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It's time for the 2012 Premier League Reading Stars program, in which England's schoolkids are encouraged to read by professional athletes pretending to love books. To kick off the program, 20 Premier Leaguers—one from each club—were asked to name their favorite adult and children's books. The results are in, and it's a dark day for literacy. More »
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He didn't even come particularly close, either. The US national and Nottingham Forest striker will be rueing this one, from the first half of today's FA Cup replay at Leicester City. More »
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Balotelli showed up unannounced at a Manchester school, where he asked students if there was a bathroom he could use. [via Dirty Tackle] More »
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Did Anfield learn nothing from Luis Suarez's ban? Two Liverpool supporters (both wearing Suarez jerseys) yelled racial taunts at Oldham's Tom Adeyemi during today's FA Cup match. The game was interrupted as the fans were removed, and at least one of them has been arrested. [Mirror Football, Guardian] More »
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Now that 2012 is upon us, the U.K.'s Royal Mint is releasing 29 new coins, each featuring a different Olympic sport. Above is the soccer coin, the reverse of which contains a handy diagram explaining just what constitutes offside. The image "is designed to provoke discussion," but I think the real discussion centers on the square team running the rare 1-6-3 formation. [Royal Mint] More »
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Gabriel Zakuani is a Congolese defender for Peterborough, who had a cup of coffee at the top level but couldn't quite cut it. But he's given his son a name as stupid as any Premier leaguer's child. More »
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Man City's mercurial striker had one hell of a weekend. He set his rented $4.8 million house on fire after setting off fireworks in the bathroom. He scored the first two goals in a 6-1 thrashing of second place Manchester United at Old Trafford, Sir Alex's "worst ever" defeat. He drove through Manchester's City Centre, leaning out his Bentley convertible and high-fiving fans. More »
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Could you tell it's nearly derby day? With City two points clear ahead of Sunday's showdown at Old Trafford, the watering holes of Manchester are taking sides. [Twitter] More »
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It's been almost exactly one year since Henry's Fenway Sports Group purchased Liverpool, so to mark the occasion, Henry agreed to a rare lengthy interview with the Guardian. Both parts are well worth your time, but let's draw out the interesting stuff. More »
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After a red card in England's draw with Montenegro, Wayne Rooney will miss the first one or two games (depending on a disciplinary hearing) of next summer's European Championship. With three big warm-up matches before the tournament, England manager Fabio Capello is supposedly contemplating using Rooney as a sub, to give the starting XI for Euro 2012 time to gel. More »
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City closed the deal with their 40 million dollar man today, and to celebrate, they had EA Sports put together an image of Nasri scoring his first goal, using the upcoming FIFA 12. Nasri appears to have slipped past Vidic and a very out-of-position Rooney, and City fans probably cannot wait for this virtual scene to become reality. More »
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A tipster has sent us a story nine years old but timeless. You might not know that in England, drivers must fill out a specific form in order to avoid paying taxes on an unused vehicle. You also might not know that in Medieval England, trials were often settled by the two parties engaging in single combat. 60-year-old Leon Humphreys knew only one of these things. Guess which one. More »
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This isn't just an advertisement for the most succulent amuse-bouche you've ever seen. It's also Chelsea being more self-aware than we though possible. More »
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England could use a little peace right now, and they're getting Metta World Peace. Ron Artest, against the advice of his agent, his sponsors, and anyone who knows anything about basketball, has signed a deal to play for the Cheshire Jets of the British Basketball League. More »
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Hulk Hogan joined Richard Bacon on BBC Radio 5 today, and a weary nation eagerly awaited the comforting words of the Hulkster. If the 24-inch pythons can't get those looters to settle down and shape up, nothing can. More »
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Ben Walker writes about baseball for the Associated Press—you'll see his byline, or, perhaps, his words fairly often. Michael Wolff is not Ben Walker. Wolff is a media writer for Vanity Fair, which would never have heard of baseball were Michael Lewis not on its masthead. More »
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I'm not sure what lessons we can learn from the U-17 World Cup (I hope none, because the US lost to Uzbekistan last night), but English goaltending looks like it'll be hopeless for the next couple of decades. More »
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This is 40-year-old Tracy Chandler, who parades about as the Doncaster Rovers' mascot. Or as thousands of Yorkshire youngsters are now saying, "Donny...what...?" More »
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London's network of surveillance cameras finally pays off, with this stitched-together journey of one gentleman's trip home after being kicked out of a big celebrity get-together. [via Bob's Blitz] More »
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Ever since the good, godfearing Anglo nations were shut out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, rumors have flown that Russia and Qatar bribed their way to the top. No one would be surprised because it's FIFA, but it was also sour grapes. And maybe it still is, but this time England is naming names. More »
