Soccer Page 345 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Olympics Protect Their Sponsors By Covering Up Some White Seats At Old Trafford
Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, has been hosting some of the preliminary matches in Olympic soccer. That means the "Brand Exclusion Zone"—the desolate no-man's-land where only official sponsor's logos and products are allowed, and all others are physically barred—isn't limited to East Londo...

Singer Of Worst National Anthem Performance Ever Blames Vuvuzelas For Making Her Sing Off-Key
The parents of 11-year-old Harper Gruzins are defending their daughter's performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Saturday's Galaxy-FC Dallas match, claiming critics who called it the worst national anthem performance ever are "mean and hateful."...

The Cats Are Fat And Happy
South Korea drew 0-0 with Mexico in an early but entertaining men's soccer match this morning, one with a result we think satisfied this fan—if only because it meant he could finally take that ridiculous thing off....

FIFA Can't Even Properly Ban Corrupt Executives
Let's make this clear: No one believes Mohammed bin Hammam, the FIFA executive committee member instrumental in bringing the 2022 World Cup to his native Qatar, didn't bribe people. It's still pretty much accepted that bin Hammam was the brains behind the envelopes full of cash handed out to represe...

Japan Made Its Women's Soccer Team Fly Economy, While Putting The Men In Business Class
Despite winning last year's World Cup, the Japanese women's national soccer team couldn't escape economy class on their Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo to Paris this week—despite the men's national team riding in business class....

English Soccer Having Another Dumb Racist Twitter Thing
When a student was jailed for racist tweets directed at Fabrice Muamba, it was an opportunity to discuss the British justice system and the perils of online anonymity. When John Terry was cleared of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, it was an opportunity to quote a judge saying "cunt" about 72 times...

Drunken German Soccer Fans Cheer On Person Trying To Parallel Park Tiny Car
That parking spot is just big enough for a Fiat Citroen VTS, and to actually make it work is that much more challenging in front of a helpful group like this....

John Terry Found Not Guilty Of Using "Fucking Black Cunt" In A Racial Sense
Go ahead, try out your lipreading: What does Chelsea's John Terry say to QPR's Anton Ferdinand in this video from back in October? If you see anything but "fucking black cunt," you're wrong, because that's totally what he said. He even cops to it....

Soccer Announcers Make Everything Better, Even Hockey
On an utterly sportsless evening, let's spend a few minutes reliving two that recently concluded their respective seasons: hockey and top-tier international soccer. To that end, some enterprising YouTube user synched up some 15 different hockey goals with relatively corresponding broadcast calls f...

Bristolmetrics: <i>ESPN</i> Navigates The Dark, Sportless Days Of Summer
When last we met, SportsCenter finally covered the Jerry Sandusky case, we found out if the Rose Bowl will stay on ESPN (it will), and Outside The Lines aired one of the year's most fantastic features. What would this week bring? ...

Hope Solo Failed A Drug Test
On June 15, the day before a USWNT friendly against World No. 2 Sweden, goalkeeper Hope Solo provided a urine sample that tested positive for Canrenone. Canrenone is not a PED, but rather a diuretic, and is sometimes used to flush the system, so it's a USADA banned substance....

Steve Zakuani Returns To Action 15 Months After Gruesome Injury, Embraces The Man Who Pulverized His Leg
Sounders winger Steve Zakuani wondered if he'd ever play soccer again in the months after a brutal sliding tackle from Colorado midfielder Brian Mullan in April 2011 snapped both lower bones in his right leg. (Here's video of that incident, for those of you with strong and empty stomachs.) More t...

Soccer Trophies Go Unclaimed After Tournament Ends In Shootout With Actual Guns
A Delaware soccer tournament came to a violent end Sunday after a shootout left one person dead and four others injured. Wilmington police claim shots fired between "multiple parties" led to havoc in the streets, with two of the alleged shooters in custody after wrecking their getaway car; both o...

This Is The Best Free Kick Goal By An Eight-Year-Old You'll See For Awhile
We have pretty much zero information on this, other than it showed up on YouTube today with comments disabled and in the wrong format. We could ask questions, but it's better to just enjoy what's a pretty outstanding free kick most adults would fail in an attempt....

"I'm Gay," Says Megan Rapinoe. "That's Nice," Says Everyone.
Entertainment Weekly just had a big story on the new art of coming out—quietly, almost as an afterthought. And it takes nearly 300 words into Out's story on U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe to touch on her oreintation. And even then it's subtle, almost as if an athlete's sexuality isn't their defining ...

A Final Moment Of Sportsmanship At Euro 2012, As Spanish Goalkeeper Asks Ref To Mercifully End Blowout
For a tournament that began with more than its fair share of racism and fan violence, Euro 2012 ended on a note more in line with the spirit of the game. Already down 2-0, Italy lost its last sub to injury, and conceded another pair of goals with just 10 men. In stoppage time, cameras caught Spani...

Mario Balotelli Impregnates Person
Ninety or so minutes of soccer ago, Mario Balotelli was playing like the best player on the best team in the world. Now he's going to be a father. That's some consolation, right?...

David Beckham Goes Nuts, Kicks Balls At Referee, Starts Shit With Opposing Team's Mascot
Look, Becks, we get that you're frustrated at Great Britain leaving you off the London Olympics squad. We get that. But it's no cause to grow an Austrian mustache and start trolling the world, as amusing as it may be to all of us....

The Weekend's Most Exciting Soccer Match Ended With A Coach Rolling Around In Tears
Let's set the scene: the home stadium of Buenos Aires side Chacarita Juniors, which finished 20th in Argentina's second division and was playing for its professional life. The stakes: remaining in Argentina's Nacional B. Chacarita was playing third division winners Nueva Chicago in the second leg ...

The Euro 2012 Final Would Not Be Complete Without A Couple Idiots On The Field
Spain rocked Italy today (or tonight, depending on where you happen to be watching) 4-0 in the 2012 European Championship Final. For a match without a lot of drama, things got exciting immediately following its conclusion....