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Category: Soccer
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The best of Zidane headbutting gifs
You know, a lot of press goes to the collaborative nature of the internet and Web 2.0 blah blah blah blah blah … but as far as we’re concerned, the real benefit is for threads like this on Something Awful. Internet geeks can be a clever clever bunch. Although some of them spend way too much time playing video games. In any case, here are the best of the Zidane animated gifs. The MC Hammer one is genius.
Zidane won’t say what Materazzi said exactly but he did confirm that Materazzi insulted his sister and mother.
He said words that were very difficult to accept which he repeated many times – they were more difficult to accept that just gestures.
It was difficult to turn away as they happened so quickly.
They are very serious and personal. He mentioned my mother and my sister.He mentioned them once and I feel bad but you hear them a third time… these words, I would rather have taken a punch in the jaw than have heard that. I reacted – it certainly wasn’t a gesture to make.
It’s true that two or three million people saw that … and children, and I apologise to them. I do apologise but I don’t regret my behaviour because regretting it would mean he was right to say what he said.
Meanwhile, Zidane could be stripped of his Golden Ball award because of the old ‘conduct detrimental to the game’ clause.
Finally, check out this Zidane flash game. (thanks There’s Your Karma.) It’s very amusing but nowhere near as fun or addicting as the Yeti swatting a penguin flash game.
Links:
[The Sun UK]: ZZ: Marco insulted family
[Fox Sports]: Report: Zidane could be stripped of award
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What Materazzi said to Zidane
According to a lip-reader, Materazzi said to Zidane, “We all know you are the son of a terrorist whore“. Zidane’s mother is very ill and was admitted to a hospital on Sunday.
A French Football Federation source said: “If you insult Zidane’s mother you are asking for trouble. Combine such words with a reference to terrorism, which French Algerians are very sensitive about, and a violent reaction might appear inevitable.
Prior to the terrorist whore comment, Materazzi had twisted Zidane’s nipple and said that he twisted it hard because “I know that’s how your mother likes it.”
Holy crap. I think Joey Porter laid down the rules of trash talking during the Super Bowl. You never talk about someone’s mother and you never talk about someone’s grandmother. Outside of that, it’s all fair game. Apparently, the rules only apply in the United States.
For some reason, Zidane’s reaction doesn’t seem so insane in light of those allegations. Materazzi has denied saying anything about being a terrorist and instead insulted Zidane’s wife.
Links:
[Sun UK]: Sick taunt that riled ZZ
[ESPN Soccernet]: Materazzi admits he insulted Zidane before head butt
Categories
Tittie Twisters and Terrorists
While the world (OK, the soccer world) is waiting to hear Zidane’s side of the story, there’s been speculation that Materazzi called Zidane, who is French-Algerian, a “dirty terrorist“. Zidane’s agent, Alain Migliaccio, said that once he calms down, Zidane would reveal what happened.
Materazzi denies calling him a terrorist: “I’m ignorant – I don’t even know what the word means.”
Others had earlier claimed he was riled by goading by Materazzi, who was clearly seen twisting the Frenchman’s nipple in the run-up to the incident.
Well, at least he didn’t pull a Jason Terry and punch him in the nads.
Meanwhile, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player.
Links:
[Daily Mail]: ‘Zidane was goaded by racist slur’
[The Sun UK]: Marco denies ‘terror’ jibe
[International Herald Tribune]: Sad ending to a great career
[SC blog]: Zidane headbutt video
Categories
Zidane headbutt video
The World Cup Final was mostly a boring contest after the first half until Zinedine Zidane blew his top and headbutted Materazzi in the chest after the two exchanged some words. Zidane ruined his spectacular World Cup showing and perhaps career by getting sent off for a ridiculously stupid play.
Here’s the video of Zidane’s headbut. The best part is the french announcer yelling “why?…. why… WHY?”
We are anxiously awaiting Zidane’s explanation. What could Materazzi possibly have said to cause Zidane to go bonkers? Did he talk about his mother? Did he call him a homo? Did he say “Jerry Lewis sucks!”? Inquiring minds wants to know.
Ladbrokes has set the Italians as a slight favorite to win the World Cup Finals at 8/11. The Italians haven’t given up a goal in a game for the entire World Cup except an own goal to the United States. However, after watching the old French team run through the tournament, is it really smart to bet against Zidane and the boys?
In other news…
[China Daily]: 100 arrested in Pakistan for World Cup betting
[Reuters]: Pranksters fill soccer balls with concrete
[Reuters]:FIFA to fly Shaolin temple abbot to final
[AZ Central]: Landon Donovan proves he’s a good player against mediocre opposition
[Detroit Free Press]: Boy, 8, gets once in (early) lifetime ace
[Border Battle]: Eddie Griffin: Multi-Tasker Extraordinaire
In 2002: Brazil won its record fifth World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Germany in Yokohama, Japan. Ronaldo beat German keeper Oliver Kahn for both Brazilian goals. They were the first team to go undefeated and untied on the way to the championship since 1970. The 25-year-old Ronaldo would net eight goals during the World Cup (and just recently became the all-time leading scorer). (Planet World Cup)
In 1962: Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches his first of four career no-hitters with a 5-0 victory over the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium. Koufax struck out 13 and walked five batters. He also accomplished the rare feat of striking out the side on only nine pitches in the first inning. Koufax would go on to pitch no-hitters in four consecutive years from 1962-1965. The Dodgers always struggled offensively in those years; so when teammate Don Drysdale was told about of Koufax’s gem, his immediate reaction was to ask, “Did he get the win?” (baseball-almanac.com)
Now was it 2 or 3
yellows = red?
Remember the ref that gave three yellow cards to a player in the same match before tossing him? He’s decided to call it quits from international competition. He had considered quitting entirely but decided that he would keep making mistakes in the English Premiere League. We wish this would happen more often in the NBA and the NFL — we’d certainly get rid of some of the worst refs in sports. Sadly, the NBA and the NFL retains refs like Michael Vick does herpes. They’re with you until someone dies.
In other news…
[Sign OnSanDiego]: Adidas has sold 15 million World Cup balls since debut at about $120 a pop.
[SI]: Another example of a kid making us look bad — a 12-year-old gets two hole-in-ones in one round.
[Wages of Wins Journal]: It was Isiah Thomas’ fault, not Larry Brown’s
[Beerleaguer]: Why, and how, Phillies GM Pat Gillick will hand in his resignation after one season.
[There’s your Karma]: When did Andy Roddick pose for a gay magazine?
In 1950: On the day the United States decided to enter into the Korean conflict, an unheralded team made up of dishwashers, mailmen and hearse drivers pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history. The United States soccer team defeated mighty England, 1-0 in a World Cup match in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Having been outscored 45-2 in matches leading up to the Cup and following a 3-1 loss to Spain in their first match in group play, the Americans scored on a header by Joe Gaetjens (the dishwasher) in the 37th minute for a 1-0 lead. The British, 3 to 1 favorites to win the cup and the undisputed best team in the world (and resting their best player), could not beat goalkeeper Frank Borghi (the hearse driver) and the 500 to 1 shot United States pulled the shocker in front of a grand total of one American media member (a St. Louis sports writer who was vacationing in Brazil). The United States could not carry the momentum into the next match and bowed out of the World Cup with a 5-2 loss to Chile three days later. They would not win another match until 1994. A book called The Game of Their Lives and a movie of the same name tells the entire story of one of sports most shocking upsets.