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Your hated geographic rivals are suffering one of the worst humiliations in their 130-year history. What's a devoted fan who takes pleasure from the misery of others to do? Fly a goddamn airplane banner over their stadium. More »
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We felt very bad last time. We hate blind items (though we did guess Ryan Giggs). But there's this thing in the UK where celebrities can get court-ordered injunctions against newspapers publishing items about their personal lives. They're called injunctions, and lots of celebrities have them, and together the whole thing is some big Super Injunction mystery. More »
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That's referee Howard Webb over there. A photoshop of him actually, because he doesn't really wear a Manchester United kit while refereeing. He wears a referee's shirt. After a controversial FA Cup match in January, with some controversial decisions going United's way, Liverpool player Ryan Babel posted the photoshopped image to his Twitter. He was fined for it. Basically, everyone thinks Howard Webb is in the bag for their rival. Remember all this, it'll come up later. More »
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Edward Bevan, cricket announcer for BBC Sport Wales, nearly dodged a ball hit into the announcer's booth by a Somerset player on Monday. More impressively, he narrated its approach: "It's coming up, is it going to hit us?" Bevan manages, and then you hear the kind of glass-smashing sound effect you thought only came out of Saturday morning cartoons as a kid. More »
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There are better quality videos of English referee Sian Massey getting taken down yesterday. But they don't come with the built-in commentary. More »
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Noted homer Jack Edwards probably couldn't sleep last night after his beloved Bruins came back to oust the Canadiens in 7 games. But before tossing and turning with visions of Jozef Stümpel dancing in his head, he had some parting words on the NESN postgame show. More »
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A week old, but just making the rounds now. From England's fifth-tier Blue Square Premier, a striker is instructed to get back to help cover on defense. With a lob coming his way, reflexes take over, and rather than clear, he volleys it past his own keeper. Poor bastard. More »
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Because we don't know. (We're pretty sure it's Giggs, but that's not the point.) And we may never know, as a British judge granted an injunction against a newspaper to prevent it from revealing the details of the player's affair with Imogen Thomas. More »
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BUCS (the British Universities and Colleges Sport) held their championships last week, and our favorite sport was the cross country mountain biking. Someone was kind enough to put together a compilation of the best wipeouts on the same downhill section, and we can't top their word choice: carnage. More »
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Liverpool and Manchester United played in the annual FA Youth Cup on Sunday. United came back from two goals down to win, 3-2. The other final count at Anfield: three fans arrested for drunkenness, six ejected for what was likely more controlled drunkenness, and reports that a section of United fans chanted and sang about the Heysel and Hillsborough tragedies to antagonize the Liverpool side. There were also four red cards and a head-butt. There is competitive spirit, and then there is soccer in England. More »
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Hi, welcome to Deadspin. We like poop here. Yet shockingly, we've never posted an actual video of someone soiling themselves. Until now. More »
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Did you hear? The English soccer team did not do so well at the World Cup. Want to know why? A locker room divided over a teammate's extramarital affair, of course. Stop me if you've heard this one. More »
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As if enough shame and scorn has not been heaped on the English side today, word comes out of South Africa that they were also robbed during their too-brief visit. Fortunately, justice there is swift and exacting. Unlike Wayne Rooney. More »
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In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like the editors of The Sun, who...well, just look. More »
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Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and internets to bring you everything you need to know to start your day. More »
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In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like the England National Team, who had apparently been afflicted by a witch doctor curse, which was just lifted by the official Archdruid of Cornwall. Twenty-sided dice, too, probably. More »
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Tea and crumpets! Sand! It's England and Algeria. Bond over your shared hatred of the French in the comments. More »
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Some clever soul has produced this video of the England goalkeeper actually stopping Clint Dempsey's slow-rolling 30-footer and not cocking up his country's fortunes. Now do one of these for Cornwallis. (U-S-A! U-S-A! etc.) [YouTube, via The Bucky Channel] More »
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The Spoiler has some experience of Knowle West in Bristol, thanks to a few years spent getting loaded on the taxpayer's buck back in the early 1990s. Great times. More »
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Here's the Lego version of the U.S. England goal. You haven't lived until you've seen a Lego Robert Green lay down on a Lego soccer field in Lego shame. H/T Denton. [The Guardian, via Business Insider] More »
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