Cycling » Tour de France, Sunday, 7:30 a.m. — noon, VERSUS

It’s Stage 21, the final day of the Tour, the iconic ride from Montereau to the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Seven-time winner Lance Armstrong has conceded defeat (and gracefully too) to Alberto Contador, but his comeback at age 37, can’t be considered a failure.  


WPS » Boston Breakers at Washington Freedom, Maryland SoccerPlex, Wednesday, 8 p.m.

The former WUSA champions have their backs against the wall in WPS with just three games remaining, sitting in fifth place, one spot out from a postseason berth. Abby Wambach scored her 100th goal for the U.S. national team, but she needs to find the net for Washington so they can leapfrog the Breakers into the playoffs.

Bold predictions


1. The Wizards will be picked to win the Eastern Conference » Someone out there has to have the guts to do it now thanks to reports that Washington will sign veteran center Fabricio Oberto. Sure, Orlando is stacked, even though the Magic sacrificed their biggest playmaker outside of Dwight Howard by letting Hedo Terkoglu go. In addition, Cleveland is Shaq’d — meaning the Cavaliers will entertain, if nothing else — and Boston is scary with Rasheed Wallace. But Washington should no longer be considered solely as the potential fourth team in the East. If the Wizards are healthy — Gilbert Arenas, this means you — it’s not absurd to believe that they are just as capable a contender as the other three. The 34-year-old Argentinian is the final piece. He’ll do more than fill a hole in the Wizards’ big man department. Oberto, if he’s healthy, can be the perfect complementary partner for JaVale McGee, which will allow the 21-year-old to deliver on the kind of potential he showed in Las Vegas.

2. Edgar Martinez will be the first true designated hitter in the Hall of Fame » Paul Moliter has his mold in Cooperstown as a DH, but that’s because his versatility in the field — he played every position except pitcher and catcher — didn’t pigeonhole him into one position. Martinez — who is Hall-of-Fame eligible in 2010 — played mostly as a DH and flourished doing so. He spent his entire 18-year career in Seattle, was a seven-time All-Star and won two batting titles. He ranks 90th in career batting average (.312), 22nd in on-base percentage (.418) and 68th in slugging percentage (.515). He was patient, yet powerful, at the plate — drawing more walks than strikeouts — and was one of the top hitters of his time. Martinez will pave the way to Cooperstown for future Hall of Fame designated hitters like David Ortiz.

3. The Cardinals will run away with the NL Central » Acquiring Matt Holiday from the A’s has given St. Louis the one thing they needed: protection of Albert Pujols in the lineup. With Holliday batting cleanup, pitchers will be slightly more reluctant to walking the possible Triple Crown winner. The Cardinals have much more depth now, moving a red-hot Ryan Ludwick to the No. 5 hole and newly-acquired Mark DeRosa being able to play just about any position. The rotation and bullpen have been impressive so far this season. Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter both have ERAs under 3.00 and All-Star Ryan Franklin has the lowest ERA among NL closers. Sorry Cubs fans. Really, what’s another year?

Player to watch

Rickey Henderson, Hall of Fame inductee

When they are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y., the speeches of loquacious Rickey Henderson and sullen Jim Rice will likely bear little resemblance. While Henderson, baseball’s all-time leader in steals (1,406) and runs (2,295), craved the spotlight, Rice, a slugger with the Red Sox for all 16 of his major league seasons, shied away from it. “I’m going to leave all the stories to Rickey,” said Rice. That will be fine with the festive crowd Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. In his day, Henderson was one of the most bizarre characters in sports. He once left this message for San Diego GM Kevin Towers: “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.” When asked if 50 percent of baseball players were on steroids he said: “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.” So when Henderson steps to the podium Sunday, expect some third-person references, mixed metaphors, unintelligible logic, and lots of Rickey being Rickey.

Five Up & Five Down

UP

1. JaVale McGee » Solid final two games in Las Vegas leads to USA Basketball mini-camp invite.

2. PGA Tour » Three straight weeks of Tiger Woods, after world No. 1 commits to Buick Open.

3. DeWayne Wise » Stunning catch preserves Mark Buehrle’s perfect game, becomes Wise’s headline in otherwise ho-hum career.

4. Manny Ramirez » What suspension? We’re all blinded by clutch pinch hit grand slams.

5. Matt Barnes » Seventh team in seven years for new Orlando forward could be the charm — easily the best he’s been on yet.

Down

1. LeBron James » Surfaced tape of Jordan Crawford’s dunk underwhelming, a bit like the behavior of Nike and James.

2. Erin Andrews » Could feel worse for her. Boys being boys is one thing. But a peephole? That gives us the heebie-jeebies.

3. Christine Brennan » By far the most surprising media member to say something stupid about the Erin Andrews videotape.

4. ESPN » Legal backtracking really isn’t good enough to explain late arrival in covering Ben Roethlisberger’s case.

5. David Lee » Knicks’ restricted free agent feeling a bit like a new house completed just after the sub prime market collapsed.