football

Eritrean Team Seeks Asylum in Kenya

Dec 18, 2009
You know things are bad when your national soccer team flees the country. That's what happened to Eritrea, whose national team absconded while in Kenya for a regional soccer tournament. The athletes later reappeared in the capital city of Nairobi, seeking asylum.
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Michael Vick’s Long, Strange Detour

Sep 27, 2009
After doing prison time for dog fighting, he played Sunday in his first regular-season game in almost three years. But his re-emergence in the NFL has revived questions that arose when the scandal broke. And for one journalist, the issue was personal.His return as a fully reinstated NFL player has revived questions that arose when the dog-fighting scandal broke.

Iran’s Soccer Censorship

Sep 20, 2009
As protests in Iran continue, the extent to which the government will go to silence dissent has sunk to even further depths of ridiculousness. Protesters at a Tehran soccer match chanted and waved green banners, to which government censors responded by delaying the telecast of the game and editing out the crowd noise and close-ups.

NFL Players Give Away Their Brains

Sep 14, 2009
Recent autopsies on the brains of former football players showed that concussions cause a lot more brain damage than previously suspected. To contribute to a better understanding of the problem, three current and 40 retired NFL players have agreed to donate their brains to a program at Boston University.

Plaxico Burress Heads to the Slammer

Aug 20, 2009
Not two years ago, NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress was on top of his game, helping the New York Giants win Super Bowl XLII in a surprise victory over the New England Patriots. On Thursday, he was on his way to jail for two years after pleading guilty in a felony weapons case.

S. African Strike Threatens World Cup

Jul 8, 2009
Talk about a trump card. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is set to be a momentous occasion for the country to show itself off to the world. But a strike by 70,000 construction workers demanding pay increases has halted work on the stadiums being built for the tournament.

North Korea Qualifies for 2010 World Cup

Jun 19, 2009
After an uninspiring scoreless draw with fellow autocratic state Saudi Arabia, it seems that North Korea's football (soccer) team has managed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The qualification raises the possibility of a cup confrontation with South Korea -- or even the U.S. -- next summer.

AIG: From Riches to Rags

Jun 3, 2009
It looks like the $150 billion bailout of AIG included everything but advertising funds. After four years of the insurance giant's logo gracing the jerseys of one of the world's most famous soccer teams, troubled economic times are bumping the iconic symbol in favor of a new sponsor.

NFL Players Risk More Than Broken Bones

Jan 29, 2009
Scientists have made new discoveries about the traumatic head injuries sustained by football players, including Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who will play in the Super Bowl this Sunday. Just one concussion can lead to dementia-like symptoms years later and multiple incidents can bring about severe brain damage and perhaps even drug addiction or suicide.