Enjoy this video of the final 10 seconds of their final game, as Maryland's Hugh "Baby Shaq" Jones sinks a halfcourt shot to win it. In case you're confused, those count as four points in the ABA. Unless you're touched by the babysitter flag.

World Record Game Ends With Wild Finish, Nighthawks Win 132-128 [Maryland Nighthawks]

The 2006 British and World Marbles Championship took place in Tinsley Green in London over the weekend, and the Germans were the big winners.

Interesting notes on the "tournament:"

• Two hundred spectators showed up, which was just higher than the number of competitors (six teams of 22).
• The tournament was held on the parking lot ground of a bar near the airport. It's amazing they weren't able to get more sponsors.
• We didn't know this was how the game of marbles was invented: "In 1588, two young men from the county played a game with small, round glass objects for the hand of a young lady." Who says it's tough to meet girls?

Germans Crowned World Champs As Brits Lose Their Marbles [Deutsche Welle]

Pooh Stick racing might sound kind of dirty, but it's not. Pooh Stick racing actually consists of finding a stick, dropping it in to a river, and then seeing how long it takes to get to the finish line. That's it. That's all they do. It's inspired and named after Winnie the Pooh, as he and Christopher Robin used to play the same game. Pooh would routinely win and then get in Christopher Robin's grill and sing "Whoop That Trick."

Actually, as lame as it sounds, it's the sort of thing that, if you're with the right people and have the right sort of beverages, is probably a hell of a lot of fun. I can think of worse things to do today. Listening to Jim Nantz and Billy Packer is just one of them.

Big thanks to tkurjan of The Sports Frog's Swamp for shedding some light.

Sporting Event of the Day [The Swamp]
World Pooh Sticks Championships, Days Lock [pooh-sticks.com]

I'm always going to have a soft spot for kickball. Without it, I might never have learned about the birds and the bees. True story: In 3rd or 4th grade, one of the really smart kids wanted to be on my kickball team, and I said he could, if he would define "sex" for me. And he did. And that is the beginning of how I became the ultra-masculine Lothario that you're reading today. It's all because of kickball.

I just wonder what other recess activities people are taking seriously. Is there a Professional Hopscotch Lleague? A Worldwide Tetherball Tour? A National Smear the Queer Association?

Playground Bully [Washington City Paper]
World Adult Kickball Association [WAKA.com]

Actually, we're not going there, but a Canadian guy named Roy went there. To the Phillipines. And to a cockfighting event. And he blogged it.

I do feel that cockfighting is a vile, disgusting, and inhumane thing, but you know, that's never stopped us from having Raiders games, so who am I to judge? We can all learn something here, like for instance, the five different forms of cockfighting. There is bare-spurred, there is one with little shoes on the spurs (for the cocks who are pussies), there is one with a plastic arm attached to the spur, there's one with "a little steel axe," on the spur, and then there is the cockfighting we're all more familiar with, the one with a razor-sharp blade attached to the spur. My cock is undefeated in such battles.

Anyway, it's a fascinating read, I highly recommend checking out the story and the pictures.

Tamaleeeeeee! [Roy to the World]

Apparently, sheep "wrangling" is used as training for rugby players, which, frankly, tells us more about rugby than we necessarily wanted to know. The halftime show had involved children running after the sheep and bringing them down, which sounds like a really scary dream we had once, but that's a whole other story.

Says a SPCA spokesperson: "The message that these young people are getting is that it's OK to get out there and bully animals for entertainment." As opposed to, you know, rugby.

Sheep Tackling Ban In New Zealand [BBC News]

Chessboxing [Official Site]
Staremaster [Official Site]

Calvinball! [Bleed Cubbie Blue]
Calvinball Official Rules [Bartel.org]

The return of Brad Ottens from a midseason bout of osteitis pubis will help, but the Cats cannot rely on one man's groin to arrest their slump. [The Australian]

Face it, their sportswriting is just more lyrical than ours.

Sourav Ganguly will remain suspended from international cricket, but his ban has been reduced from six matches to four. Justice Albie Sachs ruled on Thursday that Ganguly's original punishment for slow over-rates was "too severe." [Cricinfo.com]

Apparently you can get into trouble in cricket for wasting time. We thought that was the whole idea.

Former All Black Andrew Hore faces NZRU disciplinary action after conviction in court for his role in the death of a protected fur seal. [Scrum.com]

Ah yes, we're familiar with this. Have you seen Brett Favre's freezer? Full of walrus meat.

