the Page 723 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Netherlands Take Early 2-0 Lead Over Brazil
For a team whose coach wanted absolutely nothing to do with this glorified exhibition match, the Dutch have come out firing. A streaking Robben earned an early penalty in the second minute when Thiago Silva yanked his shoulder as he galloped toward the goal. Robin van Persie confidently hit the top ...

The World Cup's Third-Place Game Is A Goddamned Disgrace To Soccer
When Spain were dealt an embarrassing group stage exit a jet was chartered to fly their players back to Madrid as soon as a flight path could be cleared. Just a matter of hours after their final game against Australia, the Spanish squad was at São Paulo International Airport, perusing the Duty Free ...

Blocked Dutch Penalty Almost Trickles In While Goalkeeper Celebrates
Oh man. Oh man, oh man, oh man. This would have been such a ridiculous thing. Sergio Romero made two saves in Argentina's win over the Netherlands and this is the first one, on the day's first attempt, from Ron Vlaar. In this video first flagged by Slate, we see another angle that shows Romero ma...

ESPN: Where Casual Fridays Extend To On-Air Talent
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Brazilians Are Using Social Media In The Fight To Save Their Favelas
From Dave Zirin's newest book, Brazil's Dance with the Devil: The World Cup the Olympics and the Fight for Democracy, available now....

Prince Fielder's Naked <em>ESPN</em> Cover Is Sexy As Hell
One of the most beloved tropes in sports lore is the Triumph of the Unexpected Body. When I think about those stories, I think about cheering on Muggsy Bogues from my friend's living room when I was eight or nine. I knew nothing about basketball, but seeing that small man dart around the court alo...

How The World's Best Player Finally Won Over His Home Country
If there was one defining moment to memorialize what might be the tournament that solidifies Lionel Messi's place as the greatest soccer player of all time, it was the few seconds after he scored the game-winning goal in Argentina's first group stage match. The shot itself was a sign of what was t...

And Now, ESPN's Interview With A Dark Sith Lord
Send stories, photos, and anything else you might have to [email protected]....


Harper Lee: Roll Tide!
Harper Lee, author of one of the most popular American novels ever written, was famous for not granting interviews. But Marja Mills, a former reporter and feature writer for the Chicago Tribune, became friendly with Lee and her sister, Alice Finch Lee, and was permitted to write about them. Mills's ...

Argentina's Javier Mascherano Says He Tore His Anus Against The Dutch
Javier Mascherano did not have a pleasant Wednesday. In Argentina's match against the Netherlands, not only did Mascherano take a hit to the head, but he says he suffered another painful injury while defending a shot by Arjen Robben....

Great Ape: <em>Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes</em>, Reviewed
Three years ago, expectations for Rise of the Planet of the Apes were understandably low. The director (Rupert Wyatt) wasn't well-known, a lot of people despised the film's star (James Franco) for his Renaissance Man routine, and we all remembered how terrible Tim Burton's 2001 Planet of the Apes...

Cruise Control: The Loopy Terror Of <em>Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol</em>
Tom Cruise is not like us. This was always pretty evident, but as recently detailed in this great Amy Nicholson L.A. Weekly story, it became inescapable fact around 2005, when he jumped on Oprah Winfrey's couch. That story is full of convincing evidence that the whole couch episode didn't happen t...

All The Internet Clues That Point To LeBron Going To Cleveland
Though LeBron James has remained totally silent about his free agency plans, the tea leaves are there, if you're desperate and crazy enough to read them. ...

Bill Hillmann: I Got Gored By A Fucking Bull
On Wednesday, Bill Hillmann was gored while running with the bulls in Pamplona. A journalist, novelist, and former boxer, Bill and I have known each other since our time at Columbia College Chicago, where even then he was recognized for his frontline reportage, some of which has since appeared aro...


Argentine Player Hit In The Head, Stumbles And Falls, Stays In The Game
Argentina's Javier Mascherano couldn't even stand up after clashing heads with a Dutch player. He was taken off the pitch for only a couple moments—concussion protocol!—before returning. ...

Your Netherlands-Argentina Open Thread
Huh, the World Cup actually didn't end yesterday. Let's hope for more fireworks now....

Do We Believe The Netherlands Yet?
Louis van Gaal is as arrogant as they come. In this World Cup—as has been the case throughout most of van Gaal's career—the results have followed suit....

World Cup Cuisine
George Zisiadis imagines the World Cup as a series of food mash-ups....