FIFA World Cup

Euro 2012: Why Lunatics Will Be Waking You Up Early in the Coming Weeks

Perhaps it's happened to you. In the comfort of your own home, you switch on the television to watch a high-level soccer match being played on the other side of the world and being broadcast, live, at an ungodly local hour. Due to the darkness and your early morning stupor, it's only at halftime tha ... More >>

The Super Bowl Prostitution Hoax

Indianapolis mobilizes for an epic battle with an urban legend.

Women's World Cup Final Breaks Tweeting Record

​The FIFA Women's World Cup soccer final yesterday had thousands of people on the edge of their bar stools as Japan tied the U.S. and went into a nerve-wracking penalty shootout, sending Twitter users on a rampage. Twitter reported that the match set the record for tweets per second, surpassing ev ... More >>

Women's World Cup: Where Do We Go From Here?

​Among the many painful lessons learned from the U.S. Women's World Cup squad's magical run and yesterday's utter collapse -- you can't legislate enthusiasm. Local news stories painted a feel-good picture of yesterday's contest, which was broadcast before a moderate crowd at Civic Center Plaza on ... More >>

World Cup:Qatar, Russia Win What San Francisco Could Not

Not happening in San Francisco. At least not on the field. ​Today's decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively, to Russia and Qatar -- yes, Qatar! -- comes as cold comfort for San Francisco. We learned all the way back in January that, even if the United States succeeded in its C ... More >>

Paul the Psychic Octopus Dies

TillaRIP Paul, a giant among sports-obsessed sea creatures​Any thoughts of querying Paul the psychic German sporting octopus about who will win the forthcoming World Series have been cruelly nipped in the bud. The eight-legged wonder, who gained worldwide fame by predicting eight consecutive World ... More >>

Local Soccer Stars Crack Elite FIFA List

We can find no fault with Marta​FC Gold Pride, certainly the first professional sporting team based out of Hayward, set another mark last month. It hosted the first professional sporting championship ever set in Hayward -- and won it, 4-0. Now  a trio of Gold Pride starters have cracked the s ... More >>

Friday Night: Shakira Opens Oracle Arena Concert with Commercial for Her Perfume

Courtesy of the artist ​Shakira October 22, 2010 @ Oracle Arena There was no opening act for Shakira on Friday night at the Oracle Arena. Quite simply, Shakira (Our Lady of "Hips Don't Lie," "She Wolf" sensation, "Waka Waka" wonder of the 2010 World Cup) needs no introduction. ... More >>

Scientist Meets the Roots Radics: Show Preview

The Top 5 Creepiest Depictions of Exercise in a Music Video

First of all, let's just say "Go Giants!" We're so proud of our boys for making it to the play-offs, and are hoping and praying they can whoop Philly's ass and take us to the World Series. As usual though, all this gleeful anticipation got us thinking about music videos - sporty ones. Then we found ... More >>

Good, Bad, and Ugly of Sporting Weekend

Smile and the world smiles with you, Tim​With college and professional football kicking off and baseball's pennant races rounding third, 'tis the season for sports junkies to never leave the couch. By the way, here are a few phone numbers for local divorce attorneys -- if, you know, this is a prob ... More >>

Uruguayan Press Gaga Over Ross Mirkarimi

Ross Mirkarimi -- and his signature vest -- were warmly received in South America​El Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi spread the San Francisco no-plastic-bag gospel to Uruguay this week, and the local press apparently went gaga for San Francisco's good-looking ambassador of green.Okay, check y ... More >>

He Shoots! He Dies!

Jeff Garcia and 'The Jerseys That Should Not Be'

Et Tu, Jeff?​Jeff Garcia is one of my favorite football players of all-time. I first saw him play -- in person no less -- in October of 1990 when he very nearly led San Jose State to upset a damn good Cal squad in Berkeley. The Bears held on, 35-34. He next crossed Bay Area fans' paths when he pla ... More >>

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

Twitter Scores All-Time High During World Cup Final

What's Spanish for 'Tweet'?​There are no stats on how many of the tweets simply said, "Goooooaaaaalllll"!But, during the last 15 minutes of Sunday's World Cup final, Twitterers set a new record -- a sustained 2,000 tweets per second, the San Francisco-based company has announced.

