The Tour de France is in shambles again, but that doesn't mean it's not fun to watch. Two days after Michael Rasmussen was stripped of the yellow jersey and fired by Team Rabobank for lying about his whereabouts during the spring training season, an absolutely fascinating finish to Stage 18 , a ride through the Perigord, proved why the Tour is such an incredible sporting event...

Every major city in America possesses a particular inertia-a force that keeps you from getting out of town and regaining your sanity even when the high, buzzing whine of tension in your ear tells you, clearly, that you need it. In New York it's the pace of the city, the feeling that if you leave for a day your whole life will fall apart in a heap of unreturned phone calls, missed opportunities, and botched obligations. In San Francisco it's the line over the bridge, the very certain knowledge that to access one of the world's most beautiful landscapes, you have to pay up front with two hours of stop and go, fume-inhaling traffic. In Chicago it is just the raw size of the megalopolis. It feels like you can't get out of Chicago no matter what direction you try. It takes four hours, corner to corner, to get across it on a Friday...

Sunday night's Copa America final between Argentina and Brazil was a clash of football titans, a game expected to bring the fever pitch of a World Cup final. Argentina had carved a murderous path through the draw en route to the final, outscoring its opponents 15-3 and advertising the resurgence of its playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme every step of the way. I sat down to watch the game at Small Bar in Chicago, the pub that sponsors my Sunday league team. The guy next to me said he normally wouldn't pull for Argentina, but that this team was different. "They play beautifully," he said. "And I'll pull for that."

Before the match, Connors, McEnroe, and Borg walked out onto center court at the All England Club, just to soak in the ambience. Borg is in town for the second time in twenty years to see if Federer can match his Wimbledon record of five championships in a row-a feat no one believed could be equaled. The smattering of fans already in place rose to their feet and cheered wildly for the old lions. Mac said he got goosebumps. And so the stage was set for Rafael Nadal And Roger Federer to do battle in a second consecutive grand slam final , the points for a spot at number one in the world hanging in the balance.