[Tommy]

East meets West on the diamond this weekend as both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox play series on the far side of the Rockies. Also featured on the sports schedule over the next few days are a full slate of preseason NFL contests, the WNBA playoffs, a pair of CFL games, and races on both the Nextel Cup and Formula 1 circuits.

The Red Sox are in Seattle this weekend and the Yankees are in Los Angeles, with both teams still feeling the effects of last week's massacre at Fenway Park. New York is now riding high in the AL East standings, while the Red Sox find themselves in a hole not only in the division but in the Wild Card race as well with a month and half left in 06.

The biggest weekend series in the American League, though, takes place in Chicago, where the White Sox will be battling the Twins for the lead in the Wild Card race. The West-leading Oakland Athletics take on the Rangers in Texas this weekend, while Detroit is at Cleveland, Kansas City is at Toronto, and the Devil Rays play in Baltimore.

Over in the National League the Philadelphia Phillies will have their hands full this weekend when they head up to Shea Stadium to play the league-leading New York Mets. The Phillies have managed to stay close to the top of the NL Wild Card race with a recent hot streak, but the Mets won't be looking to do their divisional rival any favors.

The St. Louis Cardinals play host to the Chicago Cubs over the next few days as they try to hold on to first place in the NL Central division, while the challenging Cincinnati Reds play a road series in San Francisco versus the Giants. Elsewhere in senior circuit action this weekend it's Los Angeles at Arizona, San Diego at Colorado, Milwaukee at Florida, and Washington at Atlanta. Houston at Pittsburgh rounds out the series slates.

Teams around the NFL continue their preseason tuneups this weekend with games on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Five games are on the schedule for Friday, with Arizona at Chicago (-3), the New York Giants (-4.5) at the New York Jets, Baltimore at Minnesota (-2.5), Pittsburgh at Philadelphia (-3), and the Detroit Lions at Oakland (-3).

On Saturday it's Cleveland at Buffalo (-3.5), Indianapolis (-3.5) at New Orleans (in Jackson, Mississippi), Washington at New England (-3.5), San Francisco at Dallas (-7), Tampa Bay at Jacksonville (-3), Atlanta at Tennessee (-2.5), St. Louis at Kansas City (-3.5), and Seattle at San Diego (-3.5). Denver (-5.5) plays host to Houston on Sunday, with the Green Bay Packers playing a road game versus Cincinnati (-5.5) Monday night.

Up in the Canadian Football League the Toronto Argonauts can move into a tie for second place in the Eastern Division if they can top the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg on Friday. The Argos are pegged as 3-point road favorites in that game. On Saturday the Saskatchewan Roughriders (-4.5) can boost their record up to .500 if they can get past the lowly Hamilton Tiger Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium. The Ti-Cats are a CFL-worst 2-8.

The WNBA will crown both their Eastern Conference and their Western Conference champions this weekend. Game 2 of both series go on Saturday, with the Detroit Shock at the Connecticut Sun in the late afternoon, and the Sacramento Monarchs at the Los Angeles Sparks at night. If necessary, Game 3 of both series will be played on Sunday.

The Nextel Cup Series gets a rare Saturday outing this weekend, as the drivers take to the track in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson continues to lead the points race going into this event, and he's pegged as the 6/1 favorite. Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon are next at 7/1 odds, while Greg Biffle has been listed at 8/1.

Kenseth won the Sharpie 500 last season, and he sits in second place in the current driver standings. Kurt Busch, who's listed at 15/1 this weekend, has five career wins at Bristol, while Gordon has four. Busch needs a strong performance at Bristol to keep his slim playoff hopes alive; the Chase for the Nextel Cup gets underway on September 17.

Finally, the Formula 1 circuit hits Istanbul this weekend for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher continue to battle for the 2006 drivers championship, with the Spaniard currently holding a 10-point lead in the standings. However, Kimi Raikkonen won the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix last season, and he'll be looking to make it two in a row this weekend. Raikkonen sits fourth in the standings.

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