The Afrobeat Goes On

Baylinks: Barfing Laundry, Birthdays, and No-Show Muni

​SF woman turns 100 and gets only one candle [The Bay Citizen]Muni drivers MIA [Mission Loc@l]A suspicious package headed BP's way [7x7]

Spain 1, Netherlands 0: World Cup Final at Civic Center (Pics)

Joe EskenaziYou can put away the vuvuzelas now ... and forever​In the world of international soccer -- prior to yesterday -- there were two great hard-luck losers: Spain and Holland. But if Holland were the Red Sox of futility -- they lost the World Cup finals twice before, in '74 and '78 -- then ... More >>

What Were the Odds of Paul the Octopus Picking Eight Straight World Cup Matches?

TillaThe Oracle of Oberhausen, Paul the octopus​The biggest star to emerge from the just-concluded World Cup has eight legs -- but has never kicked a ball. An octopus named Paul living in an aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany is now an international celebrity following his feat of correctly picking e ... More >>

Spain-Netherlands World Cup Matchup Ideal for San Francisco

​With apologies to the city's German and Uruguayan communities, this weekend's Spain-Netherlands finale in the World Cup is the best San Francisco could hope for. For a city that loves to root for underdogs, we can't lose -- either way a first-time champion will be crowned on Sunday. But there are ... More >>

It's Your Friday Morning News Quiz!

​Man-oh-Manischewitz, it was an interesting week. How interesting? This interesting: 1. Alleged gangster Charles "Cheese" Heard was found guilty of murdering and robbing a man of what unique pendant?A. A gold-coated scarab beetleB. An actual-sized Mercedes hubcapC. A bejeweled recreation of Bamm-B ... More >>

Bye Bye Brazil: World Cup Loss Leaves Nation Numb

No longer as perky...​At some point, every serious American sports fan brooding over a bitter loss has been cheerfully told "Hey, it's just a game!" What a terrible thing to say. Here's a hint: We know it's just a game. Don't patronize us.  But in Brazil, no one says "it's just a game" when t ... More >>

No legal authority? No problem!

Muni's Forcing You to Get a Clipper Card. Get One Tomorrow For Free.

​With the curtailment of the paper Fast Pass the day after Halloween, Muni is prodding its frequent riders into the 21st century. They haven't yet perfected the George Jetson flying car that transforms into a briefcase -- but they have created Clipper, the expensively rebranded TransLink card that ... More >>

Soccer Fans Show Up at Civic Center for U.S.-Ghana Match -- Get Gay Pride Instead

When worlds collide...​Those hoping to find a large, elaborately costumed, and liquored-up Civic Center crowd on Saturday were not disappointed. And balls were prominently involved -- but not soccer balls. The ongoing free presentation of World Cup soccer games on a billboard-sized screen was abru ... More >>

Who Should Progressives Root for In World Cup?

If you were a true progressive, you'd pull for a World Cup outcome that'd help Lula hold onto power. You know this to be true. ​Last week we wrote about how the U.S. World Cup team's thrilling, last-minute victory over Algeria wasn't due to any kind innately American traits hard-wired into players ... More >>

It's Not Too Late to Jump on U.S. Soccer Bandwagon

​When the U.S. last played Ghana -- the matchup in tomorrow's World Cup showdown -- things did not go well. There was, however, one brief, transcendent moment. After midfielder DaMarcus Beasley picked a Ghanan's pocket and careened down the left side of the field, he centered the ball to the foot ... More >>

World Cup Success Not a Mark of Superior National Character

'American spirit' on parade...​Yesterday's 91st-minute goal by Landon Donovan to transform the United States from hapless losers to potential World Cup champions was that rare sports moment that could just make you cry. And not tears of joy -- which are light and spontaneous -- but the tears of ma ... More >>

Where Should I Take Five Sailors on Leave?

