The Triple-Dub – What To Watch And Why

Your weekend viewing guide - The best games of the weekend and why you should watch. Everything from College Football, to the English Premier League, to the NHL.

The Triple-Dub – July 1st – July 5th

Wimbledon:

Photo via zimbio.com

I don’t follow tennis nearly as close as I used to when I played regularly but my favorite Grand Slam has always been Wimbledon. I’m not sure if it’s the grass courts, the elegance of the All England Club, the fact that it’s during the dog days of summer (and there’s nothing else to watch) or what, but it’s still my favorite. This year’s Men’s draw was shaping up for an epic showdown between the top four seeds until Roger Federer blew a two set lead – for the first time in 179 Grand Slam matches – in the Quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Even without Federer in the Semifinals Friday, they’re still worth watching with three of the world’s top four players still alive and match-ups between Tsonga-Djokovic and Nadal-Murray. I’m hoping we’ll get to see Djokovic play Murray in the Finals on Sunday but we’ll have to see how the Semis play out. On the Women’s draw, Maria Sharapova will play Petra Kvitova in the final – if you can’t tolerate Sharapova’s grunting, mute the sound because she’s worth watching if you know what I mean. Here’s the TV info for the weekend:

Men’s Draw:

Friday July 1st

(12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs (2) Novak Djokovic – Semifinal #1 – 8:00 AM ET – ESPN2

(1) Rafael Nadal vs (3) Andy Murray – Semifinal #2 – TBD (Follows Semifinal #1) – ESPN2

Sunday July 3rd

(12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/(2) Novak Djokovic winner vs (1) Rafael Nadal/(3) Andy Murray winner – Finals – 10:00 AM ET – NBC

Women’s Draw:

Saturday July 2nd

(5) Maria Sharapova vs (8) Petra Kvitova – Women’s Finals – 10:00 AM ET – NBC

2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup:
The U.S. Women’s team couldn’t have asked for a better start with a 2-0 win to open group play against North Korea on Tuesday. The U.S. looked shaky throughout the first half but turned things around in the second half getting goals from Lauren Cheney (54′) and Rachel Buehler (76′) and a solid effort in goal from Hope Solo (7 saves). The opening game victory and +2 goal differential put the U.S. on top of Group C ahead of Sweden who beat Colombia 1-0. The U.S. women will have a chance to all but guarantee their spot in the knockout stage with a win over Colombia on Saturday before having to face the talented Swedish team next Wednesday. Keep your eye on Abby Wambach and Cheney who played well together in the opener against North Korea.

Saturday July 2nd

United States vs Colombia – Group C – 12:00 PM ET – ESPN

Copa America:

Photo via zimbio.com

I knew this tournament was coming up but didn’t realize it started this weekend until Grant Wahl tweeted about it Thursday evening. Argentina (the host country) and Brazil are the favorites to win but other challengers could include Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. With the likes of Messi, Neymar, Diego Forlan, Carlos Tevez, Ganso, Luis Suarez and others representing their country, I would highly recommend watching some of the matches. The three week tournament starts Friday June 1st with all the matches televised live on YouTube. Here are the matches scheduled for this weekend: