2010 World Cup

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World Cup Starts With a Bang
 World Cup Starts 
 With a Bang 
Jun 11, 2010 12:39 PM CDT

World Cup Starts With a Bang

Mexico, South Africa open tournament with 1-1 tie

(Newser) - Soccer's big moment has arrived: The World Cup opened today in South Africa with much pomp: a star-studded opening ceremony, followed by a 1-1 tie in the opening match between the host country and Mexico. AP has details on the game here . The US plays its first game 2:30pm...

World Cup 'Vulture Smoking' Theatens Rare Birds

Gamblers smoke birds' brains; bird lovers sqawk

(Newser) - As the World Cup gets underway in South Africa, scientists are betting that one of the biggest losers in the soccer championship will be the endangered vulture. In South African traditional medicine called muti, vulture brains are dried, ground up, and smoked as cigarettes to give users what they believe...

World Cup Refs Learn English Swear Words

They want to be prepared for Wayne Rooney

(Newser) - The referees for Saturday’s US/England World Cup match have specifically brushed up on English profanity in an effort to crack down on foul language. In a move sure to terrify Wayne Rooney, Brazilian referee Carlos Eugenio Simon has had his team memorize 20 curse words. “We can’t...

South Africa Fans Pin Hopes on World Cup Witchcraft

A bit of magic could boost Befana Befana

(Newser) - A bit of magic just might boost South Africa's chances in the World Cup. That's what practioners of muti—a Zulu word referring to traditional medicine and witchcraft—are hoping as they brew concoctions of plants and animal parts in a bid to help the second-lowest-ranked team in the competition,...

Zuma Sex Scandal Spices up World Cup

One of Zuma's wives 'pregnant by bodyguard'

(Newser) - With the biggest sporting event in South African history just days away, it'd take a pretty big scandal to knock the World Cup off the country's front pages—and the country's press has delivered. One of the three wives of polygamous president Jacob Zuma's is pregnant by one of her...

Fan Stampede Mars Pre-World Cup Match

At least 15 injured just 5 days before tournament begins

(Newser) - Fans stampeded outside the gates of a stadium playing host to a World Cup warmup match today near Johannesburg, injuring at least 15. A police officer was seriously hurt as violence marred the countdown to the first African World Cup, which begins Friday. " He was crushed by the gates...

Sex Workers Hustle to Greet Soccer Fans

South Africa expects influx of 40K prostitutes

(Newser) - Prostitutes from around the world are making their way to South Africa hoping to make a fortune from frisky soccer fans at next month's World Cup. Authorities predict 40,000 sex workers will arrive to greet 500,000 foreign fans. Most are coming from South Africa's impoverished neighboring countries, although...

Zuma Scrambles to Defuse Racial Tensions

S. Africa leader warns against violence after killing

(Newser) - South African President Jacob Zuma appealed for calm yesterday as growing racial tensions in South Africa sparked fears of violence in the wake of the killing of white supremacist Eugene Terreblanche. Zuma called the murder a "terrible deed" and urged South Africans not to fall prey to "agent...

David Beckham Hurt, Will Miss World Cup
 David Beckham Hurt, 
 Will Miss World Cup 
UPDATED
Mar 15, 2010 5:00 AM CDT

David Beckham Hurt, Will Miss World Cup

UK superstar ruptures Achilles tendon while playing for AC Milan

(Newser) - David Beckham ruptured his left Achilles tendon in an AC Milan match last night, derailing his dream of becoming the first soccer player to compete in four World Cups. The UK superstar, who also plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy, will undergo surgery in Finland this week. Beckham, 34, was...

South Africa Seeks a Billion Condoms for World Cup

Authorities fear major spike in HIV/AIDS

(Newser) - Britain has pledged to supply 42 million condoms in response to South Africa's hunt for a massive billion condoms to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS during this summer's World Cup. Authorities fear a spike in visitor sex and some 40,000 prostitutes expected to travel to Johannesburg to...

