2006 FIFA World Cup Soccer News and Blog

WNBA Announces Tuesday’s Competitions
OurSports Central - NEW YORK (JULY 8, 2006), - The 2006 WNBA All-Star festivities on Tuesday, July 11, will include two basketball Get free MLB baseball picks , baseball betting info, Belmont Stakes Betting Odds , Belmont Stakes Picks plus our new 2006 World Cup Soccer

American Association Recaps
OurSports Central - Fort Worth 2, Shreveport 1 @ Shreveport, LA. Time: 2:09 Attendance: 1,659 W: Joel Kirsten (2-3) L: Josh Neitz (2-1 Get free MLB baseball picks , baseball betting info, Belmont Stakes Betting Odds , Belmont Stakes Picks plus our new 2006 World Cup Soccer

Ad Council Debuts Buzzed Driving PSAs During World Cup Finals
dmnews.com - The English and Spanish-language PSAs correspond with the 2006 World Cup soccer finals and the Fourth of July holiday. The Hispanic-targeted ads feature young men attempting to play soccer. They are visibly drunk and should not be behind the wheel of

German Retail Sales Rise on World Cup Spending (Update3) (Bloomberg.com)
July 31 (Bloomberg) — German retail sales rose more than expected in June as World Cup fever gripped the nation and households brought forward purchases to avoid a tax increase.

German Retail Sales Rise on World Cup Spending (Update2) (Bloomberg.com)
July 31 (Bloomberg) — German retail sales rose more than expected in June as World Cup fever gripped the nation and households brought forward spending to avoid a tax increase next year.

Northeast students showcase their football expertise at ‘Mini World Cup’ (New Kerala)
By Aditya Shukla, New Delhi: Though the FIFA World Cup is over but the soccer fever and euphoria in the sports loving youths of the North-East region continues.

Expectations May Be Too High for Baidu.com
E-Commerce Times - In a conference call with analysts, Baidu Chief Executive Officer Robin Li pointed out traffic growth was robust, even though “the World Cup soccer game took people away from the computer.” He pointed out that Baidu raked in more than 90,000 online

C.W. Nevius.blog
San Francisco Gate - The Zinedine Zidane head butt in the World Cup soccer final has gone through all the usual stages of a sporting controversy: shock, outrage, dismay, morality lesson, and dissertation on the state of the world at large. Now it is time to start making

Missed by a whisker
Evansville Courier-Press - Mark Lawrenson, TV commentator for BBC Sport, summing up the Switzerland-Ukraine World Cup soccer match: “For a game played in Cologne, that stunk.” Attention all Yankee fans Cam Hutchinson of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, on the special-edition Wheaties

Samsung Sees Dip in Second Quarter Profit
E-Commerce Times - Analysts say that sales of TVs have been weak in the seasonally down second quarter and due to disappointing sales in the industry ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. Joint Venture Underscoring the growing importance of flat screens, Samsung

It’s all uphill from this point
Denver Post - French rider Calzati won the stage with a solo effort, giving France reason to celebrate a few hours before its World Cup soccer final against Italy. (Though Calzati, whose father is Italian, confessed he was rooting for Italy.) After the rest day

Local events
San Jose Mercury News - World Cup Soccer festival. Soccer clinic, juggling contests, prizes, soccer movies, music and food. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. May 21. German International School of Silicon Valley, 310 Easy St., Mountain View. Free. www.gissv.org or (650) 254-0748. Peninsula

In the religion of big-time sports, television not a city is
Seattle Times - Major League Baseball recently signed a $3 billion deal with Fox and TBS for broadcasting first-round playoff games over the next seven years; and more than 1 billion people saw the World Cup soccer match between Italy and France, with the head-butt

Spurs’ 2005 draft pick Mahinmi remains intriguing work in progress
San Antonio Express News - Mahinmi’s older brother played soccer well enough to nearly make Jamaica’s national team for the 1998 World Cup. Soccer also had been Mahinmi’s sport of choice. Basketball, however, chose him. Mahinmi was attending middle school

Please pick up the pace at Molson Stadium
Montreal Gazette - Say what you will about World Cup soccer but it takes at most 48 minutes to play a 45-minute half. At the Alouettes game on July 20 it took 45 minutes to play the first 15-minute quarter, and nearly four hours for 60 minutes of action. I paid to see

Northeast students showcase their football expertise at ‘Mini World Cup’ (New Kerala)
By Aditya Shukla, New Delhi: Though the FIFA World Cup is over but the soccer fever and euphoria in the sports loving youths of the North-East region continues.

