The shoe missed Palaniappan Chidambaram, who lent back to avoid it. He later smiled and asked security guards to take the reporter out of the room.

This was the latest incident of show-throwing as a mark of protest against political leaders, including former President George W. Bush and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

(Reporting by Nigam Prusty; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Sanjeev Miglani)

Liu Xianghui cycled over 1,300 km (800 miles) to Beijing towing his 98-year-old grandmother in a pedicab to fulfil her dream of attending the Olympics.

Reports of Chinese sports fans going to extremes to support the Olympics have been popping up in Chinese newspapers and websites since the start of the Games on August 8, making stunts like shaving five Olympic rings into your hair look tame.

Wen Shengchu, 58, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, stuck 200 acupuncture pins bearing flags into his head.

Huang Junde, 62, of Chongqing, used 1,860 badges of China’s former leader Mao Zedong to make Olympic symbols.

Walking around Beijing and the Olympic venues, examples of fan fever are everywhere as Chinese people take the government’s message of fully supporting the Games to heart.

Take the man walking down the street in front of the Bird’s Nest stadium wearing a red dress, high heels, and a crown crafted out of palm leaves with Chinese flags draped over each shoulder, or the spectator with a model of the Bird’s Nest on his head.

Sun Shijie, 72, from Hebei province, has grown an Olympics Five Rings Tree, painstakingly working on the branches of a winterberry plant, trimming and tying them, to shape them into the rings.

Middle school student Yang Yijie rollerskated 2,300 km from Guangzhou in Guangdong province to Beijing over 16 days, collecting names of Olympic supporters along the way.

Around 2 million Chinese people are expected to attend the Games, which end on August 24.

Hu Wenyuan, 67, a retiree, has decked-out his motorised tricycle as a sort of roving Olympics advertisement. The trike is covered in stickers of the five mascots of the Games and Olympic slogans such as “One World One Dream”.

“I participate, I contribute, I’m happy,” said Hu with a smile, adding the pleasure he got from tinkering with his Olympics-mobile will probably help him live a few more years..

(Additional reporting by Jason Subler)

While the beach volleyballers tough it out in the sand, Tom Blaumauer and Chris McGee have faced an Olympic challenge of their own: how to encourage the Chinese to throw a Californian beach party.

Rock music, go-go-girls and rowdy singing in the stands have become as integral a part of beach volleyball as bikinis and board shorts but before Beijing, the announcers were worried the conservative Chinese might not catch the bug.

“We didn’t know if they would react to the Western-style music we play. If not, what do you use?” said Blaumauer, who has led the commentary and entertainment at world tour events since the trend started about 12 years ago.

“Chinese music is just not so rocky and poppy. We need people up there stamping their feet. If they’re sitting down and swaying gently, it’s not so great.”

Blaumauer and McGee, the voices of the U.S. tour, worked with Chinese announcers and DJs to put together potential playlists and taught volunteers how to get the crowd up and dancing.

A week into the event and “We will rock you” and “Minnie the Moocher” (Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi) were working as well in the 12,200-seat Chaoyang Park stadium as anywhere in the world.

The Beach Boys and Robbie Williams, however, were struggling unless there was a quorum of international fans.

A lot was lost in translation the other way as well, as tourists were bemused by high-pitched Chinese ballads and the rousing nationalistic chorus “Ode to the Motherland” that has all the Chinese on their feet and singing at the top of their voices.

“We go by who’s here and what’s going to work,” Blaumauer said as a mixed crowd launched in to “Put your hands up in the air.” He reckoned a tenth of the music they played was Chinese.

CROWD FUN

On the sand, McGee and his Chinese counterpart try to teach the crowd the rules of the game and hand moves to celebrate certain points, like a double-armed wave to German rap refrain “Mein block” when a player blocks the ball at the net.

The international crowd love it. The Chinese are not so sure, although they are becoming dab hands at the Mexican wave.

Certain players also have their own tunes like “American Woman” for the U.S. women’s teams, “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport” for the Australians and “Zorba the Greek” for, well, the Greeks.

Critics say the high-octane party atmosphere shows that beach volleyball is a lifestyle sport that has no place in the Olympics but given that events like weight lifting are now pumping up the music to keep people going, it seems they were on to something.

“You don’t want people falling asleep in their seats,” said Sinjin Smith, a former top player who has helped put together the entertainment program. “That’s not going to happen here.”

(Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

Beijing is unlikely to be totally free of Chinglish signs by the 2008 Olympics, but the government is increasing efforts to improve the capital’s once lamentable English, a senior official said on Wednesday.

“You can’t talk in absolutes,” Liu Yang, deputy head of efforts to clean up Beijing’s pre-Olympic language problems, told a news conference.

