Spain’s 44 year major title drought ended Sunday as the men in red won the European Soccer Championship 1-0 over Germany. Despite a noticeable height advantage and more appearances in the Euros’ finals than any other team, Germany failed to ignite much offense. Fernando Torres scored the game’s only goal in the 33rd minute. The win marks Spain’s first major championship title in four decades, a losing lull that earned the team a reputation as underachievers. Losers no more, although not seeing Bastian Schweinsteiger prance around in his Deutschland hat proved slightly disappointing.

Don’t expect to see Serena Williams lining up at a polling place November 4 because even though the tennis star has expressed support for Democrat Barack Obama, she says her religion prevents her from voting. “I’m a Jehovah’s Witness, so I don’t get involved in politics. We stay neutral. We don’t vote,” she commented recently when asked about the election. “So I’m not going to necessarily go out and vote for him (Obama). I would if it wasn’t for my religion.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released the first national study detailing recreational injuries with snowboarding topping the list for outdoor injuries. Snowboarding spills accounted for a quarter of emergency room visits, with most injuries being broken bones and sprains. Nonfatal injuries from outdoor activities mostly affect people between the ages of 10 and 24 with half of problems stemming from falls. Eh, just stick to knitting, unless you find yourself getting a little yarn crazy.

Meet a seventeen-year-old who can solve the Rubik’s cube in just fifteen seconds. But that’s with his eyes open. Its one thing to be able to see what you are doing. Blindfolded he solved the cube in two minutes and twenty seven seconds! Its all about passion and practice eh.
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A 64-year-old man is going to attempt to jump from an altitude of forty kilometers above the surface of the earth. He plans to go up in a helium balloon on a ride that will take about two and a half hours and when he reaches a height of 130,000 feet (which is about four times the height that passenger aircraft fly) he will jump back to the earth. During this free fall to the earth, he will touch speeds of 1,500 kilometers an hour and, if all goes well, this will be the longest free fall back to the earth. He was to attempt the jump today, but weather conditions didn’t allow it.
(Photo Credit: Thomas Tuchan /iStockphoto)

Hawaii’s BJ Penn remains the UFC Lightweight Champion after delivering a crushing knee to the head of Sean Sherk followed by a storm of punches in the third round. At the demand of fans, Penn has already announced his next match against George St. Pierre.

Hockey fans won’t have to dodge flying fish at tonight’s opening showdown of the Stanley Cup Finals as the NHL has banned octopus twirling. Detroit’s peculiar hockey tradition dates back to 1952, but at the start of the playoff’s first round, the NHL warned fans who dare to toss cephalopods that the fishy fun will cost their team $10,000. Despite fan protests, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman defended the decision, saying the twirl “creates a potentially hazardous situation for the players.” Yeah, octopus guts on the ice doesn’t seem terribly safe or sanitary.

Meet a Swiss man who loves to jump out of a small plane with a pair of jet powered wings fixed to his back and then perform figure eights above the Swiss Alps. He activates his jet engines before jumping off the plane and when he is ready to land, he deploys a parachute for a safe landing. He has spent five years training for the event. Watch a video here.
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Justine Henin put an abrupt end to her impressive tennis career Wednesday with the announcement of her retirement. The 25-year-old Belgian hung up her racket after a career that included seven Grand Slam titles and 100 weeks ranked No. 1. Henin’s retirement while holding the top spot in the WTA’s rankings make her the first woman to exit the sport with a current number one ranking. Following Henin’s surprise departure, Maria Sharapova took over the No. 1 position.

When astronauts spend a long time in space, they can face health problems when they return back to earth. Prolonged weightlessness atrophies their muscles and decalcifies their bones. And it is pointless exercising with weights in space. You know why. To overcome this problem, the crew of the International Space Station and a professor from Sweden are testing a new gym that uses the inertia produced from a rotating flywheel, to create a resistance, which gives you the feeling of satisfactory weight training.
(Photo Credit: Lee Pettet/ iStockphoto)

Beyond discussions of mint juleps and giant hats, the talk of this weekend’s Kentucky Derby will likely surround the race’s first filly competing since 1999. Eight Belles will challenge 19 boys for the prestigious crown and with a four-race winning streak, she might have an underdog chance. In 134 years of the Derby, only 38 fillies have ventured out to run with the boys in sports’ most thrilling two minutes.

Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo, who for those who don’t know the first thing about soccer is to Michael Jordan as David Beckham-Spice is to Vlade Divac, had a run in with transvestites in Brazil. Ronaldo, who is recovering from knee surgery, was seeking a little professional female company, when he accidentally got himself a prickle of transvestites. Good to know he kicks with both feet!

