By Early Doors (original post from Yahoo! Eurosport can be found here)

The ultra-serious world of English football does a nice line in manufactured but superficial outrage.

The froth from Sunday's late game between Manchester United and Chelsea was provided by David Luiz's Sergio Busquets moment, as he goaded Rafael into kicking him before affording himself a cheeky little smile as he pretended to clutch his leg in pain.

This offended genteel British sensibilities on three counts: Luiz was faking injury, he was implying that football might possess a sense of humour, albeit a dark one, and perhaps most gravely, he was doing both as a foreigner.

Sir Alex Ferguson summed up the disgust quite nicely: "Luiz rolled about. You see that with these European, foreign and South American players. He [Da Silva] retaliates but Luiz quite clearly elbows him twice, then rolls about like a diving swan and that convinces the referee. He was smiling. It's bad. What kind of professional is that?"

While

Read More »from Chelsea’s Mr Consistency the real player of the year

By World of Sport (original post from Yahoo! Eurosport can be found here)

After the Chicago Blackhawks won a thrilling play-off game against Minnesota Wild in the NHL, there was huge excitement in Chicago.

But unfortunately for presenter Susannah Collins, reporting on events for CSN Chicago, in the excitement she slipped up over her words, reporting on the "tremendous amount of success" the Blackhawks have enjoyed.

Instead, she said they the players had enjoyed a "tremendous amount of sex", correcting herself instantly.

So far, so harmless.

But the story took a sour turn when Collins was sacked by the network within days of the gaffe.

Phil Bedella, vice president of CSN Chicago, said: "Due to circumstances unrelated to her on-air remarks Tuesday night, Susannah Collins and Comcast SportsNet Chicago have parted ways."

The "circumstances unrelated to her on-air remarks" were allegedly a series of videos Collins made called 'Sports Nutz', which you know were extreme because the name

Read More »from Was presenter sacked for unfortunate slip of the tongue?

The legendary Bruce Lee. (Rex Photo)

If Bruce Lee were still alive, he would be involved in modern-day mixed martial arts (MMA), according to his younger brother, Robert.

“Spirit-wise, he would support it 1,000 per cent,” added Robert, 64. “It’s what he came up with originally and believed in.”

Robert and his sister Phoebe were in Singapore to speak at One Fighting Championship’s Asia MMA Summit, a two-day conference for the sport that featured luminaries such as famed Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Renzo Gracie and ex-world champion Rich Franklin.

Robert Lee and Phoebe Lee gracing the summit held at Marina Bay Sands. (ONE FC Photo)

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd estimated at 400-strong, the Hong Kong-born Lee siblings shared their experiences growing up with Bruce, and discussed the martial artist and film star’s influence on MMA via his philosophy of Jeet Kune Do – which seeks to most effectively synthesise multiple forms of martial arts for various situations.

This “mixing up” of combat styles in search of being the “complete fighter” arguably underlines the concept of MMA.

Robert, a former musician,

Read More »from Bruce Lee would ‘1,000%’ support mixed martial arts: brother

Things are always tense when archrivals face off. When the teams are competing for a state title, the tension is even more pronounced. Yet that doesn’t excuse what happened at the conclusion of the Florida state water polo championship match between traditional rivals Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) and Miami (Fla.) Belen Jesuit School.

As reported by the Miami Herald and captured on video posted on YouTube, STA finally got the better of Belen Jesuit by a final score of 13-10, capturing the school’s first water polo title in the process.

With the title decided, the teams lined up to walk through the traditional handshake line, a classic high school sports gesture aimed at maintaining a sense of friendship and collegiality. What resulted was a fracas when a Belen player used the opportunity to launch one of his STA rivals into the pool rather than shake his hand.

[Also: NCAA in tough spot after allegations by Ben McLemore's AAU coach]

The resulting kerfuffle was exactly what you would expect to emerge from two rivals in such a highly-charged faceoff. STA players immediately jumped in to defend their now-soggy teammate, while Belen players responded in kind once the STA players reached the handshake line instigator. Eventually coaches from both teams were able to intervene and stop the shoving from escalating into something worse, though not before emotions were frayed and tensions reached a piqued level.

