Sights and sounds from Game 1

PHOENIX -- It was a typically cool fall day in Arizona on Wednesday -- only 98 degrees.

Nevertheless, the retractable roof at Chase Field was open for Game 1 with temperatures "dropping" to 91 at game time.

It's the call of Major League Baseball to have the roof open or closed. It's believed the Diamondbacks would have preferred it to be closed, since the Cubs are a power-hitting team and the ball is said to carry better with the roof open.

"I was here three years as a player and I didn't see any difference in how the ball carried with the roof open or closed," said Diamondbacks broadcaster Mark Grace. "If you hit it good, it's going to be a home run."

Diamondbacks fans like the roof open, at least in April and May, when the temperature is bearable.

"It's louder with the roof closed, and that might help us a little more," said Arizona pitcher Doug Davis.

Baseball fans might recall the seventh game of the 2001 World Series between the Diamondbacks and New York Yankees when it rained with the roof open. The umpires are the only ones who can order the roof to be closed in the event of bad weather.

This ain't Wrigley: It's quite a contrast in ballparks in this series.

On one hand, there's the simple beauty of Wrigley Field, a spectacular setting for baseball.

Then there is Chase Field with its annoying neon signs everywhere and swimming pool beyond the wall in right-center.

The pool is actually kind of cool. The rest of the park makes you feel like you are in either a mall or airport terminal.

The Arizona Republic on Wednesday ran a graphic explaining where everything is located at Chase Field and detailed its nine-year history.

Cubs fans would be insulted if such a thing ran in a Chicago paper.

A wake-up call: Downtown Phoenix was finally jumping prior to Game 1. Some restaurants were actually open. To think, the Cubs could have been playing in a real city like Philadelphia.

Players' perspective: One difference in postseason baseball is the clubhouses are not open to the media before the game, only after it.

And the players love it. No reporters loitering while they're trying to watch TV or eat.

Interviewing must be done on the field, except for the managers and the next game's starting pitchers, who are available for a brief time in the interview room.

Celebrity spotlight: Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, a resident of the Phoenix area, watched Game 1.