Croatians slam penalty call

Furious Croatia defender Dejan Lovren branded the penalty awarded against him during Brazil's 3-1 win in the World Cup opener a "scandal" and questioned the referee's right to be officiating at the soccer showcase.

Sorcerer banking on Balotelli

Sporting a bone through his nose, a jaguar's tooth pendant, multicolored feathers in his ears and tribal body tattoos, Amazonian sorcerer Jaraquii would not cause many England fans to give credence to his soccer 'expertise.'

Mansion rental too rich for Messi

Sky-high property prices in Brazil have claimed a new victim in Argentina forward Lionel Messi, the world's highest-paid soccer player.

Uphill battle for Socceroos

Australia veteran Tim Cahill told his young, untested teammates on Wednesday to cast aside any lingering pre-World Cup jitters and go out and enjoy the experience of locking horns with Chile in their World Cup opener.

Dutch want rematch revenge against Spain

Spain opens its World Cup title defense against the Netherlands on Friday in a repeat of the 2010 final - with the Dutch out for revenge.

Score board

Rooney craves redemption

The burden of delivering at the World Cup has consumed Wayne Rooney in the past, seeming to hinder his ability to deliver on soccer's biggest stage.

Blatter pitching manager challenges

FIFA president Sepp Blatter caught world soccer's ruling body by surprise on Wednesday when he proposed a new television review system that would go well beyond the goal-line technology already being used in some countries.

Beckenbauer under scrutiny

FIFA prosecutor Michael Garcia has seen most of the evidence published by a British newspaper alleging that Mohamed bin Hammam bought influence for Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid.

World cup tidbits

Sweet slumber

Fisher takes bite of Big Apple

Derek Fisher was never the best player; certainly not the tallest or the quickest.

Pacquiao punching in as rookie hoops coach

Erik Spoelstra might not be the Philippines' favorite basketball coach anymore, now that Manny Pacquiao is taking over as a bench boss in the Philippines Basketball Association.