Redneck Games Photo Gallery [Yahoo News]

Brian Lara Streaker Removed From Field [Pro-G] (via Bad Jocks]

· The three time champion Paul Beech is a "recycler." His wife, Heather Beech, won the women's title. Their wedding night must have been a kick. (So to speak.)
· Mr. Beech's nickname is the "Toeminator."
· Members of the World Toe-Wrestling Organization (WTWO) have previously applied for Olympic status. Didn't fly.
· (Here's our favorite.) The sport was invented in the '70s so that a game could exist in which Brits would be successful. Mission accomplished!

World Toe Wrestling Championships [BBC News]

The only difficulty was keeping score with a bunch of players kicking an imaginary ball they called "Harry." (Sorry. Sorry. Really.)

Italy Wins Homeless World Cup [Scotsman]
Homeless World Cup: In Pictures [BBC News]

Therefore he found a silver lining to injuries that have ruled out flanker McCaw, first five-eighth Carter, fullback Leon MacDonald, second five-eighth Aaron Mauger — all from last week — and longer term problems with prop Carl Hayman and hooker Anton Oliver. [Scrum.com]
(We can just hear young Clive after his first rugby tryout. "Mom! They made me a hooker!")

It was nice but the platform was set. Straussy and Tres really got over that hard part with Lee and McGrath and the ball seaming about. Coming in at 100 for 0, there was no real pressure on the run-rate. You can't complain — and we just cantered over the line. [Cricinfo.com]
(We got used to the curveball and were so far ahead there was no real pressure. Ah, tea break. Cheers.)

The accident, which saw (Adelaide defender Graham) Johncock crash into two cars, happened early Monday morning and he has been charged with police for driving without care, making a false report to police by claiming his car was stolen and failing to truly answer police questions. [AFL.com]
(Some things are just universal).

We've been playing around with this site for a while, and we keep coming back to the schedule, or, as the site puts it, Here tis the ofishal skedyule! Events include:

Hubcap Hurl
Armpit Serenade
Buttcrack Competition
Bobbin' For Pigs Feet

At the end, there are of course fireworks, a.k.a., "throwing things in the air and shooting them."

Summer Redneck Games [Ofishal Site]

Warne, whom the British tabloids have been tracking for years, is being divorced by his wife after he was nailed for cheating on his her for the umpteenth time. This in itself is not necessarily newsworthy; athletes, we hear, are known to sleep around a bit, maybe, not sure. But the story here is pretty amazing.

Apparently, Warne met Laura Sayers, a 25-year-old London financial student, in a club last week, and "propositioned" her. It didn't quite turn out as he planned.

Warne was with his county team-mate, England star Kevin Pietersen. A friend of Laura's was going out with Pietersen and she turned up to make up the numbers. Laura said she didn't even know who he was when he introduced himself in a swanky private members' bar.

She said: "My friend was dating Kevin and they invited me out. They introduced me to their friend Shane, but I don't follow cricket and had no idea who he was.

"The first thing he said was: 'How about a foursome?' Shane laughed but I told him off and was quite offended. I thought, who is this creep?"

After moving to Umbaba nightclub and drinking until the early hours, Kevin and Laura's friend decided to go back to Kevin's London flat.

Laura said: "Shane said he was going back with them and asked me to come. We were just going as a group so I went along. When we got there, Shane and I left Kevin and my friend alone. Shane made it clear he wanted to get laid. I told him I didn't want to, but he was persistent.

"He left me in the lounge and went into the bedroom and called out for me to join him. I walked into the bedroom but I told him I wasn't interested in having sex with him. He took off all his clothes and I asked him if he had a condom, I guessed he didn't, so I thought that would be the end of it."

Laura said Shane ran out of the room and returned with a condom. She added: "When he came back I just gave in."

She said Warne failed to put in a match-winning performance under the covers. She said: "He's a bit chubby, but he's quite fit. It was all over very quickly and he wasn't very well-endowed. He just wanted to get laid."

Why can't this ever happen in America? We mean, honestly.

Shane's Shame [London Mirror]

Sorry. We're just saying; you never have to look far.

Scripps Spelling Bee [Official Site]

There are some fun ones too. You have Parachuting, which of course will never make it past the drug screening. Then there's Dancesport, which has different divisions of Standard, Latin and Rock n' Roll. Don't forget Tug of War, Orienteering, Casting and something called "Korfball." (Apparently it's like soccer with softball and basketball and tight shorts.) And we're still a little weirded out by this thing called "Fistball."

The World Games [Official Site]

Whiskers Go Wild [National Geographic, via SportsFilter]

Red: The Winning Color In Sports [All Headline News]