Sunday
Cycling, Tour de France, British Eurosport, 9.45am; ITV4, 10.30am And so it begins for real, with a 203km stage from London to Canterbury. Bradley Wiggins and David Millar hope to battle it out for the yellow jersey on home soil. Three weeks of racing through France will sort out the men from the boys, and all those who love cycling will also hope it sorts out the good guys from the bad guys. But don’t hold your breath. Motor racing, British Grand Prix, ITV1, midday; highlights, 11.55pm Despite the best efforts of the organisers, there could be chaos in the sodden car parks around Silverstone, but nobody will give a damn about that if Lewis Hamilton wins his home grand prix. Stand by for some mind-blowing celebrations. Golf, European Open, Sky Sports 1, 1pm; US Seniors Open, Sky Sports 3, 8pm; AT&T National, Setanta Sports 1, 6pm Final-round action from the K Club sees the US Open champion Angel Cabrera still trying to sober up after the longest party in the history of golf – sadly for Cabrera, Ireland is not the ideal place to be if you want to abstain. Tennis, Wimbledon, BBC1, 1.30pm; highlights, BBC2, 10pm The wettest, coldest Wimbledon in years reaches its conclusion with the men’s singles final today. Or does it? Motor racing, world touring car championship, Portugal, British Eurosport, 4pm
What a year this is turning out to be for British racing drivers – Lewis Hamilton sweeps all before him in F1, Dario Franchitti wins the Indy 500 and Andy Priaulx goes for his third world touring car title.
Darts, Sky Sports 1, 6pm You can keep your Copa America. More glitz, bemused punters and beer bellies as the Las Vegas Classic reaches the semi-finals and final. Football, Copa America, Sky Sports 2, 8.30pm Mexico v Paraguay, and Argentina v Peru in the last two quarter-finals of a competition that almost nobody cares about. Motor racing, Watkins Glen International, Sky Sports Xtra, 8.30pm Scott Dixon from New Zealand is going for a hat-trick at Watkins Glen, but Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon may have something to say about that. George Best Remembered, Biography Channel, 9pm The late footballer’s father, Dickie, leads the tributes to the best British player to grace the game. No matter how many times you have seen all those wonderful clips of Himself in action, it is still guaranteed to take your breath away.
Monday
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Cricket, Lancashire v Yorkshire, Sky Sports 1, 11am Apart from the money, what would entice the likes of Stuart Law and Brad Hodge to leave Australia behind and spend the summer in damp and dull Lancashire? It may have something to do with fixtures such as this, a classic Roses battle against a resurgent Yorkshire. Or it could be the money.
Racing, Sky Sports 3, 7pm Another veritable feast for racing fans, with 12 races from Ripon, Windsor and Roscommon. Speedway, Sky Sports 1, 7.30pm Poor old Belle Vue Aces, rooted to the foot of the Elite League, go round in ever-decreasing circles when they take on leaders Swindon Robins.
Tuesday
Athletics, British Eurosport, 6.30pm Top of the bill in Lausanne is the 110m hurdles world record-holder, Liu Xiang, of
China, who will probably have a city named after him if he wins the Olympic title in Beijing next year. Look out too for javelin world record-holder Osleidys Menendez, of Cuba.
Greyhound racing, Sky Sports 1, 7.30pm Tonight’s highlight is the, wait for it, Gymcrack Puppy Championship (!) run over 480m and worth £10,000 to the winner – to be more accurate, the dogs do all the hard work and the owner walks off with the £10,000. Football, Copa America, Sky Sports 1, 1.30am The first semi-final may help insomniacs in search of 40 winks. The second semi kicks off at the same time tomorrow.
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Wednesday
Racing, C4, 1.15pm; Sky Sports 2, 7pm Day one of the July Festival from Newmarket, continuing on Thursday and Friday, plus eight evening races from Naas and Worcester.
Thursday
Golf, Scottish Open, BBC2, 1pm It’s Loch Lomond and it’s the week before The Open, so it’s almost certain to rain. If it doesn’t, the likes of Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and Angel Cabrera will spend four days running away from midges. There is one consolation, though – the course is one of the most beautiful in the world. Racing, Sky Sports 3, 7pm We are off to Fairyhouse and Folkestone tonight, where punters get eight more opportunities to lose their money.
Rugby league, Wigan Warriors v Leeds Rhinos, Sky Sports 1, 7.30pm, kick-off 7.45pm Leeds will be over the moon if they win and maintain the pressure on St Helens and Bradford. Golf, John Deere Classic, Setanta Sports 1, 8pm A run-of-the-mill PGA Tour event, but four years ago Ben Curtis made it to The Open by virtue of a half-decent finish in the final qualifying event, then went on to win golf’s greatest prize. If ever anybody needed an incentive . . .
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Friday
MotoGP, British Eurosport, 11.45am The Germans know a thing or two about motorsport and will be out in force to watch qualifying for their home race. Cricket, Worcestershire Royals v Hampshire Hawks, Sky Sports 1, 4.30pm, Sky Sports 2, 8pm Graeme Hick continues to star for the Royals at an age when most cricketers would rather have their feet up, fat cigar in hand (but not in the pavilion bar, obviously). Today he faces Hampshire Hawks in a battle between the two sides that were promoted at the end of last season. Rugby league, Bradford Bulls v St Helens, Sky Sports 1, 8pm It’s nip and tuck at the top of the engage Super League, but Bradford have their work cut out for them against the mighty Saints, who have scored more points and conceded fewer than anybody else in the league.
Boxing, European super-featherweight title, Leva Kirakosyan v Carl Johanneson, Sky Sports 1, 10pm Johanneson, a 28-year-old from Leeds, was parted from his senses in less than one round when these two fighters last met in December 2004, but he is unbeaten since then and will draw some encouragement from the fact that Kirakosyan, a hard-hitting Russian, has lost four times during a hit-and-miss career.
Saturday
Golf, Scottish Open, BBC1, 12.40pm Third-round action from the bonnie, bonnie banks, and it’s squeaky putter time for those attempting to grab the last spot at The Open. Rugby union, Tri-Nations, Sky Sports 2, 8am, kick-off 8.35am New Zealand take on an understrength South Africa in a pretty meaningless encounter. Racing, C4, 2pm Seven more races, this time from Ascot, Chester and York. Football, Copa America, Sky Sports 2, 10pm, kick-off 10.05pm Isn’t it about time we did away with third-place playoffs, especially in a tournament in which the players don’t want them and the fans don’t want them either? And who, in their heart of hearts, wants to be able to say that they finished third?