Sports Audio/Video - NPR

The introduction of the Nintendo Wii and its sports and fitness games has greatly expanded the appeal of video games — especially among senior citizens. From California to New York, dozens of teams and more than 1,000 bowlers are in the throes of a virtual Wii bowling competition.

France and Ireland are at war! Not on the battlefield, on the football pitch. A hand touched the ball during a soccer match and started a dispute that's resonating throughout the sport. Host Scott Simon gets NPR's Tom Goldman to tell us more.

The Ohio school has a 20,000-seat stadium, a $3 million indoor practice facility and a live tiger for a mascot. Massillon teams have won 22 state championships and they're in the running for another one. It's football "sunup to sundown," the head coach says.

An Iowa high school football team is boosting the morale of troops in Afghanistan. Dozens of U.S. soldiers will be rooting for the Little Hawks from Iowa City, to bring home a state championship. One soldier's email to a football coach started the long-distance relationship.

A blown call by referees cost the luckless Irish a spot in the 2010 World Cup. Within minutes of a shootout, the ball hit the outstretched palm of French striker Thierry Henry, who guided it to his foot then passed it to a teammate for the winning overtime goal.

Call it "The Hand of God—Part Deux." France advanced Wednesday to the 2010 World Cup Finals thanks to a controversial goal by its star Thierry Henry. Sportswriter Stefan Fatsis discusses the non-call that has entire global soccer community buzzing.

Caster Semenya will keep her 800-meter gold medal from the world championships in Berlin, but the results of her gender tests will be kept confidential, the South African sports ministry says.

The International Olympic Committee has stripped Bahrain's Rashid Ramzi of his gold medal from the Beijing Games. In taking his medal for the 1,500 meters, the IOC said Ramzi committed anti-doping violations. Four other athletes were also sanctioned for doping.

Argentina's government has nationalized the television contract that the country's soccer league had with cable television. The president's decision delighted millions of Argentine fans, who previously were excluded from the TV audience because they couldn't afford the cable fees. Now they're watching games for free.

In just one season 100 years ago, 26 players died from injuries sustained in football games. The deaths sparked a national outcry and forced the new collegiate athletic association to take action to make the sport safer.

Miami hosted a national football championship for the North American Football League over the weekend. Although the game didn't attract much attention, it was the biggest weekend of the year for semipro football, as the Nashville Storm faced off against St. Paul Pioneers.

The Supreme Court's decision to turn away an appeal ends the latest round in a 17-year court battle between the Redskins and a group of Native Americans who want the NFL franchise to change its name.

Yuri Foreman enters the boxing ring Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to fight for the WBA welterweight championship. But boxing is only one of Foreman's passions. When he moved to New York, to train and fight, he discovered a spiritual path. Foreman talks with Guy Raz about how his encounter with an orthodox rabbi in Brooklyn, and how that led to his decision to become rabbi.

The next time you see Roy Williams prowling the sidelines in a dapper Alexander Julian suit at University of North Carolina games, you might remember what a dime his mother left on their kitchen table once meant to him. Williams, the winningest active college basketball coach, has written the story of his life with Tim Crothers. Host Scott Simon talks to Williams about his book, Hard Work: A Life On and Off The Court.

The guys in this week's Barbershop — freelance writer Jimi Izrael, civil rights attorney Arsalan Iftikhar, sports reporter Pablo Torre and syndicated columnist Gustavo Arellano — weigh in on the recent abrupt departure of talk show host Lou Dobbs from CNN and a noticeable change in appearance for former baseball superstar Sammy Sosa. Also, the men also offer predictions on the upcoming welterweight title fight between boxers Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas.

For Sunset High School's band, Friday night games help prepare for Saturday competitions. That's when band parents and friends cheer for these champions from Portland, Ore., as lustily as football fans and when judges rate musicianship and movement.

The Silverdome is up for sale, but the aging stadium in Pontiac, Mich., hasn't attracted many buyers. The economically depressed city is to announce Friday who the winning bidder was — or even if anyone bid at all.

Former Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa showed up at the Latin Grammy awards last week, looking much paler than usual. Speculation flew that he had bleached his skin or was suffering from a medical condition. But in an interview Wednesday to the Spanish-language network Univision, Sosa blamed the bright television lights for the way his skin appeared. He added, however, that a European moisturizer he uses also bleaches his skin.

