RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – An executive from the World Cup's hospitality services firm escaped out the back door of his plush Rio de Janeiro hotel Thursday to avoid arrest on charges of illegally selling tickets, police said.
With the death of Paul -- the "psychic" octopus who correctly predicted all six of Germany's 2010 World Cup games and the tournament final between the Netherlands and Spain -- sports fans all over the world have been scrambling to find another clairvoyant creature to take his place.
It's been said Brazil has never fully recovered from its greatest sporting tragedy, the 1950 home loss to Uruguay in the World Cup final. Despite proceeding to win a record five global crowns and injecting beauty into the beautiful game, for blessing the sport legends such as Pele, Romario and Ronaldo, Brazil remains haunted by the ghosts of "Maracanazo."
More than half the arrests involved domestic violence, despite a government campaign to curb a recent spike in domestic abuse complaints during the World Cup.
Many Costa Ricans and their most fervent fans have been sitting in the eye of a storm for the past few weeks, struck dumb by amazement, watching wide-eyed as accolades all over the world for “the little team that could” have whirled around us in dizzying splendor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc640C5PUy4&feature=em-upload_owner
Watch the reactions of Costa Rica fans in the Plaza de la Democracia as they watch their national soccer team fall to the Netherlands...