Sex Scandal Costs British Soccer Star His Captaincy

John Terry had affair with teammate's galpal, then covered it up

(Newser) - Just months before the World Cup, the captain of England’s national soccer team was stripped of the role over a seamy sex scandal. John Terry, 29 and married, had an affair with a teammate’s girlfriend—even paying for an abortion—and then tried through lawyers and, reportedly, hush...

Soccer Star Shot in Mexican Bar
 Soccer Star Shot in Mexican Bar 
Jan 26, 2010 1:21 AM CST

Soccer Star Shot in Mexican Bar

Salvador Cabanas, about to quit Mexican team, fights for life

(Newser) - One of Latin America's leading goal-scorers is fighting for his life after being shot in the head in a Mexico City bar in an attack that may be linked to his role as an athlete. Salvador Cabanas, a striker with Mexican team Club America who was expected to play a...

Tiger, Thierry, Roger Screw Up Gillette Campaign
Tiger, Thierry, Roger
Screw Up Gillette Campaign
dream team no more
Dec 11, 2009 10:20 AM CST

Tiger, Thierry, Roger Screw Up Gillette Campaign

Endorsement dream team turns into a nightmare

(Newser) - The dream team Gillette assembled for its sports marketing campaign is starting to look like a nightmare. The roster: Roger Federer, Thierry Henry and Tiger Woods. Ouch. Every one of those international superstars has been embroiled in recent controversy; Federer for his outburst at the US Open, Henry for the...

US Gets England in First Round
 US Gets England in First Round  
2010 WORLD CUP DRAW
Dec 4, 2009 6:38 PM CST

US Gets England in First Round

Brazil, meanwhile, lands with Portugal in Group of Death

(Newser) - The US team was among the squads getting a favorable draw for next year’s soccer World Cup in South Africa, landing in a four-team group where it and England are the top sides. The top two teams advance from each of eight groups; while the Americans will be expected...

Furious, Irish Beg France for Rematch Over Handball
Furious, Irish Beg France for Rematch Over Handball
HAND OF GOD II
Nov 19, 2009 8:06 PM CST

Furious, Irish Beg France for Rematch Over Handball

President will even take matter up with Sarkozy

(Newser) - From the president on down, the Republic of Ireland is in a rage after the national soccer team was denied a spot in next year’s World Cup in a defeat by France—which got the winning goal as a direct benefit of an uncalled handball. Not only is the...

Wife: Depression Ate German Keeper

Enke feared he'd lose adopted daughter before train suicide

(Newser) - The German soccer star who committed suicide yesterday by jumping in front of a train had battled depression for years, his wife said today, with Robert Enke fearing he could lose his newly adopted daughter because of his condition. “We thought we could cope with everything. We thought that...

Germany's Keeper Dies in Train Suicide

Robert Enke, 32, stepped in front of speeding train

(Newser) - German soccer fans are stunned tonight over news that the man likely to be the national team’s goalkeeper at next summer’s World Cup committed suicide today by stepping in front of a train traveling 100 mph. Robert Enke, 32, had been “unstable” recently, the president of his...

US Soccer Star Hospitalized in Fatal Car Crash

Charlie Davies sustains multiple fractures, another passenger dead

(Newser) - Charlie Davies, a starting forward on the US national soccer team, broke several bones and sustained a lacerated bladder in a car crash yesterday that killed another passenger. The driver, who was not identified, swerved into a guardrail outside of Washington, leaving the car "pretty much split in half,...

S. African Gets Life in Rape, Killing of Lesbian Soccer Star

Lesbians targeted by rapists who aim to 'correct' them, say activists

(Newser) - A South African man has been sentenced to life for his part in the gang-rape and murder of one of the country's leading female soccer players, the Independent reports. Eudy Simelane, 31, who played for the national team, was raped repeatedly and stabbed 12 times before being dumped in a...

S. African World Cup Laborers End Strike

Workers building new stadiums negotiate 12% pay raise

(Newser) - South African construction workers tasked with building facilities for the 2010 World Cup today called off their week-long strike after 15 hours, clearing a major obstacle in the country’s preparations to host to the world’s most watched sports competition, AFP reports. Construction firms agreed to give the roughly...

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