Order for football player in Bulgaria - get married or you're out

Bulgarian premier league side Litex Lovech have ordered striker Ivelin Popov to get married in the coming year in the hope that it curtail his wild living.

"I accept the order and I promise to do it," said Popov who is a key member of Bulgaria's under-21 squad. "My bosses are right to want such a thing from me because they know my temper."

Ivelin Popov


Litex Lovech

Popov, a Levski Sofia trainee who turned 19 this week, had an unsuccessful spell at Dutch club Feyenoord before joining Litex last year.

He is known for his countless girlfriends and volatile temper and upset the Litex fans on Friday when he made a gesture towards them after scoring in a 2-1 victory over Rodopa Smolyan.

Popov

However, he is promising to curb his volatile temperament and settle down with his current girlfriend.

"She's very nice and very smart. I think this will be the woman of my life, so don't remind me my past, please."

Coach Ljupko Petrovic

"They want me thinking only about football and the marriage probably will help me to calm down.

"I know I'm a very bad boy and I want to meet my 20th birthday as a married man."

Litex, coached by Ljupko Petrovic, who won European Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991, are third in the domestic league with 23 points from 11 matches, six behind leaders Levski Sofia.

Javelin blooper

Her only thought was, how long will it go.
Unfortunately, she fell.

Why waste money on World Series ticket, when you can use 4-foot stilts

Throngs of people, most with tickets but hundreds without, converged on Comerica Park on Saturday night, eager to watch the Tigers' first World Series game in 22 years.
Ticket holders rushed to their seats when the gates opened, while others staked out spots around the stadium to catch a glimpse. From his spot on stilts, 29-year-old Brian Harpster said he could see the outfield, the pitching and any balls hit in play, though he couldn't see the batters.



He stuck with nonalcoholic beer to keep his balance.

"I think after this, it's going to be a whole new thing," friend Brooks Rodriguez said. "He's a pioneer."

Detroit lost Game 1 to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2.

Other ticketless outsiders like 46-year-old Patty Minch and her sister-in-law, 49-year-old Cheryl Darnell found a spot between two minivans in a parking garage behind the popular Elwood Bar and Grill across from the stadium.

Brian Harpster

"It's the best one we could get for not having any tickets," Minch said, laughing.

Minch and Darnell said they could see everything but third base and the outfield.

Inside the stadium, the views also varied widely.

Perched in a seat in the last row of the upper deck known as the skyline, Chris Schrader, 21, of Baltimore, could see the top of the left field foul pole in front of him but relied on the auxiliary scoreboard and the announcer to help keep up with the action since he couldn't see the main outfield scoreboard.

"It's not bad, you get a nice little breeze from the back."



"Ford Field is right there, if I get bored I can just look over my shoulder," he added, referring to the home of the Detroit Lions, where a high school football game was being played Saturday night.

But fans don't necessarily need an assigned seat to be inside the park. The team also sells standing-room-only tickets.

"I'm grateful to be here, whether we're standing or sitting on the bridge," said 39-year-old Marie Opalewski. She and her friends were sitting in one of the park's standing-room-only sections on bleachers resembling what you might find at a local recreation softball diamond. The view from the section can be improved by standing up and leaning against the railing to look down on the outfield.

Australian was first in a race to the top of Taipei 101, world's tallest skyscraper

Australian Paul Crake was the fastest man up the world's best tallest building on Sunday in a successful defence of his Taipei 101 title, organisers said.

Thirty-one-year-old Crake, five-time winner of the Empire State Building run from 1999-2003, finished Sunday's race in 10 minutes 31 seconds to take 200,000 Taiwan dollars.

In the women's event, 27-year-old Austrian Andrea Mayr won in 13 minutes 28 seconds to also take home 200,000 dollars.

Mayr, the 2004-2006 winner of the Empire State Building run, beat 24 other women to the top.

Paul Crake

Competitors run up 91 floors or 2,046 steps at Taipei 101 which is 390 metres more than the Empire State Building's 86 floors and 1,576 steps.

508-metre-high Taipei 101, which cost 58 billion Taiwan dollars to build, was opened in December 2004.

Thomas Dold from Germany, the 2005 Empire State Building race winner, came second at 11 minutes 16 seconds. Rudolf Reitherger from Austria finished third in 11 minutes 53 seconds.

In the women's race, Lee Hsiao-yu of Taiwan came second in 14 minutes, 51 seconds, beating 37-year-old New Zealander Melissa Moon on 14 minutes 52 seconds.

Another 2,000 people took part in the so-called "self-challenging" race.

Sumo wrestler uses his beard against oponents

Georgian sumo wrestler has been ordered to shave off his beard after opponents complained it was too prickly and spectators grumbled with displeasure.

Kokkai

Kokkai's week-old stubble gave him an unusual edge in practice, prompting his sumo stable-master to take the unusual step of making him shave, Japanese newspapers said on Sunday.

Kokkai's match

"Everyone was saying it hurts," rival Musoyama laughed after getting up close and personal with Kokkai. "The bristles are very hard and prickly. It hurts."

