no Page 6277 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em
When we first saw this, we thought it was an Onion headline. But no, it's for real; Fifa Urges Mexico Coach To Try Nicotine Patch. Ha. Evidently FIFA is a bit miffed that Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe lit up a couple of Camels on the sideline during Mexico's 3-1 win over Iran in the World Cup. That's...

We Have To Ask ...
Suggested questions for today's ESPN SportsNation chatters ... • 1 p.m. Cold Pizza's Skip Bayless: Your barber swears that the birthmark he found on your scalp reads "999," but we know better, right Skip? • 4 p.m. NFL with Pro Football Weekly: Just as a precaution: Should I wear a helmet during this...

Live Blog: France Vs. Switzerland
One of our favorite essays in the new "Thinking Fan's Guide To The World Cup" is the one about England from Nick Hornby. He writes about how difficult is him to root for England in the World Cup, considering that his favorite team, Arsenal, has so many French players. We understand this completely; ...

Your Big Ben Morning Roundup
As we revisit the circumstances of Ben Roethlisberger's accident from yesterday, before we talk about Big Ben himself, we feel obliged to mention: Boy, Charlie Batch sure made it to the hospital awfully fast! Certainly it was somewhat unseemly for Batch to have shown up so quickly? Was Roethlisber...

JJ Redick ... DUI. Seriously.
Not to pile on here, but we'd say the odds are pretty good this is going to make him cry....

The Closer: Jose Contreras Will Rock Your World
Notes from a day in baseball:...

Hirshey: We Waited Four Years For THIS?
David Hirshey's World Cup Closer begins today. Enjoy....

Live Blog: Korea Republic Vs. Togo
As you would probably expect, it's not good when your coach leaves the team immediately before the biggest three matches of your life. Of course, it's also not good when your team is Togo, so there's that....

About Last Night ...
What you missed while furiously scrubbing red-white-and-blue paint off of your face ... • NHL Playofs: Hurricane Recchi puts Carolina one step from Stanley Cup. • World Cup: George and Yortuk Festrunk, the two wild and crazy guys, feel a bulge in their tight American pants at this result: Czech Repu...

Picking Through The U.S. Carnage
One of the funnier bits "The Daily Show" has done of late was to run training video of late terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi set to the "American Idol" song "Bad Day," which was always played when a contestant was voted off the show. It somehow summed up so many conflicted and complicated wor...

To Watch Tonight
What to watch as you can't remember which beer can was shaken vigorously and which wasn't ... • College baseball: NCAA Division I super regionals, Game 3, Sites and teams TBA. Yeah, see, that's not really much help. [ESPN] • Stanley Cup finals, Game 4, Carolina at Edmonton. The Oil vs. Water series ...

How To Brainwash Your Baby Early
From the folks at Thrillist comes a truly mortifying discovery: Team Baby Entertainment, DVDs designed to brainwash your otherwise sensible and emotionally curious child into a life of violent confrontion, xenophobic geographic loyalties and face-painting....

Leftovers: For The Sports Fan Who Has Nothing
• Hey, look, it's ESPN Monopoly! [BoardGames.com] • It has been 12 years, today, since O.J. Simpson killed those people. [The Hater Nation] • Should they do something about ground rule doubles? [Walk Of Balk] • Apparently, there's absolutely no steroid problem in the NHL. [TSN] • Charity prom event ...

One Last Word On Grimsley ... For Now
Well, it's been a fun weekend around these parts, with our sudden popularity on Kansas City talk radio and our father's concerned, confused "The man on the radio says you said Albert Pujols did steroids. Did you say that, Will?" (No, Dad, we didn't. What did we tell you about sports talk radio, Dad?...

Live Blog: Italy-Ghana
All right, we wrap up a rollicking day of live-blogging — a TRIPLEHEADER, as they sometimes say — with that time honored international rivalry: Italy vs. Ghana. What can we tell you about this game? Well, Roberto Benigni will most certainly not be playing....

Just A Reminder That Salsa And Chess Do Not Mix
If you know anything about us, you know that we love a good chess brawl. And the more sex and international intrigue thrown in, the better. So come with us now as we recount a story that is a few days old, actually, but one we cannot ignore, because hey, it's chess! Our players are British grandma...

Listen To Willie: Beware Blasting Caps, Kids!
The fine folks at Zembla have uncovered a rather hilarious old public service annoucement from Willie Mays back in the '60s, where he warns all the kids about the dangers of ... blasting caps....

Saying Goodbye To Rick Ankiel, Once Again
With all the activity in the world of our St. Louis Cardinals over the last week, one story slipped through the cracks a bit: Terminally tortured "prospect" Rick Ankiel, who is now 26 years old and can hardly be classified a prospect anymore, underwent surgery on his left knee and will miss the re...

Blogdome: GOOOOALLLLLL! (Ew.)
• The most disturbing goal you'll see all week. And we warned you. [The Sports Pulse] • Eric Crouch, CFL Superstar! [Out Of Left Field] • Everyone forgets about the law when they talk about steroids. [Double Play Depth] • All the World Cup live blogging we didn't do over the weekend. [The National A...

Your Americanized World Cup FanFest
Reader Mike Gaydos — along with other Deadspin readers, whose reports we eagerly anticipate — is on site for us in Germany, specifically in Stuttgart, at the Stuttugart Fan Fest. Well, he was there Saturday, anyway, to watch the England-Paraguay game....