cc Page 396 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Try To Look Surprised: England Says World Cup Voters Asked For Bribes
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....

Turkish Soccer Fans Injure 25 Police Officers Rather Than Let Visiting Fans Into Their Stadium
No, this is not footage of a coup d'état in Turkey, this is footage of the violence that broke out between soccer fans before the Bursaspor-Beşiktaş game this past Saturday. The Turkish Football Federation had to cancel the game after angry fans rioted, injuring 25 policemen....

MLS Salaries Make No Secret Of MLS Plan To Create NY-LA Rivalry
In MLS Commissioner Don Garber's perfect world, the two biggest markets in the country would have the two best teams. These teams would, of course, be the New York Red Bulls and the LA Galaxy. They would be better than the other teams but not so much better that fans in smaller markets would give up...

Is This The Ultimate Insult To A Rival Team?
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....

An Update On Telling You Which Soccer Player Had An Affair With This Lady
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 to...

Detroit Pitcher Justin Verlander Throws Second Career No-Hitter
In today's 9-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander was within one walk of a perfect game. His first career no-hitter came against the Milwaukee Brewers in 2007....

By The Looks Of Things, The Texas Rangers Mascot Is Hung Like The Palomino Horse It Purports To Be
Your morning roundup for May 7, the first Saturday after the gays seized control of Atlantic City....

Alejandro Bedoya Does The Bernie After Scoring A Nice Goal In Sweden
American international Alejandro Bedoya has been bagging goals for his Swedish team Orebro. He's also importing some American low-culture to Scandinavia. Here he is doing The Bernie, which in case you weren't already aware was inspired by the dead guy in "Weekend at Bernie's" and resembles The Dou...

Wild Australian Horse Decides To Run Away From A Steeplechase Course And Over The Crowd
Your morning roundup for May 6, the day Willie Mays becomes an octogenarian....

Presenting The 18-Minute Video Of Shin-Soo Choo's Failed Roadside Sobriety Test
Your morning roundup for May 5, the day a former vice president wants you to thank "enhanced interrogation" for the current president's visit to Ground Zero....

Watch A Former German Soccer Player Go Off On The Al-Jazeera Guys In Broken English
Lothar "Loddar" Matthäus had major problems with his Al-Jazeera associates at a UEFA Champions League match between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in March. Specifically, they'd assigned the translator they promised him to an Italian....

Ousted Frank McCourt Takes To The Airwaves
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: the former(?) Dodgers owner makes a case for his stewardship....

This Flying Kick Got A Kazakh Soccer Player Banned For Life
This footage, taken during a post-game brawl on April 16 this year, has just turned up. It shows Kairat's Armand Masimzhanov delivering a brutal flying kick to a Lokomotiv player at the end of their match. Masimzhanov was banned for life from the Kazakhstan Football Federation for "terrible cruelt...

Your Barcelona-Real Madrid Cuarto Clásico Open Thread
This one's for all the skittles. Real Madrid must overcome a two-goal deficit in Barcelona to get into the Champions League final. No easy task, not when Barcelona defends by keeping possession. The clásicos have been oddly disappointing so far, as Brian Phillips points out at Slate:...

Tinfoil Hatters Have Something To Talk About For Man U-Chelsea
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 po...

Everything About This Ref-Getting-Leveled Video Is Amazing
There are better quality videos of English referee Sian Massey getting taken down yesterday. But they don't come with the built-in commentary....

Today In Terrifying Ledes
"Police say a supporter has been shot dead following a Brazilian soccer game that was interrupted by a swarm of bees and ended with a brawl between players on the field." [AP]...

This Is What A Windsurfing Accident Looks Like To A Nearby Windsurfer
A couple weeks ago, windsurfer Boujmaa Guilloul was involved in a serious accident while trying to land the elusive Triple Loop at Ho'okipa. It was a water in the lungs, broken fingers type thing....

Before Returning To Lockout Mode, Every NFL Franchise Decided Against Drafting A Bone-Cancer Survivor
Your morning roundup for May 1, the day after Seth Meyers said Weekend Update stuff to people's faces....

Here's Video Of A Greek Soccer Match That Involved Riot Police And Hoses
That AEK defeated Atromitos 3-0 to win the Greek Cup Final to claim its first trophy since 2002 is good for them. That fans threw flares at one another during the national anthem, goals resulted in "pitch invasions" and the faithful turned the VIP section into a target-rich environment is good for...