Kokkai's beard

Murmurs of disapproval could be heard from sumo fans when Kokkai appeared for training on the sport's provincial tour but the 170-kilogram Georgian insisted he was no scruff.

Musoyama

"My skin is very sensitive," said Kokkai, who had grown a full beard in a week. "That's why it's difficult to shave everyday."

R.I.P. as a lifelong fan of your beloved baseball team

Baseball fanatics won't have to leave behind their beloved teams when they finally go to that big stadium in the sky. Instead, they'll soon be able to rest in peace inside an urn with team colors and insignia.

Major League Baseball has a marketing deal with a company called Eternal Image. It'll put team logos on caskets and urns. The effort begins next season with the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies, Cubs and Dodgers. It could eventually include all 30 teams.

Each urn will be stamped with a message saying Major League Baseball officially recognizes the deceased as a lifelong fan of that team.

After starting with baseball, Eternal Image hopes to branch out by making similar deals with the NFL, the NHL and NASCAR.
"We have been receiving these requests either directly or through our clubs for several years," said Susan Goodenow, an MLB spokeswoman. "Passionate fans express their love of their team in a number of different ways."

The National Funeral Directors Association is meeting in Philadelphia this week and giving its members a sneak peak of what the urns will look like. Eternal Image says urns for the six teams should be available by Opening Day 2007, and caskets for those teams should be ready later in the year. The products have not been made yet and the exact cost has not been set.

Kurt Soffe, a spokesman for the funeral association, said the MLB caskets are part of a trend of trying to capture "the life and the passions of the person that has passed away." At this year's convention, for instance, there was a Harley Davidson-themed casket and one featuring Betty Boop.

"More and more families are wanting to have something that respects the personalities," said Soffe.



Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Eternal Image, which also makes a line of
Vatican-themed products, "wanted to break into a sports venue of some kind," said Clint Mytych, the company's CEO. "It is the all-American sport."

He said he has gotten at least 1,000 inquiries since June.

Phillies urn was the first of the MLB products to be designed. Each urn will feature recognition of the deceased's passionate support, stamped with a message that says "Major League Baseball officially recognizes (person's name) as a lifelong fan of (team)."
League and manufacturer directors are trying to fill a need with the products. But they acknowledge that the sales will have to be done with respect, like all transactions in the sensitive world of funerals and burials.

David Griffin, funeral director at L.J. Griffin Funeral Home in suburban Detroit, said fans in many blue-collar cities have undying loyalty to their teams, which could make the MLB caskets and urns a hot commodity.

"Looking at it as a consumer, I was thinking this is some pretty interesting, unique stuff," said Griffin.

Nevertheless, companies will have to be very careful so as not to offend their clients, many of whom will surely be scared off by the idea.

"They are a little bit hesitant because of what others might think," Soffe said.

Manufacturer also will have to make sure the products aren't too expensive. People who opt for cremation, for example, often do so partly because it is cheaper.

"I guess it's going to be interesting to see how it's accepted," said Griffin.

Tonight event Mike Tyson vs. women

Mike Tyson is preparing to return to the ring, and the 40-year-old boxer said he's not ruling out sparring with a woman.
Fighter is launching the "Mike Tyson World Tour" in Youngstown, Ohio, on Friday with a fight against former sparring partner Corey "T-Rex" Sanders.



At a news conference Monday, Tyson said future stops on the tour might include bouts with women, possibly professional boxer Ann Wolfe.

Wolfe hails from Waco, Texas, and has a record of 21-and-one with 15 knockouts.

Ann Wolfe

While Tyson insisted he was serious, Wolfe's promoter said the matchup will never happen. Russ Young said no state would sanction that fight because Tyson outweighs Wolfe by at least 60 pounds.

Acrobats unlucky jump

Someone should have told him where to stop.

Ice skating accident

They would won or at least be in top five.
Then it happened.



And now it hurts and it's cold.

Coast to coast

Have you ever seen coast to coast goal in football?
I haven't, not until now.

E.R. should prepare for sport events, patients coming after event

Not even a medical emergency can pull some men away from a television showing their favorite sports teams, according to U.S. study.
University of Maryland emergency physician David Jerrard tracked nearly 800 regular season college and professional football, baseball and basketball games in the state over three years and found there always was an increase in the number of men who checked into emergency rooms after these events.



Jerrard's study, to be presented on Sunday at the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians Research Forum in New Orleans, showed about 50 percent more men registered in emergency rooms after a football game than during the event itself.

Thirty to 40 percent more men sought care following a baseball game.



Jerrard said the study was only conducted in Maryland and did not claim to reflect the entire United States. But he said he expected other physicians attending the forum in New Orleans would find similar trends.

Men checked in after a game with "similar symptoms to what any emergency department sees on a daily basis" such as chest pains, abdominal pains, headaches and various injuries, Jerrard told Reuters.

He said he was looking further into how many had severe illnesses or injuries, and whether the delay in seeking treatment compounded the harm.

"Men should not risk their health by putting off going to the emergency room because they want to see the final results of a football game. It could be the last game they ever see," Jerrard said.

