Friday's Big Weekend Preview

So, what to watch this weekend?

Basketball's out, and all that "LeBron is ringless" talk, too. No more talk about Durants and Wades and rebounds and threes until at least fall, when we'll put this sport on the back burner because we love football more. With the Heat taking this thing in five and quelling any Sunday night party in OKC, that leaves us with a void. 

So, really, what to watch this weekend? (It's not as easy when basketball, football and hockey have closed up shop and golf isn't putting on a major.)

Luckily for us, we're not totally in the baseball-only dog days yet. Close? Sure. But we've got some relief, with big thanks to our allies across the pond and their favorite sport. 

Euro 2012: Spain vs. France

When: Saturday, 2:45 p.m. (ET)

TV: ESPN2

Why You Should Watch: Because this tournament is awesome. 

Hate on soccer all you want (I'm not some massive fan myself), but this tournament is shoving it right in plenty of haters' faces with how entertaining it's been.

ESPN's coverage has been thorough and top-notch (unlike the Bayless-A. Smith Annoy-a-Thon for the NBA Finals), and the on-pitch action has delivered as well. Now with my two cents expressed, I'll get out of the way and let someone at B/R who knows this sport a lot better than I do break this down.

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"This should be a tight, defensive battle, but with so much at stake, even a 0-0 score at halftime means the second half will be must-watch soccer, as France upsetting Spain would be big news worldwide."

 

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Euro 2012: England vs. Italy

When: Sunday, 2:45 p.m. (ET)

TV: ESPN

Why You Should Watch: Again, we'll let a pro handle this. Take it away, Sam Lopresti:

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"It was a stroke of good luck for England that they come into this game as Group D winners after France laid an egg in the group stage finale against Sweden. Their 2-0 loss, coupled with the Three Lions' 1-0 victory against Ukraine gave them the top spot and set up a tantalizing matchup between traditional powers of the game that have not played each other in 10 years."

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NASCAR Sprint Cup: Toyota/Save Mart 350

When: Sunday, 2 p.m. (ET)

TV: TNT

Why You Should Watch: Because they'll actually turn right. 

Twice a year, the powers that be in NASCAR mandate their drivers actually turn their wheel in a direction that isn't left.

And this road-course race in the Wine Country (trust me, TNT won't stop talking about "Wine Country") of California proves that these guys and their overpowered-loud-fast machines should be doing this type of thing a lot more often than semi-annually. 

They'll crash, they'll bang and bump, they'll feud.

Some NASCAR purists scoff at this kind of racing (because apparently watching a car drive around a 1.5-mile oval for four hours is so enthralling), but any smart person should find this type of racing awesome. Unlike F1 and Indy (whose cars break into a million pieces and are ruined when they make contact), these dudes can duke it out on this track. 

Definitely worth watching a couple laps. 

UFC 147

When: Saturday, 10 p.m. (ET)

TV: PPV

Why You Should Watch: I was going to make some joke about how many times this fight card has been switched around, but it's just not worth it. Frankly, it's ridiculous just how much has changed since the original 147 was announced. This was supposed to be Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen, after all. 

Yeah, the hype just isn't there. 

Regardless, if you don't feel like waiting for 148 to get some MMA PPV action, by all means shell out some dough to watch this one with some buddies. 

MLB: Interleague Play

When: All weekend

TV: Respective local affiliates, MLB.TV

Why You Should Watch: Because it's a nice change-up.

I'm a Giants fan, and I'd much rather watch them play the A's this weekend (they are) than go down to San Diego for an inter-division snooze-fest or travel back east and muck everything up with the time change. With this series, I get a local rivalry and some good story lines (Will Lincecum finally not stink? Will Cespedes blast another walk-off?).