U.S. NavyDressed in their whites ... and hungry.​Yesterday, SFoodie received, via Twitter, the best restaurant-recommendation request we've ever fielded. From EB:My cousin in the navy just docked here. I need to find a place for dinner for me and 5 sailors. Any suggestions? #notjoescrabshackThe mi ... More >>

Casual Fan's World Cup: Les Incompétents

paris-match.comEn le crappeur​Editor's note: From time to time, The Snitch, being at best a casual fan of World Cup soccer, will provide glimpses into the experience of same.  Your good old nameless Americans suffered quite the historic setback on Friday, but at least they're not French: as t ... More >>

What to Have for Lunch: Sisig and Soccer in South City

Genevieve Y./YelpSisig tacos, $6. World Cup play, free.​Friday, June 18, 2010Research for last Monday's lunch pick took SFoodie to Tanguito, the Argentinian food truck on the Wharf, where we ate choripan and watched the World Cup. In the same vein, we'd recommend you get on the 101 and drive a few ... More >>

True Soccer Anthems are Catchy, Curse-Laden, and Mean-Spirited

BLK JKS: On the classier side of World Cup 2010 music​Don't be alarmed to turn on ESPN this month and hear some witty Englishman declare the arc of a round ball through space "inspired," "creative" or "clever." It's World Cup season -- the month-long Super Bowl-meets-Olympics-meets-Mardi Gras of t ... More >>

The Casual Fan's World Cup: You're in "Sam's Army," and the War on Noise

Make it stop​Editor's note: From time to time, The Snitch, being at best a casual fan of World Cup soccer, will provide glimpses into the experience of same.  US Team has No Nickname but Fans Are an Army; Ban on Plastic Horn Causing Horrible Buzzing Noise Begged For The Casual Fan left stam ... More >>

Gavin Newsom Wants You To Watch the World Cup at Civic Center

Chris Roberts/SF WeeklyBallin. And you could be, too.​Though an ace baseball and basketball player in his glory days at Redwood High School in Marin, Mayor Gavin Newsom is admittedly not much of a soccer player. That's fine: one doesn't need to be a Cristiano Ronaldo or a World Cup-winning Ronaldo ... More >>

World Cup Final: Netherlands vs. Spain

Football, or Soccer, or Whatever

Women's Pro Soccer League Folds Another Team

Sadly, Angie Kerr and the St. Louis Athletica are now all dressed up with nowhere to go​When pro sports leagues begin folding teams, it's the equivalent of lifeboat survivors starting to feast on one another's non-essential body parts. The San Francisco-based Women's Pro Soccer league lost an arm ... More >>

U.S.-England World Cup Opener Free at AT&T Park

He'll be there...​ Those who prefer to take in the world's greatest sporting event drunk outside instead of drunk inside are in luck. AT&T Park will host a free screening of the Saturday, June 12 World Cup opener between the United States and England. Doors open at 10 a.m. and kickoff is at 11 ... More >>

Soccer Succor

Bleeding Soccer Player May Have Teammate to Thank

You can't beat the character-building element of team sports​The transcendent elegance of Pele's World Cup-dominating Brazilian squads led to what must be the greatest nickname for any sport: "The beautiful game." Sometimes it doesn't work that way. Take this game gone wrong in Crocker Amazon Park ... More >>

Invictus

Sadly, Decision to Drop San Francisco From World Cup Consideration Was On the Mark

Yes, the soccer bigwigs definitely gave San Francisco the business...​San Francisco chauvinists and city soccer fans aren't a natural team. The chauvinists would like to tell you how the fact you can walk to really great restaurants here counterbalances an utterly dysfunctional municipal governmen ... More >>

Goooaaalll!