Happy day after 4th of July everyone. Today the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (48-33) host the Boston Red Sox (49-33). The Red Sox will send Daisuke Matsuzaka (5-3) to the mound to face Matt Garza (10-6). The books are favoring the Devil Rays and have them at -157 right now. That is a hefty price to pay in my opinion in a game where both teams are closely matched.

With all due respect to Uruguay and Holland, who play in Tuesday’s earlier semifinal game there’s a certain vibe that the matchup between Spain and Germany will determine the eventual World Cup champion. The European powers both kept a clean sheet in beating their quarterfinal opponents, but in a dramatically divergent manner. Spain had all they could handle with a tenacious Paraguay side, finally wresting victory with David Villa’s goal in the 83rd minute. Germany, on the other hand, absolutely overwhelmed Argentina en route to a 4-0 win. Thomas Mueller scored just three minutes in to give Germany a 1-0 lead at the half, and they poured it on in the second half as Miroslav Klose scored twice.

Brock Lesnar will defend his UFC heavyweight title this weekend in his first action since a serious health problem threatened his career. The former WWE pro wrestling superstar will meet the monstrous Shane Carwin in the main event of UFC 116 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. This will be Lesnar’s first defense of the championship which he unified with a victory over interim champion Frank Mir at UFC 100. Carwin earned his title shot with a decisive victory over Mir at UFC 111.

The World Cup quarterfinals begin on Friday and up first is a very good matchup between Brazil and Holland. Brazil is always considered among the top challengers for soccer’s biggest prize and was favored along with Spain heading into the 2010 tournament. Holland is also a very well respected side and was installed as the #5 World Cup betting favorite before play began. This game will go at 7:00 AM Pacific time on Friday morning.

THE FAVORITES

CHICAGO+$150 - Absolutely makes the most sense if Lebron wants to win a title in the next couple of years. Solid nucleus of D Rose, Joakim Noah, and have the cash to bring in another star like Chris Bosh. Lebron has quietly talked about not wanting to try to compete with Michael Jordan's legacy which in the end could be a deal breaker.

The St. Louis Cardinals were expected to run away with the National League Central this season, but they’ve met with some surprising competition from the Cincinnati Reds. The Cards and Reds have been in a virtual dead heat atop the division for much of the year, and for that reason St. Louis will approach the July 1 matchup at home against the Milwaukee Brewers with a much greater sense of urgency. The Brewers have been locked in their own divisional battle with the Chicago Cubs for third and fourth place, but both teams are well off the pace set by the frontrunners.

TUESDAY JUNE 29TH

SPAIN VS PORTUGAL 2:30 PM EST (CURRENT BETPHOENIX.COM LINE IN BOLD)



SPREAD-SPAIN PICK -½ +$103 PORTUGAL +½ -$123 MONEY LINE - SPAIN +$107 PORTUGAL +$280 DRAW +$220

Paraguay emerged as the winner from Group F while defending champions Italy were sent home early, and now they’ll be looking to make their own run at the biggest prize in soccer. Their second round slate begins on Tuesday against Japan. Paraguay drew with Italy in their first game, defeated Slovakia, and then cruised to a scoreless draw against New Zealand. Japan may not have overwhelmed their Group E competition, but they took the second place spot with a tough loss to Holland and a pair of solid wins against Denmark and Cameroon.