Police say boxer Mike Tyson has been detained on suspicion of battery following an alleged altercation with a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport. Airport police spokesman Sgt. Jim Holcomb says the photographer has accused Tyson of hitting him.

The Minnesota Vikings had a bye week this weekend — and that's a problem for both sports fans and wordsmiths. But a week off is not really a bye — nor is it a reason not to discuss the NFL's age-defying quarterback, Brett Favre.

A 21-year-old Michigan poker professional who chose cards over college won the World Series of Poker main event in Las Vegas early Tuesday, winning $8.55 million and becoming the youngest player to win the tournament in its 40-year history.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is being treated for a rare form of leukemia, and the basketball great said his prognosis is encouraging. The NBA's all-time leading scorer was diagnosed last December with chronic myeloid leukemia, he told The Associated Press.

Football remains the most watched sport in the U.S., and ratings for this season are better than ever. But NFL team owners opted out of a collective bargaining agreement, putting labor relations, along with players' longtime health concerns, back in the spotlight. Host Michel Martin speaks with DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, for more.

The New Orleans Saints are undefeated in their first eight games of the season, and the city is ecstatic. Sunday's win over the Carolina Panthers marks New Orleans' best start ever.

At the tournament's final table this weekend, first-timer Darvin Moon had the most chips and stands to win $8.5 million. Moon, who owns a logging operation in Maryland, has never been to Las Vegas or played poker online before entering the tournament.

Football players take a lot of hits, but when does hard-headed play go too far? New research suggests that head trauma can do lasting damage. Two brain researchers talk about what happens in the brain when a player gets hit, and how athletes can better protect themselves.

The New York Yankees have won their 27th World Series. They beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6. Yankees designated hitter Hideki Matsui tied a 49-year-old World Series record by driving in six runs and was named Series MVP.

The New York Yankees are baseball's best again. The Yankees won their 27th championship Wednesday night, beating the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 behind Hideki Matsui's record-tying six RBIs.

Tonight's entry in ESPN's outstanding documentary series is "Without Bias," a look at the death of a young basketball player within 48 hours of his big break.

In her weekly commentary host Michel Martin gives her take on whether President Obama's off-hour golf outings and pickup basketball games are sexist and exclusionary to female staffers at the White House. Martin suggests the criticism is displaced.

In the 1980s, the "golden era" of the NBA, basketball superstars Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson had an intense rivalry that elevated the entire league. But after years of hating each other, they developed a close friendship, chronicled in a new book, When The Game Was Ours.

One of the most popular TV shows on Canadian public television pairs figure skaters and hockey players in a weekly ice dance-off. Only one Canadian program — Little Mosque on the Prairie — has debuted with more viewers than the CBC's Battle of the Blades. The show says it's been getting calls from producers in the U.S., Russia and Czech Republic who want to copy the show.

The Philadelphia Phillies held off a late rally by the New York Yankees Monday night to win Game 5 of the World Series. The 8-6 victory sends the series back to Yankee Stadium Wednesday. The Phillies have to win the next two games to take the title — and keep New York from claiming its 27th championship.

Chase Utley hit two home runs to raise his World Series total to a record-tying five, backing Cliff Lee once again as Philadelphia staved off elimination with an 8-6 victory Monday night and set up a Game 6 for the first time since 2003.

First, the Los Angeles Dodgers saw their World Series dreams dashed by the Philadelphia Phillies. Now, the boys in blue have a potentially bigger worry — getting caught up in what could be a nasty divorce battle between team owners Frank and Jamie McCourt.

The New York Yankees are one victory away from winning their 27th World Series. They beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 Sunday night in Philadelphia. The Yankees take a 3-1 lead in the series. New York can clinch the title with a victory in Game 5 Monday night in Philadelphia.

Alex Rodriguez doubled in the top of the ninth inning, driving in the go-ahead run, and the New York Yankees went on to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 Sunday in Game Four of the Fall Classic. The Yankees are now one win away from capturing their 27th World Series title.

Quarterback Bret Favre was back on familiar turf Sunday — at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. But after 16 years with the Packers, Favre returned wearing white and purple — and throwing passes for the Minnesota Vikings, including four touchdown passes.

Meb Keflezighi became the first U.S. man to win the New York City Marathon since 1982 on Sunday, while Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia captured the women's race. Two-time defending champ Paula Radcliffe placed fourth, grabbing her left leg in pain after crossing the finish line.