Snowboard half pipe fall

I think that with accidents like this one,
spectators in first row should wear helmets.



That hurts.

Gymnast accident

He is ready. He'll do it. He'll win.
There he goes.



And...Ouch!!!
That's got to hurt.

Beckham bathed in Evian

David Beckham reportedly once bathed in Evian water on a trip to Russia - after he was told tap water would turn him bald.
Fellow players Ryan Giggs and Gary and Phil Neville also fell for the wind-up.



Joke was played on Beckham and the other footie stars when he was on a trip to Russia with Manchester United for a UEFA Cup tie against Rotor Volgograd in 1995.

Brian Kidd, then assistant manager, told the players Russian water was contaminated after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and washing in it would make their hair drop out.



Officials only realised the players had been taken in by Kidd's joke when they asked why they were getting through so much mineral water.

Ian Dunwoody, who organises Man Utd's trips abroad, has just revealed the prank.

So this is what Beckham did.

According to The Sun he said: "We took our own food and bottled water. When I asked about the amount of water being used they said it wasn't for drinking but for washing. It costs thousands of pounds in water."

Fighter knock out

They both waited for perfect moment, and one of them was faster.
1...2...3...4

Pole jump accident

Oh man, that really hurts.
And really unlucky.

Materazzi releases his headbutt joke book

After the French hit song, the jokes, videos games and adverts, there is now a new face to the most infamous headbutt of all time.
Italian defender Marco Materazzi is to publish a book containing 249 phrases he might have said to France captain Zinedine Zidane to invoke the now-retired midfielder's wrath.

The book is called "What I really said to Zidane," and Materazzi has been writing about it in a column on Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport's website.



"As you will see, dear reader, I found it funny to explore the absurdity of the whole affair," said Materazzi.

The book is 100 pages long and contains 249 phrases, mostly ridiculous ones, among which his actual retort to Zidane is included.



Zidane disgraced himself in his final match before retirement by reacting to a Materazzi taunt by thudding his forehead into the big Italian defender's chest, just minutes before the end of the World Cup final, which Italy went on to win on penalties.

Zidane was red-carded for his actions and a song written in homage to the headbutt the day after the final shot straight to the top of the French charts.



Few examples of the "witty" phrases contained in the book are as follows:

- "Hey! Where exactly is the sternum?"

- "Zinedine, what are you up to? You haven't lost yet....and you've already shaved your head!"

According to Gazzetta, Materazzi will donate proceeds from the book to children's charity Unicef.

It is due to go on sale for around 10 euros (12.60 dollars) in the coming days and features a picture of the headbutt on its front cover.

Stupid goalie

This reminds me of goal that George Weah scored for AC Milan.



Goalies are really stupid sometimes.

Soccer goalie

When you see mistakes like this one, you really wonder why they pay them so much money.

Tennis ball hit

She told him that he'll be hit by a ball in a head. He didn't believe her.




Fool you once.
Hit you second time.

Baseball fight

Don't try to hit someone in baseball with a ball if he knows karate.




Good thing he droped his bat, what would happen if he used it in fight?

Bike balance

This is great skill! How not to fall from a bike.

Chessmasters and toilet

12-round chess match between Russia's Vladimir Kramnik and Bulgarian Veselin Topalov to decide the world's top player resumed on Monday after a row over toilet breaks forced a two-day suspension.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, World Chess Federation president and head of the south Russian republic Kalmykia hosting the match, interrupted a conference with Russian President
Vladimir Putin to broker a successful truce between the two teams at the weekend.

"It (the sixth game) started one hour ago," Ilyumzhinov told Reuters from Elista, the capital of Kalmykia.



Kramnik, the reigning Classical World Chess champion, leads Topalov, the World Chess Federation champion, 3-2. The match has been billed as a reunification between the two rival chess organisations after a 13-year split.

Kramnik and his coach had threatened not to play the sixth game of the series on Monday unless organisers scrapped a game he forfeited on Friday.

That game was forfeited after Topalov suggested his opponent might have cheated by visiting the toilet too many times during play.



The toilet is the only place the players are not under video surveillance during their match and Kramnik, who suffers from an arthritic condition which makes it painful to sit still for too long, visited it around 50 times in one game.

The teams refused to compromise over toilet inspections and use until 30 minutes before a midnight deadline on Sunday.

"Yesterday evening I signed a protocol of interest and protocol of cooperation with the team of Veselin Topalov and the team of Vladimir Kramnik," Ilyumzhinov said.

Each player will receive $500,000 regardless of who wins the match.

In Sofia, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov has insisted on almost hourly updates on how Topalov -- Bulgarian sportsman of the year in 2005 -- is playing and the row over Kramnik's visits to the toilet has incensed the Bulgarian public.

"Topalov should never have gone to Russia," one internet forum note read. "If we win, we will have beaten the whole of Russia."

Volleyball and head

Try to stop the ball with your hands not with your head. What a knock out.

Hockey knock out

What a punch. 1...2...3...4...5