Parreira to coach 2010 World Cup host South Africa (USA Today)
Former Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira signed a four-year deal to lead 2010 World Cup host South Africa. The 63-year-old was met in Brazil by South African Football Association chief Molefi Oliphant and World Cup 2010 local organizing committee head Danny Jordaan.

Matildas qualify for Women’s World Cup (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
ELEANOR HALL: Australia’s national soccer team The Matildas have qualified for the finals of the Women’s World Cup.

Parreira to coach 2010 World Cup host South Africa (Sports Illustrated)
Former Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira signed a four-year deal to lead 2010 World Cup host South Africa.

Nikkei up nearly 2 percent 
The Nikkei average rose 1.99 percent to mark its highest close in two weeks on Thursday as investors bought Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (6752.T) and other stocks with strong earnings results.

Zidane Reportedly Banned for 3 Matches 
Zidane Is Reportedly Banned for 3 Matches for Head-Butt in World Cup Soccer Final

Ark City World Cup 
Alexis Herndon tries to kick the ball past defender Carson Crain Friday as Gavin Sison backs her up from behind. They were participating in a “World Cup” soccer match that was part of a soccer camp put on by the Arkansas City Recreation Commission.

EBay bids dried up during World Cup soccer matches 
World Cup fever trumped the obsession with online auction bidding as eBay Inc., the world’s largest Web auction company, disclosed on Wednesday how traffic to its site fell each time a soccer game started.

Femsa Second-Quarter Profit May Rise on Beer, Retail (Update1) 
July 28 (Bloomberg) — Fomento Economico Mexicano SA, Latin America’s largest beverage company, may report second-quarter profit rose 18 percent as a surge in Mexico’s economic growth spurred sales at its beer and retail units.

Why Are Uniforms Uniform? Because Color Helps Us Track Objects 
If someone hadn’t thought to make team uniforms the same color, we might be stuck watching World Cup soccer matches with only two players and a ref. It is that color coding, psychologists have now demonstrated, that allows spectators, players and coaches at major sporting events to overcome humans’ natural limit of tracking no more than three objects at a time.

Lufthansa Raises Forecast on Fare Growth, Swiss Unit (Update7) 
July 27 (Bloomberg) — Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe’s second-biggest airline, increased its 2006 forecast after higher ticket prices and improved earnings at Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. contributed to a 58 percent surge in quarterly profit.

Anheuser Profit Rises for First Time in Five Quarters (Update2) 
July 26 (Bloomberg) — Anheuser-Busch Cos., the world’s largest brewer, said profit rose for the first time in five quarters on an increase in beer sales in the U.S.

They’re not worthy 
NEW YORK — Sports fans want so much to believe in heroes. Yet so often, lately, disillusionment overtakes devotion. A vicious head-butt by one of soccer’s greatest players. Thuggish behaviour by hockey and basketball stars.

World Cup scores TV equivalent of 64 Super Bowls 
World Cup soccer delivered the equivalent of 64 Super Bowls during the month-long tournament, with an average TV audience of 93 million viewers for each match, about the same number who watched the NFL championship.

More News… 
On a penalty shootout kick, Italy has beaten France to win the 2006 World Cup soccer title with a score of 5-3. The two sides were tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation. And neither side managed to score during 30 minutes of overtime, setting up a penalty-kick shootout.

Yahoo Nets A Win As World Cup Site Attracts Users, Ads 
Yahoo scored in the World Cup.

