ukraine Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

UEFA Emergency Panel: Russian And Ukrainian Teams Can't Play Each Other
Part of the job of being a governing body for international competition is dealing with the occasional geopolitical nightmare, and deciding how to keep teams from two countries essentially at war from turning a game into a battle. UEFA is nipping that shit in the bud right now, before tomorrow's Cha...

What The Fuck Does This Thomas Friedman Hockey Metaphor Mean?
Thought leader Thomas Friedman of the New York Times has written a column about the Ukraine crisis, in which he argues, well, who knows. A good quarter of it is just an extended excerpt from a 16-year-old interview with George Kennan, who didn't think that committing to wage nuclear war on behalf of...

Ukrainian Outdoor Gyms Are The Best Outdoor Gyms
In his book Kachalka: Muscle Beach, photographer Kirill Golovchenko documents a famous, open-air gym outside of Kiev. More than 200 weight lifting stations, all improvised out of of scrap metal and spare car parts, stretch out over six square miles on the island of Tuhev. ...

Ukraine Team Stages Symbolic Protest At Sochi Paralympics
Amid rumors and questions over whether Ukraine would boycott the Sochi Paralympics after Russia's occupation of Crimea, the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee decided to participate, but not without acknowledging the situation....

IOC Rejects Ukrainian Olympians' Request To Honor Dead
At least 25 were killed and hundreds injured yesterday as Kiev protests flared into violence. With casualties on both sides, what could be more apolitical than Ukrainian Olympic athletes donning black armbands to honor the dead? It's not a protest, it's a commemoration—and it's too much of a stateme...

Terrible Hijacker Arrested Wearing Canadiens Sweater
On Friday, a Ukrainian man allegedly tried to hijack a plane headed for Turkey and redirect it to Sochi in hopes of securing the release of anti-government protesters imprisoned in his country. His attempt was foiled and, for some reason, he was wearing a Montreal Canadiens sweater when he was arres...

Vitali Klitschko Sprayed With Fire Extinguisher During Kiev Protests
What's Vitali Klitschko up to these days? The retired boxer was trying to keep the peace during protests in Kiev, Ukraine's capital, asking demonstrators not to provoke police. In return, someone sprayed a fire extinguisher in his face....

Jim Ross Calls Toppling Of Lenin Statue
Ukrainian protestors toppled a statue of Lenin in Kiev today. Here is wrestling legend Jim Ross calling that historic moment. How many other statues of Lenin remain in the world, anyway?...

France Make History To Qualify For The World Cup
After France lost to Ukraine on Friday in the first leg of their World Cup playoff 2-0, it seemed their hopes of traveling to Brazil were all but over. After all, no team had ever overcome a 2-0 deficit in the first leg of the playoffs to qualify for the sport's biggest tournament. To advance, Franc...

France Need A Miracle To Make The World Cup
France most likely will not qualify for the 2014 Brazil World Cup....


If You Are A Journalist, Ukraine's Soccer Coach Will Fight You
Ukraine head coach Oleg Blokhin, who's something of a soccer legend in Russia, really wanted to beat the shit out of some journalists today, after his squad lost 1-0 to England and was eliminated from Euro 2012. What made the day worse for Blokhin was that Ukraine appeared to score in the 63rd min...

At Euro 2012, No Place For English Optimism Or Swedish Sobriety
KIEV, Ukraine—The English did not come to Kiev in droves. According to a few of them who milled about before the match with Sweden, their countrymen stayed away for two reasons: 1) The fear of racism and violence, fueled by the BBC's sensationalist Stadiums of Hate documentary, and 2) an unflinching...

Ukraine Solves Its Alcoholic Bear Problem Just In Time For Euro 2012 (Also, Ukraine Had A Problem With Alcoholic Bears)
Some of you may not know this, but Ukraine has a bit of a problem with drunk bears. They call them "vodka bears" because they were given vodka and forced to dance as a means of entertainment at local hotels and restaurants. Last August, efforts were made to stop the practice, but now I guess they h...

From Ukraine With Love: 24 Racism-Free Hours At Euro 2012
KIEV & KHARKIV, Ukraine—The fast train from Kiev to Kharkiv takes four hours. I know this, although I am not on it. I want to be on it, but tickets are gone, sold weeks ago to assorted Germans and other more prepared fans traveling from the Ukrainian capital to the industrial city that lies 300 mile...

Some People Don't See The Humor In Bears Drinking Vodka For Human Entertainment
Per Reuters Life!, Ukraine's Environment Minister Mykola Zlochevsky told Interfax, "On television, they keep showing bears suffering in restaurants and roadside hotels. How long can we tolerate animal torture in restaurants where drunken guests make bears drink vodka for laughs?"...

Goalkeeper Misses The Ball, Knees Opposing Player Directly In The Face
In Ukranian professional soccer action on Sunday, Volyn keeper Vitaliy Nedilko tried to collect a loose ball and instead collided directly with Luiz Adriano's face. To those who say soccer isn't a contact sport: it is when player's noses are crushed inside their faces, okay? Adriano's squad, Shakh...

Live Blog: Italy Vs. Ukraine
It's still hard to believe that the United States tied a team that's one game away from the semifinals. We think maybe the Italians should be disqualified on that indignity alone....

Live Blog: Switzerland Vs. Ukraine
It's funny: We go out there and look for wacky or suggestive fan photos for each nation involved in a World Cup live blog around here, and this is the third Switzerland game already. And you know what? We haven't been able to find a single picture of a Switzerland fan that didn't make him/her look l...

Live Blog: Ukraine Vs. Tunisia
This one's a potentially pivotal game; Ukraine is into the second round with a win, but Tunisia could end up in the same boat. A win could push them in as well, assuming Saudi Arabia doesn't shock Spain. But Ukraine has to be happy to be here; remember, they were hammered 4-0 in the first round....