“We’ll work as hard as possible to extinguish the problem and get more city residents involved,” he added. “Of course, it will still happen occasionally, but I think we can ensure that once mistakes are found, they are rectified.”

China is littered with wrong, embarrassing and sometimes plain rude signs in Chinese English, examples of which often end up on the Internet, such as writing “oil gate” for a petrol station, and “the slippery are very crafty” — slippery when wet.

Liu said Beijing’s road signs had already been standardised and mistakes corrected, and by the end of this year the tourist, business, medical and public transport sectors would get the same treatment.

Residents and foreign visitors are being encouraged to report mistakes online or by telephone to the 35-person committee of experts charged with addressing the Chinglish problem, or directly to the offending company or government office.

“I think that various departments pay great attention to this problem,” said Liu, himself a fluent English speaker. “It’s much more proactive than before. People pay more attention to image now.”

Still, two areas stand out that will be challenging to address, Liu said — advertisements and menus.

He said language experts suffer headaches trying to make sure that menus do not use tortured English. such as those at one well-known Beijing restaurant chain with dishes called “It is small to fry the chicken miscellaneous” or “mixed elbow with garlic mud”.

“For sure we’ve hit a few problems,” Liu said, as many dishes’ names have unusual names that defy direct translation. “Translations must be simple, and we’re recommending hotels and restaurants add pictures to their menus.”

For adverts, Liu wants firms to first seek approval from the government before they come out with such mysterious enticements as “Myriad stretch golf, ethereally luxury home”, currently on the side of a large Beijing billboard advertising real estate.

To this end, the government has published and made available on the Internet an enormous list of standardised signs and even announcements to encourage correct usage.

Still, even the list itself has failed to totally eradicate Chinglish expressions, including one meant for use on the subway system: “Welcome to take this line on your next trip”.

Liu defended it, saying the list was drawn up after extensive consultations and trips abroad.

“Every country is different when it comes to English signs, like the U.S. and Britain having varying standards,” he said. “It’s hard to say that a certain country is the only one worth relying on or considering.”

But at least one sign that has caused giggles for countless foreigners has now been changed. Beijing’s “Hospital for Anus and Intestine Disease”, once lit up in garish neon lights in the central business district, is now the “Hospital for Proctology”.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale ran the challenge in a half-page ad that gym owner Troy Eckonen took out for Super Bowl Sunday. The purpose, he said, was to let seniors know it’s not too late to get in great shape like Fortin.

“Florida is like the waiting room to the casket,” Ecknonen said.

So far, the publicity stunt is working for the Tropical Gym, where membership is up. But LaLanne hasn’t taken Fortin up on the challenge to enter the ring.

LaLanne’s spokeswoman learned of the boxing challenge when she was contacted Tuesday by a reporter from the Sun Journal newspaper in Lewiston.

“That’s not quite his cup of tea,” Liz Cardenas said Wednesday from California. Besides, she said, LaLanne is too busy traveling for public appearances, and he no longer performs athletic feats for which he was known earlier in his career.

Despite the rebuff, Eckonen has not abandoned the idea. He said he plans to deliver the ad to fight promoter Don King to see if he’s interested.

“It’d be a gentleman’s fight, obviously,” Eckonen said.

Fortin, a widower who has wintered in Florida since retiring from the funeral business decades ago, doesn’t think either man would get hurt in a brief square-off. “He’d knock me down, I’d knock him down,” he said.

A scheme launched this week by UK Sport and the English Institute of Sport is calling for ‘sleeping giants’ to take up rowing, handball and volleyball in the hope that they can be fast-tracked into becoming Olympic champions.

Detailing the requirements of the scheme on its website, UK Sport says it will only consider women measuring 5ft 11ins (1.80 metres) and men of 6ft 3ins (1.90 metres). Candidates must also be under the age of 25.

“We want to unearth the hidden talent of the six-foot plus variety…we have a unique opportunity to pluck individuals from relative sporting obscurity and provide the opportunity of a sporting lifetime,” Chelsea Warr of UK Sport said.

British Olympic chiefs have identified fourth place in the medals table as the goal for the 2012 Olympics. In the Athens Games in 2004 Britain was 10th.

Height became a talking point in British sport last year when Liverpool’s towering 6ft 7ins (2.0 metres) striker Peter Crouch established himself as something of a cult figure in the England squad and played at the World Cup finals.

It has nothing to do with his arm. He owns a rock quarry in western Massachusetts.

White, who has appeared in seven big league games in nine professional seasons, paid $50,000 three years ago to buy 50 acres of land from an elderly aunt who needed the money to pay for a nursing home.

