Former Major League Baseball player Geremi Gonzalez was struck by lightning and killed over the weekend at a lake in his native Venezuela, authorities said on Monday.Gonzalez, 33, a pitcher who was signed to Japan’s Yomiuri Giants in 2007, had previously played for the Chicago Cubs, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Lightning kills ex-Major League Baseball player | Sports | Reuters

A referee in the Vietnamese soccer league has been suspended for four matches for awarding a goal and then changing his mind, local media reported.Referee Nguyen Xuan Hoa was reprimanded by the country’s soccer federation for bowing to pressure from Danang, whose furious players stormed off the field after conceding a goal to Dong Tam Long An last week.

The Danang team returned 20 minutes later after Hoa reversed his decision and went on to win the game 3-2.

Referee banned for changing his mind | Oddly Enough | Reuters

Manchester United won their third European Cup last night after a dramatic
penalty shootout victory over Chelsea in the Champions League final.

Manchester United v Chelsea - How the penalty drama unfolded | Mail Online

On Saturday, May 31, the best mixed martial arts programming on television will be on Spike TV, as the network presents a special night dedicated to UFC® superstar Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell. The homage to Liddell will feature two Spike TV premiere events not to be missed by true UFC fans.

At 9:00pm ET/PT, Spike presents the world television premiere of “Ultimate Iceman: Chuck Liddell,” an hour-long documentary which chronicles the life of one of the sport’s true titans, in and out of the Octagon™.

Spike then debuts a special, “Liddell vs. Silva: UFC® Unleashed™-Special Edition” at 10:00pm ET/PT featuring the never-before-seen on cable battle between Liddell and Wanderlei Silva, which was fought last December at UFC 79: NEMESIS.

This historic contest featured the matchup that fight fans waited years to see. Liddell, the biggest name in the sport and former UFC light-heavyweight champion, sought to finally answer the challenges of long-time PRIDE® superstar Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva. In addition, the special includes exclusive, never before seen backstage footage.

UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Unbeaten and still untested, Big Brown followed up his convincing Kentucky Derby victory by winning the Preakness Stakes in equally dominant fashion on Saturday.Big Brown, the overwhelming 1-5 favorite ridden by Kent Desormeaux, grabbed the lead at the top of the stretch and easily cruised away from the field for a 5-1/4-length triumph.

“Unlike in the Kentucky Derby where I had to start knuckling on him to get him to go get the leaders, today I was slowing him down not to pass the leaders,” said Desormeaux.

“It was really a dramatic change from two weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby.”

The Kentucky-bred son of Boundary will run in the Belmont Stakes on June 7 in New York with hopes of becoming the 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed in 1978.

Big Brown cruises to Preakness victory | Sports | Reuters

If you are a soccer fan going to watch Euro 2008 it could be worth having a vaccination to prevent catching a little known, but potentially fatal illness that is spread by ticks, a leading scientist warned on Saturday.In 2007, the number of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) cases requiring hospital treatment in Europe rose 30 percent to 13,000, with evidence pointing to warmer temperatures caused by global warming helping to spread the disease.

Endemic in 27 countries across Europe, including joint Euro 2008 hosts Switzerland and Austria, TBE can lead to paralysis, coma and in 1 to 2 percent of cases, death.

Some 2 million foreign fans are expected to descend on Austria and Switzerland for the tournament running from June 7-29, with UEFA expecting around 6 million fans in total.

Soccer fans warned of tick danger at Euro 2008 | Health | Reuters

Mike Green scored a goal and two assists on Friday as Canada defeated Sweden 5-4 in Quebec City to advance to the final of the world hockey championship.

Dany Heatley notched his 11th goal of the tournament, with Ryan Getzlaf, Jamal Mayers and Rick Nash also tallying. Goaltender Pascal Leclaire made 30 saves and also had an assist Friday at Le Colisée arena.

Canada will play Russia in the final on Sunday afternoon in Quebec City.

Canada to play for world championship

The Boston Herald newspaper apologized on Wednesday for a false report on the New England Patriots videotaping the St. Louis Rams’ final walkthrough a day before the teams met in the 2002 Super Bowl.‘Sorry Pats’ read the newspaper’s front-page headline a day after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said there was nothing new in videotapes he received showing the Patriots taping opposing teams’ signals and that no additional penalty against New England was being considered.

“We own up to the error on the walkthrough story,” the tabloid said in its apology for this year’s February 2 story quoting unidentified sources and published a day before New England’s 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.

Boston newspaper apologizes for false Pats tapes story | Sports | Reuters

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter on Wednesday urged the National Football League to order an outside probe into the videotaping of opposing coaches’ signals by the New England Patriots, saying the integrity of the game was at stake.Specter, speaking one day after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell declared the matter closed, said that it would be up to Congress to take a look if the league refuses.

The NFL forbids teams from videotaping opposing coaches’ signals because it can provide an unfair advantage.

U.S. senator seeks outside probe in Patriots spying | Sports | Reuters

A federal grand jury brought a longer array of perjury charges against baseball home run king Barry Bonds on Tuesday after a judge tossed out earlier allegations of lies about past steroid use.The latest indictment charges the U.S. career home run record holder with 14 counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice.

“When we were last in court the government said it was going to obtain a superseding indictment and now they have done so it’s hardly surprising or news,” Allen Ruby, an attorney for Bonds, told Reuters.

The government maintains Bonds lied in 2003 when he told a previous federal grand jury investigating the San Francisco-area BALCO nutrition lab he had never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.

New charges allege Barry Bonds lied about steroids | Sports | Reuters

Seattle Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson on Friday was suspended for six games for charging Texas pitcher Kason Gabbard during Thursday’s 5-0 victory by the Rangers.The 6-foot-8 Sexson, who has seven homers and 18 runs batted in this season, has decided to appeal the ruling and will be active for Friday’s home game against the Chicago White Sox, MLB said in a statement.

Sexson charged the mound after Gabbard threw a high fastball to the Seattle slugger, who felt the fourth-inning pitch was in retaliation for two Rangers players who had been hit by pitches from Seattle starter Felix Hernandez.

Seattle’s Sexson banned for charging pitcher | Sports | Reuters

A New York Yankees’ fan was accused on Monday of murdering a Boston Red Sox supporter and injuring another by running both down with a car after a heated argument over one of America’s oldest sporting rivalries.Ivonne Hernandez, 43, pleaded not guilty on Monday to reckless second-degree murder, aggravated driving while intoxicated and two counts of reckless conduct after the incident in a Nashua, New Hampshire parking lot last Friday.

Prosecutors say Hernandez was drunk when she drove her car across a dirt parking lot outside the Nashua City Hall into Matthew Beaudoin, 29, and Maria Hughes, 21, after exchanging words with them about the Yankees and Red Sox baseball teams.

Yankees-Red Sox argument ends in murder? | Oddly Enough | Reuters