Word: soccering
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SUSPENDED. Zinédine Zidane, 34, retired captain of France's soccer team; for three games, for head butting Italy's Marco Materazzi in the chest during the World Cup final in Berlin, which Italy won; by FIFA, soccer's governing body; in Zurich. Materazzi, who Zidane said provoked him repeatedly, was suspended for two games. Because Zidane retired immediately after the final, he agreed to perform community service for three days in lieu of his suspension...
...World Cup is over, and now we can finally get back to our national pastime: not watching soccer." --JIMMY KIMMEL...
...count me among those who are wagging their finger at French soccer star Zinédine Zidane for his ferocious head butt to the chest of Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the waning minutes of overtime of the World Cup final. Zidane, known as Zizou to the fans who worship him, later explained that he erupted after having to endure one insult too many--not to mention a game's worth of off-the-ball rough stuff--from a fullback who has been called l'animale in Italy...
...instead of dealing with these problems, as other sports have, FIFA, soccer's governing body, is a world leader in bloviation over action. The NBA outlawed trash talk and instituted a flagrant-foul rule to deal with dirty players. The National Hockey League, hardly a sport for wimps, also cracked down on thugs. The NHL decided to enforce the rules on hooking, holding and interfering when it became apparent that the chippy play was ruining the game by preventing players from using their talents--you can't skate with a stick up your behind. The result: when the refs cracked...
...once again achieved the global greatness that had long eluded it on other fronts, and the architect of its triumph was a national treasure known as Zizou. But the continuing debate over the Zidane head-butt is a reminder that the harmony represented by the makeup of the French soccer team bears little resemblance to daily life in the French urban ghetto - of which the riots of late 2005 served as the harshest reminder...