While clearing out a couple acres to build a home, he discovered stone ledges in the ground, prompting him to have the property surveyed.

A geologist estimated there were 24 million tons of the stone on his land. The stone is being sold for upward of $100 per ton, meaning there’s well over $2 billion worth of material used for sidewalks, patios and the like.

Of course, that doesn’t factor in the expenses involved in processing the stone and transporting it for sale.

“It sounds bogus even saying those numbers,” White said. “I’m just a small town guy trying to get to the big leagues. It’s beyond comprehension.”

The news has prompted some of White’s teammates to refer to him as “The Billionaire,” but the 29-year-old left-hander isn’t counting his money just yet.

“There are a lot of questions,” he said. “It takes time, it takes money, it takes machines. There are professionals who handle that stuff.”

White’s father has been involved in selling the stone, but it’s presently a small-time operation.

“I guess you could say the property is for sale,” White said with a chuckle. “We’ll have to see how things turn out. I don’t even know where to start. I’m in the process now of getting in touch with business-savvy guys, finding out how much to ask.”

White said he doesn’t feel like he’s wealthy, which he isn’t quite yet.

“Not at all. I don’t live like a rich man,” he said. “I’m a minor league guy who’s played winter ball to make ends meet.”

Dr. Peter Pannish, an adjunct professor in the department of geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, surveyed the property several months ago. He said he believes the stone was formed about 400 million years ago.

“It’s basically a slabby rock that can be used for sidewalks, building faces and stone walls,” Pannish said from his Amherst, Mass., office. “You can use it for a lot of other things, like flagstone on a patio. There are some sidewalks right here on campus that are made of that same rock.”

Pannish said he believes White could sell his property for several million dollars, or more.

“As far as hundreds of millions, I doubt if that’s possible because of all the expenses that would have to be considered,” Pannish said. “But it could be quite a bit of money. He probably needs a mining engineer or an economic geologist to come up with a good evaluation.”

White has received inquiries about making national television appearances, and has even been contacted about a possible movie. He is represented by Herbie Zucker of Zucker Sports Management in Chicago.

But for now, White is concentrating on his day job. And that’s no surprise, considering pitching in the big leagues has been a lifelong dream.

“They say lefties bloom later than righties. I keep telling myself that,” he said. “I’m here to make the big-league team. I feel confident about that, absolutely. I’ve had some pretty good years in Triple-A.

“I plan to play baseball until I can’t play anymore. My goal is to play in the big leagues, regardless of what happens with the rock quarry.”

White signed a minor league contract last December with the Dodgers — his eighth organization. He has appeared in 254 minor league games, 136 of them starts.

White pitched in three games each for Boston and Seattle in 2003, and one for Washington in 2005, going 0-2 and allowing 18 earned runs in 9 2-3 innings.

The Boston manager in 2003 was current Dodgers skipper Grady Little.

“The kid has a genuine love for the game,” Little said. “He’s quite a competitor, he’s always striving to get better. It’s not about money for him. He’s prepared himself well coming into camp and he’ll be going after somebody’s job. He’ll be given an opportunity.

“It’s a tough hill to climb. We have 28 pitchers in camp, we’ll leave spring training with 11 or 12. Before it’s over, we might need 20. He’s in there trying to get a job.”

With that, Little smiled and said: “Along the way, if anybody needs landscaping stone, we know where to find it.”

By JOHN NADEL, AP Sports Writer

Honus Wagner, a former Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop, was one of the first five players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Originally released in 1909, there are no more than 60 known cards in existence. The card just sold is believed to be in the best condition of all the known Wagner cards.  “I’d consider this card’s condition an eight out of 10,” said SCP acquisitions director Allen Miller. “The next closest card is maybe a five out of 10.”

The card last sold for $1.26 million in 2000, and has nearly doubled in price three of the last four times it has been sold, according to SCP.  Previous owners have included hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and former sports executive Bruce McNall.

“Somewhere in between the final proofing and its printing, someone at our company — and we won’t name names — thought it would be funny to put in Bush and Mantle,” said Clay Luraschi, a spokesman for Topps in Tuesday’s edition of the Daily News.

The president’s image is superimposed on the picture, while whoever played the trick took some time blending Mantle into the background of Jeter’s card, No. 40 in the set.

Luraschi said that the gag was discovered during proofing of the card, but that it was already in the set. “We couldn’t do anything but laugh,” he said.

It’s not the first card to have silly errors or odd prints, said T.S. O’Connell, the editor of Sports Collector’s Digest. “For collectors, there’s a real giggle factor for something like this,” he said.

