WEDNESDAY SPORTS: World Series begins tonight; Tiger baseball class ranked 16; Boyd denies betting allegations

*Boston pitcher Jon Lester and St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright will take the mound for their teams Wednesday night when the Red Sox and Cardinals face each other in Boston’s Fenway Park in Game 1 of the World Series. It’s set to be a cold kickoff to baseball’s championship series, with temperatures to fall into the low ’40s and rain in the forecast. The Red Sox are trying to win their third World Series in 10 years, while St. Louis wants to win its second title in three years and third in eight seasons. The last time these two teams faced off in the World Series, Boston swept St. Louis in 2004 to win their first championship in 86 years.

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*Clemson’s nine-player baseball recruiting class was ranked #16 in the nation by Baseball America. Head Coach Jack Leggett along with Assistant Coaches Dan Pepicelli and Bradley Lecroy (recruiting coordinator) recruited the class that was third-best in the ACC. All nine Tigers are already on campus and have been going through fall workouts in preparation for the 2014 season-opener against Eastern Michigan on February 14.The newcomers include two players who were selected in the 2013 Major League draft. Infielder Eli White of Easley was a 26th-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds and catcher Chris Okey of Mount Dora, Florida was a 31st-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres.

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*Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd is denying reports that he has accumulated a major gambling debt from betting on NFL games. The report was published over the weekend on IBNSsportswrap website, which named sources as saying Boyd owes over $80,000 to two bookies who credited him the debt based on his anticipated NFL payday.

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*South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has named Dylan Thompson the starting quarterback this Saturday when the Gamecocks face 5th-ranked Missouri. Connor Shaw suffered an injury toward the end of last Saturday’s loss at Tennessee. Spurrier says Shaw should be back to 100% in two or three weeks.

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*Fresh from a 27-10 thumping of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) apprentice Appalachian State, the Furman Paladins will get the real FBS experience this Saturday when they travel to Baton Rouge, La., to take on AP/USA Today 13th-ranked LSU in a 7:00 PM, ET contest at Tiger Stadium. Coverage on 96.3 WGOG will begin at 6:00 PM with the pre-game show.

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*In the NBA, Charlotte Bobcats first year coach Steve Clifford has added veteren center Al Jefferson. Jefferson averaged 16.4 points and 9 rebounds per game over nine seasons with Boston, Minnesota and Utah.