On Tuesday July 27th the LA Angels play host to the Boston Red Sox in a series that is very important to both teams. John Lackey (9-5) with an unusual ERA of 4.36 will face Joe Saunders who has a dismal record of 6-10 with an ERA of 4.62. The Red Sox are 25-23 on the road while the Angels maintain a 27-21 record at home. Boston and the Angels will play Game 1 on Monday after finishing up series with the Mariners and the Rangers.

Heading into the 2010 season, the Los Angeles Angels were expected to be one of the best teams in baseball but they got off to a very poor start and have been trying to claw their way back into contention ever since. The Boston Red Sox, meanwhile, started the season in good form only to see the two best teams in baseball—the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays—shoot ahead of them in the AL East standings. These two teams will meet in Tuesday night action with both hoping to establish some momentum for the stretch run.

Alberto Contador held off a hard charging Andy Sheck and took advantage of his rival’s unfortunate chain malfunction to win his third straight Tour De France. Contador’s margin of victory was 39 seconds and provided considerable drama to the 20th and final stage of the race. Denis Menchov of Russia was third overall. American cycling icon Lance Armstrong raced in his final Tour De France and finished in 23rd place over thirty minutes behind his longtime rival and teammate Contador.

The Chicago Cubs have struggled on the road this season, but they’ll try to improve their fortunes on Monday night as they head to Texas to take on the Houston Astros in a National League Central matchup. Chicago has played .500 ball at home but a losing record away from Wriggly Field has them well off the pace in the division. Houston hasn’t really played well in any situation this year, but they’ve been competitive for the most part at Minute Maid Field. The Astros primary salvation has been solid starting pitching from at least half of their staff, with Roy Oswalt and Brett Myers putting up decent numbers despite not getting much help from their teammates. Ironically, neither pitcher may be with the team much longer as both have been subjects of trade rumors in recent weeks.

LOS ANGELES ANGLES 51-46(AWAY 24-25) AT TEXAS RANGERS 55-40(HOME 31-19) 8:05 PM EST STARTING PITCHERS -JERED WEAVER 9-5 VS CLIFF LEE 8-4 (CURRENT BETPHOENIX.COM LINE IN BOLD)

RANGERS -$177 ANGELS +$157 TOTAL 8

With its West Coast counterpart Del Mar having enjoyed a record breaking season opener, New York’s Saratoga Race Course is hoping to get their summer season off to a successful start when they open for business on Friday. At the very least, they’ll have a record breaking meet in one area regardless of what transpires on the track and in the stands—this year’s Saratoga schedule has been expanded to 40 dates, up from 36 equaling the number of racing dates back in 1882. It’s the first expansion of the schedule at Saratoga since moving to a 36 date schedule in 1997.

The front loaded, long term contract has become increasingly common among NHL hockey teams seeking to pay superstars top dollar while getting around the league salary cap. The Blackhawks used the tactic to retain Marian Hossa last season, the Red Wings did as well in order to keep Henrik Zetterberg and a number of other deals were done using a variation on this theme. Yesterday, however, the NHL decided enough was enough and rejected New Jersey’s contract extension with forward Ilya Kovalchuk.

This Thursday the faltering Orioles host the Minnesota Twins in a series that most people will view as lopsided. The Orioles are the worst team in MLB with a record of 29-63. They are 16-29 at home and will be coming off a difficult series with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Meanwhile the Minnesota Twins are 49-44 and are battling for first place in the American League Central Division. Minnesota is 20-25 on the road and can make up some valuable ground by sweeping the Orioles. The Twins are on a one game losing streak while the Orioles have lost their last 4. The weather for Baltimore looks like it will be very clear and very hot with a high of 96 and a low of 78.