It’s not a bad time to be a Bruin. UCLA finds itself in the finals of the College World Series, and Boston is still in the midst of a hotly-contested Stanley Cup Finals series. But while UCLA will play Game 1 on Monday night against Mississippi State, Boston is already on the brink of defeat. The Bruins have watched a 2-1 advantage against Chicago turn into a 3-2 deficit heading into Game 6 at home on Monday.  

(All odds provided by Sportsbook.ag unless otherwise indicated).

Chara and Bergeron. Arguably two of the most important pieces to Boston’s title-winning puzzle, Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron are positively reeling right now. Chara, a 6-foot-9 defenseman, was on the ice for five of the Blackhawks six goals in the series equalizer last Sunday, and he was on the ice for all three of his opponent’s lamp-lighters during Saturday’s Game 5. Bergeron’s problem is a much different one. The center forward has been a force throughout the playoffs, and he has tallied four goals in five games against Chicago. However, Bergeron left Saturday’s contest with an undisclosed injury and was taken to a hospital. He is listed as day-to-day. The Bruins are -130 home favorites on Monday, but they are +280 underdogs to win the Stanley Cup.

Tahiti. Tahiti won simply by being a participant in the Confederations Cup, and its players will likely be hailed as conquering heroes, perhaps for the rest of their lives. But it wasn’t good…. It really wasn’t good. Tahiti was outscored 24-1 in its three group-stage matches, including 18-1 in its last two (10-0 against Spain, 8-0 against Uruguay). Only one professional player headlined Tahiti’s roster. Now that the pretenders have been sorted out (Nigera, Japan, and Mexico also failed to advance out of round-robin play), semifinal action is set to begin. Brazil is a -275 favorite over Uruguay on Wednesday, according to Bovada Sportsbook. Spain is a -250 favorite over Italy — which will be without injured star Mario Balotelli — on Thursday.

Tampa Bay Rays. Anyone who has to play the Blue Jays these days cannot be feeling too good about themselves. The new-look Jays took more than their fair share of time to gel in 2013, but they have gotten it together for a current 11-game winning streak (tied for their longest in franchise history) that has them two games over .500 at 38-36. Next up for Toronto are the Rays Monday through Wednesday in Tampa Bay. Joe Maddon’s squad has lost two of its last three, five of its last eight, and eight of its last 12. It has won only one of its past six series. The Rays (with Jeremy Hellickson going up against Esmil Rogers of the Jays) are slight -115 home favorites to end Toronto’s steak on Monday. Tampa Bay is a +600 longshot to win the American League East while Toronto currently registers at +350. Boston is a +210 favorite (division odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook).

Oakland A’s. Forking up a three-run walkoff homer to Seattle in the 10th inning on Sunday night was an appropriate end to the week for the Athletics. They lost two of three at Seattle and three of four at Texas, leaving them with a mere three wins in their last 10 games. As a result, Oakland is finally looking up in the AL West, one game back of the Rangers — who are enjoying a five-game winning streak. This time last week the A’s were at least two games clear of the rest of the field in their division. Texas is a -120 favorite (Bovada Sportsbook) to win the American League West while Oakland is the second choice at +120. Also at Bovada, the Rangers and A’s are tied at +550 (behind only Detroit) to win the AL Pennant.

Roger Federer. Federer has been known to snag a favorable draw or two at Grands Slams, but his projected path at Wimbledon — which begins on Monday — is not a friendly one. The seven-time champion may have to beat Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic to capture an eighth title at the All-England Club that would push him past Pete Sampras. Rafael Nadal was surprisingly knocked out in first-round action on Monday.By contrast, Djokovic does not have to beat any of the “Big 4” en route to the semifinals. If there’s any good news for Federer, it’s that his first three rounds should be a breeze before a potential showdown against either Nicolas Almagro or Jerzy Janowicz in the last 16. The Swiss is the third choice at +550 to win Wimbledon, trailing Djokovic (-125), and Murray (+400).

Maria Sharapova. With Wimbledon underway, Sharapova should be focusing on tennis. Instead, the 2004 champion has been mired in a war of words with world No. 1 Serena Williams. In a recent interview, Serena blasted Sharapova for being boring in press conferences and for dating a man with a “black heart” (presumably Grigor Dimitrov, to whom Serena had been previously linked). The Russian hit back by saying that Serena should talk about her own business, including a boyfriend who has kids and is getting a divorce. As for Sharapova’s prospects at the All-England Club, she has to like her chances after taking a glance at how the draw shaped up. The No. 3 seed landed in Victor Azarenka’s half and, thus, avoided that of Serena, who just rolled over Sharapova in the French Open final. The highest seed in Sharapova’s quarter aside from herself is Sara Errani, who is not much of a threat on anything other than clay. Sharapova is the second choice at +500 to win Wimbledon. Serena is a massive -250 favorite.

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