Read More »from Florida water polo sore loser uses handshake line after state title loss to launch opponent into the water

By World of Sport (original post from Yahoo! Eurosport can be found here)

Robin van Persie intends to snub Manchester United's number nine shirt and stick with 20 - to save fans having to shell out on another kit.

When Van Persie arrived from Arsenal, the number nine shirt was still worn by Dimitar Berbatov, who did not leave for Fulham until the end of August. Instead, the Dutchman inherited the 20 shirt worn by Brazilian defender Fabio prior to his loan move to QPR.

Ferguson has offered Van Persie the chance to switch numbers next season. However, the favourite to claim the Premier League Golden Boot prize for the second straight campaign intends to stick with what he has.

"I think I'll keep it," Van Persie told United Review. "I have the option to take number nine but I don't think I will do that. I'll stick with what is right and what feels good. Also, I don't want to be harsh on the fans who have got number 20 on their kit. I don't want them to have to buy a new shirt.

"It's been a

Read More »from Van Persie to snub No.9 shirt so fans won’t feel ripped off

'A Belieber? Who? Me?'

David Beckham arrived at Paris St Germain in a blaze of glory when he signed with the Ligue 1 leaders earlier this year, but he saw his halo slip slightly last week when he was sent off just a few minutes after coming on as a sub.

And now the English veteran's stock in Paris has fallen even further - thanks to his distinctly dodgy taste in music.

Beckham's hilariously bad selection of songs was revealed by none other than team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who revealed that Becks's team-mates had a great laugh at his expense after finding his iPod in the changing rooms.

"We were looking through his play-list in the dressing room — there was lots of Justin Bieber, Jonas Brothers and Selena Gomez," Ibrahimovic said.

"We were expecting some cool English rock bands and hip-hop.

"It is nice to know that even David Beckham doesn’t have good taste on everything."

There's no use Beckham trying to claim that the music was put on there only for his kids, either: his boys, at age 14, 10 and 8, are all

Read More »from Zlatan Ibrahimovic reveals Beckham’s truly awful taste in music

By The Rundown (original post from Yahoo! Eurosport can be found here)

Jose Mourinho's return for a second spell as Chelsea manager has been shouted from the rooftops for several months, but Friday's papers shouted in their loudest voices yet that the move is happening.

The Sun even put the story on its front page - their evidence for the story being that Mourinho and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich were apparently spotted having dinner together at an Italian restaurant on the Kings Road.

The man himself has distanced himself from the rumours, but considering that he is (a) still under contract at Real Madrid and (b) probably trying to play hard to get to ensure a decent salary, that's hardly surprising.

Yet while it would be huge fun to see Mourinho back - not to mention making for a string of great stories for us - we at The Rundown firmly believe that the Portuguese boss would have rocks in his head if he were to return.

Turn the pages to find out why:

- - - -

He can't possibly succeed

Read More »from Don’t do it, Jose! Eight reasons why Mourinho would be crazy to go back to Chelsea

Stop focusing on what she’s wearing. Focus instead on her sport, and focus on her as an athlete.

That’s what Liz Gorman wants.

The stunning and incredibly fit blonde plays American football in the Legends Football League (LFL): a seven-on-seven, full-contact tackling contest between women dressed in helmets, pads and bikinis.

Before January this year, the LFL stood for “Lingerie Football League”, and its players wore bras, panties and garters instead.

“Lingerie was an amazing marketing tool to turn your head and go ‘whoa, what’s that’,” said Gorman, when Yahoo! Singapore asked for her thoughts on the rebranding. “Now, changing it to ‘legends’ will get people to watch the games purely from a football and athletic point of view.”

But what’s so different about bikinis?

Gorman, who was in Singapore last weekend to promote the LFL’s broadcast on local cable, pointed out that beach volleyball athletes also don bikinis.

The 26-year-old New York native declared: “It’s football, regardless of the

Read More »from Mind the sport, not the underwear: American football star Liz Gorman