>>>An American sports magazine just had a short piece, prompted by the upcoming World Cup I suppose, about soccer shenanigans. (They unaccountably left out the famous photo of Vinnie Jones seizing an opponent's manhood in a vise grip). One of them was a guy -- sorry, I don't remember the name of the player or the club -- who had been arrested for cocaine possession. After scoring a goal he taunted the home fans by pretending to snort a line off the goal line. He got fined some huge amount of money.
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>>That was Robbie Fowler (a fellow Liverpudlian). He always used to wear a plaster (bandaid) across the bridge of his nose - supposed to help breathing.
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>>Incidentally, why do gridiron players paint black stripes across their cheeks, under the helmet?
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>To deflect sun rays. I don't know the exact science of it, or if there really is a scientific basis, but that's why they do it.

It doesn't so much deflect the sun's rays as absorb them so it doesn't reflect into the eyes. Overall, it makes it a bit easier to concentrate on the job rather than the sun. Not tons, but a bit.

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>>>Also on the subject of soccer -- sorry, football -- I heard on the radio that an English fan took out an insurance policy for 100 million pounds in case England is eliminated early in the World Cup again. The insurance company actually issued the policy, with the stipulation that medical proof of pain, suffering, mental anguish, etc. will be required. This is the little reminder we all needed that the word "fan" is derived from "fanatic."
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>>The medical evidence is proof of what? What's that got to do with the team being eliminated?
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>Beats me. The whole thing smacks of a publicity stunt. I still thought it was funny.