Losing a front tooth didn’t stop Carl Landry from saving the Houston Rockets from NBA Playoff extinction. He lost his tooth in the first half after catching Carlos Boozer’s forearm to his mouth and came back to make the game-saving block, keeping the Rockets’ hopes alive. He was all smiles afterwards.

The folks at ESPN must be delighted at all of the intrigue surrounding this year’s NFL Draft. What we know is the Miami Dolphins will make Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long the first player chosen. What we think we know are which five players will come off the board next. What we have no idea about are where these guys are going.

After an exhibition game at the Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, soccer god David Beckham ran over to the stands, pointed at a boy and handed over his jersey. Two friends tugged at it, and now their youthful friendship is way out-of-bounds. Their squabble isn’t truemor worthy, it’s the fact that their parents have pulled the attorney card to settle the matter. One parent asked, “He (Beckham) pointed out that he wanted our son to have it. How do you explain this to a 10-year-old?” If you need to ask, maybe you need to turn in your parent card.

What happens when you combine a slice of American cheese, a slab of butter and fierce competition? No, not a weird Velveeta fetish. “Grilled Cheese Invitationals” have gained popularity across the country and, if you happen to be in LA this Saturday, you too can pack some cheese and compete. Put on your cheesiest game face because the tourney includes some serious rules and different categories of competition like “The Missionary Position,” “Spoons,” “The Kama Sutra” and “The Honey Pot.”

Six Masai warriors traveled all the way from Eluai, Tanzania to take part in the London Marathon and raise money in an effort to secure clean drinking water for their sun-parched village. The warriors donned shoes made from old car tires and other traditional garb while carrying spears and shields for the April 13 run. One of the runnin’ warriors commented after completing the race that “the marathon was easy, there were no lions.” No lions indeed, but maybe marathon organizers should consider adding a couple carnivorous animals or American Gladiators for an X-Treme Marathon.

China hopes to allow Olympic athletes to breathe a little easier in Beijing this summer by setting up mobile air quality testing stations that monitor pollutants in real time. Officials will set up the stations in the Olympic Village and at other sites with data “open to all.” Construction will also cease in the booming nation during the games to help ease air quality concerns.

A blind man has completed seven marathons in seven days to raise money for a good cause. He ran a total of 293.4 kilometers in the Falkland Islands, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Sydney, Dubai, Tunis and London.
(Photo Credit: Galina Barskaya /iStockphoto)

Most children who go to school carry backpacks. So do campers, hikers, mountaineers and soldiers. If you carry a backpack, you may find it interesting to know that backpack straps typically rest on an area of the body where they compress the axillary vein. The axillary vein is a large blood vessel that carries blood from the armpit and the upper portion of your hand towards the heart. There is one axillary vein on each side of the body. So a tight backpack strap can cause abnormally high blood pressure inside the veins and subsequently decrease the flow of blood to the shoulders and arms resulting in fatigue. Ever wondered why you get tired when hiking with a backpack?
(Photo Credit: Paige Falk /iStockphoto)

Engineering professors have developed a computerized ranking system that consistently predicts NCAA basketball rankings more accurately than that of sportswriters. The system which uses mathematical processes has been able to predict semifinalists with eighty three percent accuracy over the past nine years. Why is the computer more accurate? Is it because people’s emotions come in the way of sound judgment?
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An army of BBC staff is being sent out to cover the Summer Olympics in Beijing and will easily outnumber the British athletes competing in the games. BBC will sent 437 employees, while around 300 Olympic athletes will represent England. The BBC was forced to reveal the figure after having to call in detectives to hunt for missing travel files.

Stricter doping rules and a desire to ensure no embarrassing drug incidents for their home nation have caused China’s Olympians to skip traditional concoctions like deer penis, turtle blood and angelica root. China’s athletes plan to take necessary precautions to avoid positive doping tests, which means switching from caterpillar fungus to protein shakes. Banned substances like ephedrine or interacting Chinese elixirs can trigger positive drug tests and a slew of unwanted media attention for an already controversial Summer Olympics.

Former University of Hawaii quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan announced that he will undergo surgery next Monday for a tear in his hip. Brennan says he initially sustained the injury while practicing for the Senior Bowl in January. Doctors say that the NCAA record holder for career touchdown passes will be completely and permanently healed within 8-12 weeks. The NFL draft is scheduled April 26-27.

It is a crime if you’re attempting to relieve yourself on the dance floor, and that’s just what the former New England Patriot offensive lineman did. Jones isn’t a stranger to oddball crimes, in 2003 he was arrested for dumping a pot of scalding hot water on his roommate who was sitting on the throne taking a dump. Could this explain his descent to Arena football?