six-run hole, which led to a 9-4 American League win.

An Ivan Rodriguez RBI triple and two-run homer by Manny Ramirez gave the AL an immediate 3-0 lead. With two outs, Jason Giambi reached on a Jeff Kent error, and after Derek Jeter singled to left, game MVP Alfonso Soriano cleared the bases with a first-pitch homer to left field that gave the AL a six-run advantage.

Soriano finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and one run scored.
MLB All Star Tickets

"I felt a little sorry because he's been nice to me all of the time," Soriano said of Clemens, a teammate when both were with the Yankees last season. "But you know, I had to do my job in the game. I am sorry, but you know, I am happy right now."

As was everyone else in the AL lockeroom. National Leaguers were a little stunned.

"It goes to show you that on any given night, anything can happen," Mets All-Star lefty Tom Glavine said. "We're all human in this game. For Roger -- he's had such a storied career -- it hasn't happened much, if at all. I'm sure he'd tell you that if he was going to have a bad outing, I'm sure he would rather it be an All-Star Game rather than one in September in a pennant race."

The meetings, which will continue Wednesday, are the first step in a 10-month cooperation between the city, team and league to showcase Pittsburgh and PNC Park during the events and activities surrounding the July 11, 2006 Midsummer Classic.

"We're anxious to get started," said Patty Paytas, Pirates' vice-president of communications and the ballclub's All-Star coordinator. "A lot of work has already been done, but now the heavy lifting begins. We're excited to welcome Major League Baseball to the best ballpark in America and look forward to working with them and the entire Pittsburgh community to make the 2006 All-Star Game the best ever."

Approximately 20 MLB officials were on hand Tuesday for the first round of meetings. Marla Miller, senior vice president for special events for Major League Baseball, held a general information session for the staff, followed by breakout sessions on such issues as security, appropriate use of space and ticketing.

"We now have our All-Star manual and timetables. Everybody has their own binder," said Paytas. "It's really impressive. It's a very organized process."

The 2006 game marks the fifth time that the City of Pittsburgh has hosted the Midsummer Classic. Forbes Field was site of the 1944 and 1959 All-Star Games and Three Rivers Stadium hosted the 1974 and 1994 All-Star Games.

"Major League Baseball is thrilled to once again be in the great city of Pittsburgh and to begin planning and preparations for the 2006 Midsummer Classic," said Mille. "Each year, All-Star Week brings a high level of excitement to the middle of summer and we are sure that this year's events will give the fans in Pittsburgh and the state of Pennsylvania the ultimate baseball experience."

Although the All-Star Game itself remains the marquee event of All-Star Week, the ancillary events have taken on added prominence since the Pirates last played host in 1994.

Major League Baseball All-Star Week festivities get underway with John Hancock All-Star FanFest, July 7-11 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center; Taco Bell All-Star Sunday -- which includes the XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game and the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game -- on July 9 at PNC Park; and All-Star Workout Day -- including the All-Star Home Run Derby -- on Monday, July 10 at PNC Park.

"It's a very, very large event," said Paytas. "The more you get into the planning, the more you realize that. But you also realize how fortunate we are to have this because it really is a premiere event."

The XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game will be televised live on ESPN or ESPN 2 on Sunday, while on Monday the All-Star Home Run Derby will air live on ESPN, immediately followed by the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game. The 77th MLB All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports and around the world by Major League Baseball International. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive, national radio coverage of the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage and MLB.com Radio will provide exclusive play-by-play coverage of the Midsummer Classic on the Internet.

A little more than 48 hours later, the city bubbled over with excitement for the Astros' first World Series appearance in franchise history.

"After the Pujols home run, I didn't think they were going to make it," said 48-year-old Steve Schares, a fan since he became an Astros "buddy" at age 10. "They ran all the Houston disasters in the paper."

A city known more for sports letdowns than championships, including the former Oilers dropping a big lead in a playoff game at Buffalo, the University of Houston upset by North Carolina State at the NCAA Final Four and countless Astros disappointments, there was room for reasonable doubt.

"Here we go again," said Jimmy Disch, a professor of kiniesology at Rice who once taught Astros slugger Lance Berkman. "We're just doomed."

Wednesday night's 5-1 win at St. Louis changed all that.

Many fans watched Game 6 projected on the wall of a building in downtown Houston. A T-shirt company began printing Astros National League champion shirts the second the game ended.

Academy, a sportswear store, stayed open until 2 a.m. CT selling the shirts and caps (limit two to a customer) and faced a long line of people waiting outside Thursday morning, queued as if they were buying World Series tickets instead of T-shirts.

The city quickly organized a send-off party for 9:30 a.m. on Friday, when the Astros will leave Minute Maid Park by bus for the airport and their flight to Chicago.

"It's going to be a 10-day party," said Rice baseball coach Wayne Graham, who coached Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte when they played at San Jacinto Junior College, and Berkman with the Owls.

Mayor Bill White declared Friday, Saturday and Sunday "No Socks" days in the city, preparing to do battle with the evil forces from Chicago who dress in pale hose.

"We had a staff meeting [Thursday] morning, and everybody was talking about the Astros," said Clay Hoster, president of Republic National Bank. "All the bars are full, everybody's talking about it."

Craig Biggio, in his 18th season with the Astros, talked about how long he waited to get to the World Series.

The city waited even longer.

"I thought that would be our year in '98 when we got Randy Johnson [for the second half of the year]," said Disch, who attended the second home game in Houston history when the Astros were called the Colt .45s and played at Buffs Stadium. "I had a good feeling going into Game 6."

Disch plays baseball in an over-55 league. His team name? The Colt .45s.

"This will show the type of spirit Houstonians have," said Schares, who deals in sports memorabilia as a sideline to his microscope business. He purchased 50 photos of Chris Burke's 18th-inning homer that eliminated Atlanta from the NLDS.