cup Page 172 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Oh Look, Players Are Bitching About The New World Cup Ball
It moves unpredictably. It feels like a plastic toy. Complaining about the new ball is a quadrennial tradition, and now it's not just the keepers. But Ballack and Lampard like it! (Ballack and Lampard were paid to say they like it.) [AP]...

Colombia Robbed By “Scantily Clad Girls” At World Cup Hotel
Probably not the headline Danny Jordaan, head of South Africa's World Cup bid, wants to be reading over his Corn Flakes just two weeks before the tournament starts. ...

Argentine National Team Given Go-Ahead To Hump Its Way To World Cup Glory
Argentina's World Cup doctor says the squad will be allowed to sleep with "regular partners...without champagne or other drinks" during the tournament since sex is "not a problem in itself." Given recent events, Maradona's response to this news will be exquisite. [iAfrica.com]...

US Fans Create Horrific Image To Stir Up World Cup Rivalry
Here at The Spoiler, arts and crafts are held in very high esteem, be it the infantile crayon drawings of a child/Jamie Carragher, or a beautiful marble sculpture from the hands of Michelangelo/David James....

North Korean Soccer Gear Is Must-Have Irony Of The Season
Your friend who always has to be "That Guy" is probably one of the many "collectors" searching for a DPRK soccer kit as we speak. Maybe you could score a game-worn in exchange for a loaf of bread. [WSJ]...

What’s This? A Video BRIMMING With Rooney Goals?
As reported in today's Sun, Wayne Rooney shall be saving his goals for the World Cup. It's a very kind gesture by the young man......

Your US World Cup Squad Open Thread
In just a few minutes, the Yanks' 23-man World Cup roster will be announced live on ESPN. Use this space to weigh in on Onyewu's fitness, Davies's exclusion, and whether Edson or Herculez has the best first name....

Erin Andrews Shows Off Her Dancing Wounds
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...

Today In Tacky World Cup Marketing: Hyundai's Soccer Car
Soccer-ball wheels, soccer-cleat sideviews, artificial-turf interiors make for one hideous promotional vehicle. At the same time, shouldn't every sport be doing this? I want to laugh at a Ford F-150 outfitted with a Buccaneers helmet, stat. [Copyranter]...

Mexico Fans Win Important Football Fancy Dress Battle
During any football match, there are numerous battles going on. You've got the obvious one on the pitch, accompanied by hundreds of verbal ones in local pubs around the country, whilst in a wasteland somewhere geographically equidistant from the clubs......

Flyers Inspiring Playoff Run Makes Area Blogger Look Bad
The Flyers—who had to beat the Rangers on the final day to get into the playoffs, remember—are in their first Stanley Cup Final since 1997. Good thing I optioned that inspiring sports movie idea. [Photo: AP]...

Relive 40 Years Of Absurd, Borderline Racist World Cup Mascots
Fresh off the fun of the 2012 Olympic Mascot unveiling, our friends at Fast Company have put together a compendium of some of the most ridiculous World Cup Mascots. What's the word for when a subset propagates its own stereotypes?...

Maradona's Pot To Piss In Now Classy As All Get-Out
The Argentine boss demanded the standard toilets in his South Africa suite be replaced with two of "The World's Best Toilet Seat," just $449.95. Why two? One for the cocaine, obviously. [Daily Mail]...

Diarra Diarrhea Costs France A Midfielder
Lassana Diarra will miss the World Cup with what's euphemistically being called "a stomach ailment" or "intestinal pains." It must have been contagious when the entire team nearly shit the bed against Ireland. [AP]...

World Cup Profile: USA
Today, it's the turn of those lovely American chaps, who will be seriously attempting to urinate on England's chips during the group stages. But can they do it? And, more importantly, who ARE these people? Read on to find out…...

Watch Nike's Newest Bloated, Overwrought, Meta-Referential But Sorta Awesome World Cup Commercial
In case you haven't noticed, soccer's been popping up around here with alarming frequency. It's because of the World Cup, mostly. The World Cup is sort of a big deal, like the World Baseball Classic, but exciting....

All Of Roger Clemens' Physical Gifts Can Be Purchased In This Mystery Discount Box
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....

Head of English Soccer Says Spain and Russia Are Trying to Bribe World Cup Referees
Lord Triesman made the claim during a conversation with his ex-mistress, which she happened to be secretly recording. Between Triesman and Gordon Brown, prominent British officials should go ahead and just assume all their private tirades are being taped....

TV People Confuse World Cup Host Country With Similarly Named Landmass
A reader sends this screengrab, from which we can deduce that either 1.) the poor kid doing the chyrons mixed up his large, Southern Hemispheric tracts of land or 2.) South Africa just won a war that no one knew about....

World Cup Email Scam Promises The Most Awesome Party Ever
A forwarded email promises a South Africa private beach party with champagne and lobster, lions and elephants, and a DJ spinning house tunes who also carries a gun in case the wild beasts get out of hand. Holy shit, please be real....