2012 Page 33 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

From Ukraine With Love: 24 Racism-Free Hours At Euro 2012
KIEV & KHARKIV, Ukraine—The fast train from Kiev to Kharkiv takes four hours. I know this, although I am not on it. I want to be on it, but tickets are gone, sold weeks ago to assorted Germans and other more prepared fans traveling from the Ukrainian capital to the industrial city that lies 300 mile...

Two Croatian Government Workers Are In Trouble For Flashing Everyone At Euro 2012
Croatia took a vital three points from Ireland over the weekend, sending fans into spasms of joy and occasional nudity. Now two women face losing their jobs after photos of them baring their chests at Sunday's match—including one of an Irish fan licking one woman's breasts—have been seen by pretty m...

Olympics Field Guide: Phillips Idowu, The Dennis Rodman Of The Triple Jump
Name: Phillips Idowu...

Russian And Polish Fans May Kill Each Other Before Their Match Starts
Here are some of the videos that have surfaced from this morning's clashes between Russian and Polish soccer fans, before their teams' match later today at Euro 2012. According to one (biased) account, a Russian fan march was set upon by Polish supporters, and broken up by police firing tear gas a...

Ukraine's 2-1 Comeback Win Left This Swede Feeling Black In The Face
So, yeah, the racism promised to emerge at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine actually did, though in classic 1960's spy drama fashion everyone's blaming the Russians. Sweden had no one to blame but themselves, meanwhile, after a stunning performance by Andriy Shevchenko led Ukraine past the Swedes fo...

Olympics Field Guide: Nick D'Arcy And Kenrick Monk, Idiot Gun-Toting Aussie Swimmers
Names: Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk...

Polish Riot Police Vs. Croatian Hooligans—Who Ya Got?
We knew Polish police came prepared for Euro 2012, pants-pissing sound cannons and all. And we expected Eastern European fans to make trouble, because that's what they do. (UEFA has already opened an investigation into racist abuse from Russian fans.) But it turns out our first battle in the stree...

It Took Negative One Day For Euro 2012 Fans To Start Their Racist Chants
The tourney doesn't start until tomorrow; today was merely a practice for the Netherlands. A practice open to the public. The Dutch team began the practice session by jogging around a track in Krakow, and when they reached one end of the circuit, "several hundred" or around "500" fans began hooting ...

108-Foot Roy Hodgson Erected On English Coast
"Roy the Redeemer" was unveiled this week, a massive statue of England manager aping the famous Christ sculpture in Brazil. He stands above the cliffs of Dover, and is supposedly visible from France. (The two nations face each other on Monday.)...

Piss Cannons And Scrotum-Seeking Dogs: Poland Is READY For Euro 2012
We already dealt with the possibility of trouble inside the stadiums at the European Championship, starting tomorrow. But what about non-matchdays? It's one solid month of foreigners, drunk and nationalistic, roaming an unfamiliar country. Some countries (England) have a reputation for traveling in ...

Just Try To Ignore Those Racist Chants At Euro 2012
The theme of the European Championship, which begins tomorrow, is racism. (To be fair to Poland and the Ukraine, the themes of international soccer over the last five years have been racism and goal-line technology. UEFA has made roughly the same progress on the two.) The BBC kicked it off with thei...

"Athletic" Shawn Johnson Retires: How Gymnastics Talks About Bodies In Code
On Sunday, former world and Olympic champion gymnast Shawn Johnson, 20, retired from gymnastics. Citing a bum knee, she withdrew from this coming weekend's national championships, the first competitive step towards the 2012 Olympic team....

Early Results Are In: Gawker Media Census Proves You’re Probably Drunk Right Now
Last week we asked you to take the 2012 Gawker Media Census, and in return offered one lucky survey-taker the opportunity to win a new iPad. Well, early responses are in, and we learned some interesting info about you guys—like the fact that 77% of you are more likely to buy alcohol than any other p...

Men's Field Hockey Has The Olympics' Best Blood Feud
Men's field hockey, as Stefan Fatsis explains on this week's excerpt from Slate's Hang Up and Listen podcast, will be one hell of a trip in the 2012 Olympics, even though the USA isn't playing....

The New Orleans Hornets Will Pick First In The 2012 NBA Draft
The New Orleans Hornets, currently owned by the NBA and soon to be owned by Saints owner Tom Benson, will select first in the 2012 NBA Draft (most likely choosing Kentucky forward Anthony Davis). The Charlotte Bobcats, which had the worst winning percenatge in NBA history this past season, will pick...

Mario Balotelli Does Thing
Mario Balotelli's prepared for any racism that might erupt during this summer's Euro 2012 competition in Poland and the Ukraine. Prepared to go to jail, that is, telling France Football he's all too willing to face hate with violence:...

U.S. Gymnastics Turns Its Back On Chellsie Memmel, Genuine Badass
At the 2006 world championships, Chellsie Memmel botched a release during her uneven-bars routine and tore her labrum. This was more or less the beginning of a prolonged shoulder nightmare that would culminate this weekend in the cold-eyed rejection of her bid to compete in the national championship...

"They Had To Apply Electric Shock To Bring Him Back": The Decline Of Boxer David Reid, Hero Of The 1996 Olympics
Republished from The Ring....

Take The 2012 Gawker Media Census, Win An iPad, And <i>Then</i> Resume Your Quest for 3rd Base
After last year's census, we discovered that 66% of you stud muffins were in relationships and 51% of you dined out at around 3 times a week—we can only assume that all that wining and dining is how you keep the ladies coming back. Take a quick 10-minute break from the drunken hookups to answer the...

Azerbaijan's Stinky Olympic Wrestling Team Is Sponsored By Febreze
It kind of makes sense for a group of sweaty, smelly wrestlers to partner up with a product that stakes its business model on eliminating odors. If nothing else, we get to see some poor sap take a hefty whiff of some wrestler's headgear and compare it to passionfruit. (Related: Don't ever put a bl...