The town of Pittsburgh and Cleveland have had similar heartbreaks in the past year. Cleveland has had to deal with the loss of LeBron James to the Miami Heat, and the Steel City is dealing with a crushing Super Bowl loss to Green Bay for their beloved Steelers. The towns, however, are linked this baseball season by more than just heartache of the past. The Pirates and Indians are both in a position to legitimately compete for a division title, and if either should complete the task, underdog bettors everywhere will be rejoicing. Not since the Florida Marlins became improbable winners of the World Series with odds upwards of 30/1 has a team had such poor odds been in a position to pay off gamblers.

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Lewis Hamilton of McLaren drove a truly brilliant lap in final qualifying for the 2011 German F1 Grand Prix at the Nurburgring on Sunday, but his brilliance was only enough for him to split the Red Bull pair of Mark Webber, who qualified on pole and World Champion, Sebastian Vettel who was third. His drive also put the Bookmakers into a small quandary as most of them can barely split the trio in the betting for the race. Paddy Power for instance have made Webber and Vettel joint favourites with odds of 9/4, whilst quoting Hamilton just behind on 5/2.

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San Francisco (59-43) at Philadelphia (64-36), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The San Francisco Giants ended the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies’ season with a six-game victory in last year’s NL championship series, en route to a World Series title of their own.

With Tim Lincecum and Vance Worley on the mound for the series opener Tuesday night in Philadelphia, the rematch between these division leaders becomes even more intriguing.

The Giants’ 3-2 victory in Game 6 in Philadelphia set the stage for the franchise’s first World Series title since moving from New York to San Francisco prior to the 1958 season.

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When Daniel and Henrik Sedin streak down the ice, exchanging crisp passes in a display of their jaw-dropping offensive creativity, it’s easy to forget the Vancouver Canucks were the NHL’s best defensive team this season.

When Boston’s top line presses the attack, changes styles on the fly and comes up with yet another clutch postseason goal, it’s tough to remember the Bruins are nearly as defensively stingy as the Canucks.

The Stanley Cup finalists are reminding the entire NHL that elite defensive teams don’t have to fall into the trap – or any other defensive scheme that results in boring hockey.

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The Stanford Cardinal finished last year with a one loss season (12-1) losing 31-52 to the Oregon Ducks in October. However, the Cardinal did go on to finish the season undefeated including a 40-12 win vs the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Discover Orange Bowl. The Stanford Cardinal 2011-12 football squad is favored at 16/1 in college football odds to win the BCS title and 15/1 favorites to win the Pac-12 Conference. Stanford will enter the 2011-12 season ranked #5 in most preseason polls and will face the San Jose State Spartans to start the season.

The week 1 college football schedule has Stanford vs San Jose facing off on September 3rd at 3:00pm EST. T

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