Sport

Tomas Rosicky's lethal finishing ensured an easy 3-0 win for the Czech Republic against the United States in Group E, Gelsenkirchen, Monday. The immaculate surface of the Veltins Arena, a pitch that can be covered and uncovered by a retractable roof over the stadium, saw the Czech Republic give USA a lesson in football efficiency. The United States had 55 per cent ball possession but scored no goals; the team lacked aggression and creativity near the Czech Republic goal. Passes did not reach the forward players in goal scoring positions.

Ben Roethlisberger, starting quarterback for the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers, has been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident Monday at roughly 11:30 a.m. EDT. Early reports indicate he has broken his nose and jaw, but the full extent of his injuries remain unknown. Roethlisberger has already undergone surgery for his nose and mouth. He was riding without a helmet on Second Avenue near the intersection of 10th Street in downtown Pittsburgh when he collided with a silver Chrysler New Yorker, reportedly striking the winds

The 2006 soccer World Cup kicked off in the Allianz Arena in Munich, Friday, with hosts Germany cruising to a 4-2 win over Costa Rica. The first match of Group A, which was full of attacking football, was a goal-fest for Jürgen Klinsmann's side, whose Miroslav Klose notched up a brace. The highlight of the match went to German midfielder Torsten Frings for a 30-yard shot that sent the new tournament football swerving viciously past a hapless Costa Rican keeper. The match had started brightly for the side, missing captain Michael Ballack, whe

A strong defensive display and two well taken goals saw Ecuador beat Poland in the second Group A match at the soccer World Cup. The thousands of Polish fans who had traveled to the Veltins-Arena stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, saw their team struggle to put together attacking plays. Ecuador, whose captain and defender Ivan Hurtado was taken off injured on 67 minutes, scored a goal in the first half and one ten minutes from the end for a 2-0 victory. The first twenty minutes was cagey with both sides unable to find form; there was not on

England soccer player Wayne Rooney, 20, has been passed fit to play in the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament which starts on June 9 in Germany. The £27 million Manchester United star had a scan on Wednesday that showed the 4th metatarsal he broke on Apr 29 had healed - in less than 6 weeks. Rooney was supposedly spotted boarding a plane to Germany while the BBC claim sources close to the Football Association indicated Rooney was in England's final World Cup squad. The news is considered a big boost to England's chances to win the World Cup. Ma

The New Zealand soccer team, the All Whites, was beaten 4-0 during a friendly match against Brazil in Geneva on Monday morning NZST. New Zealand goalkeeper Glen Moss put in a good effort to keep the scoreline down by producing a string of saves, but Ronaldo, Adriano, Kaka, and Juniniho all managed to put the ball past him to score for Brazil. New Zealand looked comfortable early on and Moss even managed to save a one-on-one with Brazilian skipper Cafu. However it was Brazil who went into the half-time break 1-0 up courtesy of Ronaldo's goal

The West Indies beat India by six wickets in the fourth One- Day International at the Port of Spain, to clinch the 5 match series 3-1. The Indian batting order failed again, managing to make only 217/5 at the end of 50 overs. The highest scorer was Mohammad Kaif, who scored 62 runs before being bowled by Dwayne Bravo. The top-order including Sehwag, Dravid and Raina collapsed, with the top three batsmen raking up only 33 runs between them. The West Indies began the chase strongly, but was dealt an early blow by Phatan who sent Samuels back to

The Swedish national ice hockey team won the 2006 Ice Hockey World Championships Monday in Riga, Latvia, defeating the Czech Republic by a score of 4-0 to become the first country to win both the Winter Olympics and the Ice Hockey World Championships in the same year. Jesper Mattsson (14:36), Fredrik Emvall (15:13), Niklas Kronwall (24:07), and Jorgen Jonsson (37:01) contributed the four goals that led to the Swedish team's win. Coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson was reported as stating that "It's fun to be part of hockey history. It's been great wor

The world's largest package delivery company, UPS has announced a $1 billion dollar expansion at its Louisville, Kentucky air hub to meet their projected future demands. The expansion will add an estimated 5,000 jobs and make the facility the size of 113 football fields when completed in 2010. It will make the facility capable of handling nearly 500,000 packages an hour. UPS is already the largest employer in Kentucky with nearly 18,000 employees. Many of the positions are part time and are held by students from the University of Louisville

Former world champion boxer Anthony Mundine has beaten long-time rival Danny Green on a unanimous points decision in a non-title World Boxing Association (WBA) super middleweight bout. Mundine, an ex-rugby league star promoted the much-anticipated fight that attracted around 40,000 spectators and a national record for a pay-per-view television event. "Who's the man, who's the man?" Mundine asked the crowd after the fight. Western Australia's Danny Green (the "Machine") was defeated after 12 rounds at the Sydney Football Stadium by "the Man" M

The Ministry of External affairs has revoked the passport of Mr. Harish Kumar Dogra who was removed from his post as India's High Commissioner to New Zealand in April. The government has also suspended the passports of his wife and domestic help. India has informed Wellington of the developments and has said that travel documents would be issued to Dogra and his family to enable them to return home. Sources say Dogra had applied for a New Zealand visa which would have enabled him to stay in that country for another 40 days. Dogra had been poste

A spectacular fiesta took place in Karaiskaki Stadium in Piraeus, Greece, when 30,000 supporters of Olympiacos F.C., along with players and team administration, celebrated their 34th Alpha Ethniki title. Guest of honour was the retired Argentinian superstar Diego Armando Maradona, who personally delivered the Cup of the Champion to the players of Olympiacos and went on stage, in the centre of the stadium, and shouted "Viva Grecia, viva Olympiacos!". Diego Maradona had also the opportunity to deliver a short skills demonstration with Olympiaco