i Page 8050 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Smiles, Everyone! Smiles!
As we mentioned Tuesday, FIFA president Sepp Bladder wants to get Marco Materazzi and Zinedine Zidane together on an island for a final reconcilliation concerning the infamous World Cup head-butting incident. But after a full 24 hours of being mocked by the British tabloids, this crackpot scheme may...

The Dance, She Is Over
Something seems amiss today. We can't quite put our finger on it ... a great disturbance in The Force, like a million baseball fans crying out at once. So we did what we always do when world events confuse us; we headed over to Wikipedia. And sure enough:...

We Have To Ask ...
Suggested questions for today's ESPN SportsNation chatters ... • 3 p.m. NCAA football with Beano Cook: Yeah, those things on the helmets are called facemasks. We think they may catch on. • 4 p.m. Page 2's Scoop Jackson: So we're guessing at this point the nickname has something to do with ice cream?...

It's Like Tonya Harding, But Less Manly
It must be frustrating to be a backup punter. Most football players don't even consider the starting punter a real part of the team; the backup punter might as well be the waterboy. It must cause all kinds of anger and frustration, but you're a punter, so you can't express it. Lots of repressed rage...

They Might Want To Think About Whether Or Not They Should Rehire That Ref
So you might have heard about the ballboy who scores a goal for his soccer team and the refs inexplicably count it, but until you've actually seen it, you can't really appreciate the ludicrousness of it....

Being Brad Lidge
We are accustomed, in sports, to one moment changing everything; it's probably the main reason we watch. But it's forever fascinating to see how one moment can affect a human being, morphing them from a dominant force of nature to a scared boy in big pants, alone out there. These moments can't make ...

The Closer: Making Headlines The Royals Way
Notes from a day in baseball:...

About Last Night ...
What you missed while inquiring about the Holy Grail ... • MLB: Six errors? No problem! We're the Cubs! • Soccer: FC Barcelona clobbers Levski Sofia of Bulgaria 5-0, as ... um, we lost you at "soccer," didn't we? • Women's World Basketball Championship: Feel our wrath, China! Now manufacture us some...

Chad Johnson Is A Chicken Dance Maestro
As many have pointed out before, the vast majority of hardcore NFL fans have never attended an actual game in person. Factors include the rarity of games, the high ticket expense and the fear that someone in a dog mask will steal your wheelchair....

To Watch Tonight
What to watch as it is revealed that Lance Armstrong actually cheated by using Flubber ... • Basketball: World Championship for Women, preliminary round, USA vs. China, at Sao Paolo, Brazil. Same-day tape ... Internet users, please do not reveal the shocking conclusion of the USA vs. China game. [F...

Dr. Z Hangs Out With Swimsuit Models
We know, we know: The unconditional love for SI scribe Rick Reilly's "Riffs Of Reilly" segment — sample comedic genius moment: "USC's quarterback is John David Booty and Texas' is Colt McCoy. Hey, weren't both those guys on 'Gunsmoke?'" Oh, Rick, you slay us! — makes you think that SI.com must be so...

Leftovers: From Favre To Koren
• Welcome to Green Bay, Mr. Robinson. There is fortunately no booze in Wisconsin. [10,000 Takes] • Those Gators sure do get hungry! [Florida Today] • After Week 1, which franchise seems the most obviously doomed? [Fortress Of Pillows] • The YWML T-shirt hits Mississippi and SEC football! [ClayNation...

Reynolds Says He Sees, Hears, Hugs, Knows Nothing
So, we haven't heard from good ole Harold Reynolds in a while. What's he been up to? Well, according to an interview he gave with XM Radio's Charlie Steiner — speaking of people we haven't heard from in a while — he's been waiting for an upcoming meeting with ESPN at the end of the month. (Thanks to...

How In The World Do They Make A Movie Of "Moneyball?"
In what seemed more inevitable two years ago than it necessarily does now, screenwriters are hard at work on making a movie out of Moneyball. While some of the main characters — Jeremy Brown, Scott Hatteberg, Chad Bradford — have faded in time, there's still that plumb role of Billy Beane to account...

Everybody Needs Some Tailgating Backup
We know those who use wheelchairs are capable of doing just about anything that those who can stand and walk can do; we suspect some of you are doing that very thing right now. Unless you're trying to get to the upper deck of RFK Stadium, nothing should stand in your way as a sports fan....

How To Get Fake Lost At Yankee Stadium
Of all the amusements at a baseball game, few things tickle our proverbial fancy more than The Guy Who Can't Find His Seat. He's always carrying a hot dog, or more beverages than he can handle, and he's got that clueless look of the guy who has never been to a game and is just waiting for someone to...

And Somewhere, Fred Smoot Sheds A Tear
The country is England, the sport is "Conger Cuddling," and the athlete pictured here is pointing his ... wait a minute ... no! His eel! He's preparing to toss an eel! You people are disgusting sometimes....

Blogdome: Erasing The Shapiro Era?
• Could there be all kinds of changes afoot at ESPN? [The Big Lead] • Not the easiest time to be a Packers fan. [green-n-gold] • Tom Coughlin didn't do his team any favors the other night. [The Waco Chronicles] • Redskins fans are, uh, a little concerned. [No One Appreciates Me] • Hey, Peyton Mannin...

Failure To Launch
In these troubled times in which we live, we believe that it's good to feed the soul occasionally with some inspiring words from a true American. Such a man is Texas Longhorns fan and sometimes actor Matthew McConaughey. Let us never forget his fiery speech from last week, leading up to the Texas-Oh...

The Glamorous World Of Sports Journalism
The guy on the right here is Tony Jackson, the Dodgers beat writer for the Los Angeles Daily News, napping in the Shea Stadium dugout before a weekend game. And this is what happens when a beat reporter has to face the deadly triumvirate of:...