Giants pitchers Tim Lincecum, foreground, and Matt Cain work out Tuesday at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Lincecum will start tonight's Game 1 vs. the Texas Rangers' Cliff Lee.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. Another big game, another postseason showdown, another pitching duel ...

Yes, I know, we all have. But this time, the World Series is on the line as the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers take the diamond for Game 1 of "The Series No One Saw Coming," as SI.com's Joe Sheehan puts it. Game time is 7:57 p.m. ET on FOX.

The first game of the best-of-seven series pits two of baseball's most dominant pitchers against one another in the Rangers' Cliff Lee (3-0, 0.75 ERA this postseason) and the Giants' Tim Lincecum (2-1, 1.93). Both hurlers have been historically lights-out during the playoffs and propelled their teams to this stage. And while the match-up might seem as attractive as a Game 1 gets, SI.com's Joe Posnanski provides a postseason history lesson and points out that just about everything in baseball has happened before.

What has not happened before is a Giants-Rangers World Series. In fact, it is the Rangers' first trip to the World Series in their 50-year existence and the Giants' first trip since 2002.

After breaking down the Series position-by-position, Sheehan writes the match-up is too close to call. But with two stellar pitching staffs, two veteran lineups and two teams seemingly destined to win it all, "The Series No One Saw Coming" has the potential to be a classic.

For more on Game 1 of the World Series, check out SI.com.

In addition to Game 1, here's the action going on around the sporting world today (all times Eastern):

Chicago Bulls at Oklahoma City Thunder (8:00 p.m., ESPN) Twenty-two teams tip-off their NBA seasons tonight. Derrick Rose and the Bulls look to spoil Kevin Durant and the Thunder's home opener.

Portland Trailblazers at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 p.m., ESPN) Clippers rookie Blake Griffin makes his long-awaited debut after missing last season with a knee injury. Or, Phoenix-Utah airs simultaneously on TNT.

BY THE NUMBERS

4 - NFL regular-season games ever played in London, England, including this Sunday's match-up between the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos. With starter Alex Smith sidelined, 49ers coach Mike Singletary said former Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith will start at quarterback.

30 - First-half points scored by the revamped Miami Heat last night in their regular-season opening loss to the Boston Celtics. The output is lower than any half the Heat had all of last season.

$200,000 - Approximate value of a Honus Wagner baseball card a group of Baltimore-based nuns are auctioning off to raise money for ministries in 35 countries around the world. The card is the most sought-after in the world and only 60 are believed to exist.