screamer Page 185 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Romário: The Hustler From Brazil's <i>Favelas</i>
From Eduardo Galeano's classic, now available as an ebook. We'll have excerpts throughout the week....

Here's Fred's Dive In The Box To Give Brazil The Lead
Yea, that's not a penalty. ...

What's Up With That Spray The Referee Used On Brazil's Free Kick?
On Brazil's free kick toward the end of the first half, World Cup viewers got their first look at one of this tournament's new wrinkles: A can of vanishing spray used by referees to mark off the distance defenders must stand from the ball....

Brazil Equalize Opening World Cup Match With Neymar Squeaker
Who else but Neymar? Amidst midfield congestion, the World Cup's most heavily-hyped player delivered with a perfectly-placed, if not exactly solidly-struck, shot. Here's how it sounded on Brazil's Rede Globo:...

Brazil Score First Goal Of World Cup—In Their Own Goal
This certainly isn't how Brazil planned to start things off. Croatia took a 1-0 lead 11 minutes into the match when Marcelo knocked the ball into his own goal....

The Crappy Manaus Pitch Is Being Spray-Painted Green
The turf at Manaus's Arena Amazonia is still going to be shit for Saturday's England-Italy match. It's going to be sandy and uneven and third-rate. But worry not: It's going to look great on TV. Today, workers laid down green spray paint to cover the brown parts....

Why Your World Cup Stadium Sucks: Arena Amazonia, Manaus
This is Arena Amazonia, nestled in the Amazon rainforest in Manaus, Brazil. It is the worst....

Paraplegic In Robotic Exoskeleton Performs World Cup First Kick
OK, so after all the hype about the mind-controlled exoskeleton performing the first kick in the World Cup, it turned out to be kind of disappointing. (The opening ceremony broadcast only showed a few seconds of it, seen above.) But still, a paralyzed man controlling a robot suit with his mind kicke...

Brazil-Croatia: An Early Trap Game For The Hosts?
Let's stop ourselves for a second. A Brazilian coronation is the most likely outcome. Those masters of the universe over at Goldman Sachs say so. And they're never wrong. But what if, for just a moment, we think skeptically about this opening match of the World Cup 2014?...

Everything You Need To Know About Every World Cup Team
Here's your full World Cup preview hub, where you can find our breakdowns for all 32 teams throughout the tournament. ...

World Cup Group H Preview: A Dark Horse, A Couple Mules, And A Goat
Here's your Group G hub and open thread where you'll find our previews and predictions....

How Russia Evolved Into One Of The World Cup's Most Dangerous Teams
Russia's march to Brazil began at the Euro 2012 tournament in Poland/Ukraine. The Russians, led by Dutch manager Dick Advocaat captured the attention of Europe with a comprehensive 4-1 thrashing of the Czech Republic in their opening game. The free-flowing, explosive Russian attack, a product of Ad...

The Brilliance And Madness Of Dutch Wizard Johan Cruyff
From Eduardo Galeano's classic, now available as an ebook. We'll have excerpts throughout the week....

Hey, At Least Getting Bashed In Group Play Won't Break Algeria's Heart
Algerians, like many former French colonies, are used to watching some of their most promising potential internationals playing for the old rulers. Algerian fans will probably cheer Karim Benzema due to the French-born striker's Algerian heritage. They might also rue, or maybe sardonically snicker a...

What FIFA Gets Right About Nationality
In April, Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj finally picked his country. The oddsmakers were right, and he selected Belgium over a palette of other national shirts: Albania, Serbia, and Kosovo (through his parents), Turkey (through his grandparents), and, if you asked the English, maybe even...

This Technicolor Footage Of The 1966 World Cup Is Incredible
This essay appears in the new issue of Howler...

Three Days Out, The World Cup Stadium In Manaus Is A Disaster
That photo up there is from Arena Amazonia in Manaus. The turf is patchy, sandy, and as acknowledged by the groundskeeper, in no way ready to host soccer, let alone a World Cup match. Too bad, because the crucial opener between England and Italy is on Saturday....

The Hater’s Guide To The 2014 World Cup
Soccer! Football! The Beautiful Game! OL’ NETTY! Yes, it’s time again for 31 contending nations (plus England) to gather together for the World Cup. Now, soccer people (very much to be confused with pod people) will remind you that the World Cup is the most popular sporting event in the world. ...