France defeats Portugal 1-0 in World Cup semifinals
MarketWatch - Jul 5, 2006… Zidane scored on a penalty kick in the 34th minute to propel France to a 1-0 victory over Portugal in the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament in …

HAMILTON COLUMN: U.S. needs that receipt
Portage Daily Register - The World Cup soccer tournament is set to begin at Olympic Stadium in Berlin tomorrow. Officials are concerned about racism. To make sure that minorities are welcomed to Berlin with open arms they hired the U.S. Border Patrol to keep them out. Las

German Architects Design World Cup Stadiums in South Africa
Deutsche Welle - Berlin architects Meinhard von Gerkan, Volkwin Marg and their colleagues were commissioned to build three of the five new stadiums planned for the 2010 World Cup soccer championship in South Africa. They introduced their plans recently, just weeks

Refereeing Confusion Reigns
Turkish Daily News - For those who think that Turkish referees are villains, take a look at the ongoing World Cup soccer tournament. Remember, these referees are handpicked from the best in their respective countries. Since the start, when a hotly debated handball

World champion fruit leather
Anchorage Press - Some professions offer more opportunities for public glory than others. To even stand on a World Cup soccer field, for example, requires a physique that’s a clich of fitness. And that physique can do glorious things, like kick a ball 80 yards, or

World Cup Streams Live To Growing Array Of Screens
TechWeb - Movie theaters and Web sites are leveraging technology to bring the 2006 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament to an ever-increasing array of screens, small and large. In Los Angeles, for example, soccer fans can visit the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood

A’s Beane pitches the thrill of World Cup soccer
Contra Costa Times - Spend a few evenings in the middle of a crowd, watching as the team wearing your colors struggles mightily to put a number on the scoreboard. Scan the players on the field and take mental notes of the strengths and weaknesses. Engage in healthy

Gilmore moves ahead
Kansas City Star - one of the Mowrys got it, then we all got the role. actress Tia Mowry, who got the part on the CW comedy The Game that her twin sister Tamera also auditioned for You know what s exactly like The Sopranos ? World Cup soccer

Canaries roll on
Turkish Daily News - Turkey, the 2002 World Cup soccer semifinalists, will play in Australia twice in May, the Australian Soccer Association (ASA) announced on Monday. Australia and Turkey will play May 21 in Sydney and May 24 in Melbourne. The ASA also announced Monday

World Cup semifinals start tomorrow
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel - DORTMUND, Germany - The World Cup soccer semifinals begin tomorrow with Germany against Italy. Portugal and France go against each other on Wednesday. Midfielder Mauro Camoranesi has a right knee injury and could miss the match. Camoranesi picked up

Gilmore moves ahead
Biloxi Sun Herald - one of the Mowrys got it, then we all got the role. actress Tia Mowry, who got the part on the CW comedy The Game that her twin sister Tamera also auditioned for You know what s exactly like The Sopranos ? World Cup soccer

Soccer shows way to increasingly open world economy
Olympian - MIAMI - Critics of globalization should take a close look at the World Cup soccer games in Germany: They might be the best example of how an increasingly open world economy is helping emerging countries become stronger and more competitive. I have to

P-generation makes voice heard in Korean society, culture
Korea Herald - During the 2006 FIFA World Cup soccer finals in Germany, the outcry of “Daehanminguk (Republic of Korea)” reverberated throughout the country as many young Koreans took to the streets to cheer for their national soccer team. The enthusiastic cheerers

British Soccer School
White Lake Beacon - During the FIFA World Cup soccer championships young White Lake area players got some international influence in the game. Two coaches from the Challenger Sports organization came to Montague last week to lead a British Soccer Camp at Montague

World Cup Streams Live To Growing Array Of Screens
TechWeb - Movie theaters and Web sites are leveraging technology to bring the 2006 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament to an ever-increasing array of screens, small and large. In Los Angeles, for example, soccer fans can visit the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood

HAMILTON COLUMN: U.S. needs that receipt
Portage Daily Register - The World Cup soccer tournament is set to begin at Olympic Stadium in Berlin tomorrow. Officials are concerned about racism. To make sure that minorities are welcomed to Berlin with open arms they hired the U.S. Border Patrol to keep them out. Las

Too busy to raise flag
Pasadena Star-News - number of immigration protests in which there were flags from several countries, proudly displayed, which vastly out-numbered those of the American flag. (And let’s not forget the displays of flags from other nations during the World Cup soccer

Germany takes 3rd spot in Soccer World Cup
Fijivillage, Fiji - Jul 8, 2006… 61 minute. Meanwhile Italy has been tipped to win the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament because of their past records. The Azzurries …

Italy Wins World Cup Shootout
WFMY News 2, NC - Jul 9, 2006Berlin, Germany — Italy is the 2006 World Cup soccer champion. They beat France 5-3 Sunday in a penalty kick shootout after playing two hours to a 1-1 draw. …