The Jeter card could join other famed oddball cards, like the 1969 Topps of Aurelio Rodriguez. That card featured a photo of a bat boy instead of the infielder.

Another collector said the joke would raise the price of the card, which currently goes for $2 on eBay.

Jeter told the News said he didn’t know anything about the card. A White House spokesman declined to comment.

Luraschi said he doesn’t know whether the card would be corrected in the future.

Information from: Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com

Rodrigo Martins Cintra has been banned indefinitely following his performance during the Corinthians-Rio Branco match in the Paulista championship, the head of the Paulista Football Federation’s referees committee said.

“The mistake happened,” Marcos Marinho told reporters. “He thought it was one player but it was a different one. He needs some time to get over it.”

The incident happened during the first half when a Corinthians player was tripped by Rio Branco’s Josias. However, Cintra showed a yellow card to Felipe who had already been booked and was therefore sent off.

“He’s not on form at the moment so we’re going to work to make sure he’s better when he comes back,” Marinho said. Cintra also dismissed two Corinthians players in the 1-1 draw.

Rasheeda, 17, said she has filed applications with the police and a local councillor asking them to prevent Lal Haider, 45, from taking her to his home.

Her mother, Nooran said her husband racked up a debt of 10,000 rupees ($151) to Haider playing cards.

“My husband didn’t have money to pay, and instead he told Lal Haider that he could take Rasheeda when she grows up,” she said.

Despite being paid his money last year, she said Haider still insisted the girl should be given to him because of tribal customs.

While both families live in Hyderabad, a city 160 km (100 miles) north of the southern city of Karachi, they belong to the same tribe in Baluchistan province.

The girl’s uncle, Dur Mohammad said Haider apparently wanted to marry the girl to his son.

Khalid Rajput, a local councillor dealing with the case, said the decision that Rasheeda should be handed over to Haider was taken late last week at a tribal council meeting.

“We know some tribal elders from Baluchistan came for the meeting in which the girl’s family was told to give her as per their customs,” he said.

Irfan Bhutto, a police officer in Hyderabad, said Haider had been summoned. “We will ensure the girl does not have to do anything against her will.”

“You are playing in view of St. Peter’s cupola, so behave well,” admonished Cardinal Pio Laghi before giving the official kickoff at a small arena on a hill overlooking the Vatican.

In Italy soccer is a hallowed game, taken almost as seriously as Catholicism, and the players were all business once the whistle was blown.

Amid screams from the coaches, pious slogans from the small crowd and T-shirts invoking the protection of the Virgin Mary, a motley crew of Latin Americans, Africans and Asians from the Collegio Mater Ecclesiae (Mother of the Church College) took on an all-Brazilian team fielded by the Gregorian University.

In a miraculous upset, the young Mater Ecclesiae players trounced the more experienced but portly Brazilians 6-0 as their fans chanted: “The Mother of the Church wants a goal!”

The game had its share of hard tackles and rough play, with the first goal coming from a penalty kick — the second in the match.

Still, in the end it was all handshakes and smiles between the teams, in what officials and players hope will set a good example for Italian professional soccer, which has been recently marred by fan violence and scandal.

The Clericus Cup should “reaffirm the educational and pastoral value of sport,” and “strengthen feelings of true friendship and fruitful sharing,” said a message from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s No. 2 official.

Even as Italy’s national team was making its successful run for the World Cup last summer, club soccer at home was ravaged by a match-fixing scandal that led to sanctions against several top teams.

Earlier this month, rioting at a game in Sicily caused the death of a policeman and forced authorities to bar fans from many stadiums.

“We have lost but we are all laughing, and this shows that sport should be a joy for all,” said Reginei Jose Modolo, a 32-year-old midfielder on the Gregorian University team. On the field, he goes by the name of “Zico,” a Brazilian soccer star.

The tournament is also a second chance for many clergymen who left promising soccer careers to follow their spiritual calling, said Marco Rosales, a Mexican seminarian who coaches the Mater Ecclesiae team.

“Some on the team had a chance to play professionally, but the Lord called them to His team,” he said.

The Clericus Cup will run through June, with the 16 teams fielding 311 athletes from countries including Italy, the United States, Mexico, Papua New Guinea and Rwanda.

The matches last one hour and rules differ slightly from those of professional club soccer. Teams are allowed one time-out and, besides the traditional yellow and red card, the referee brandishes a blue card, which gives errant players a five-minute suspension.

The photo, carried by several Swiss newspapers last week, shows the former England captain shaking hands with Philippe Leuba ahead of a 2005 friendly between England and Argentina.

Leuba is standing in local government elections in the western Swiss region of Vaud and a thought bubble placed next to Beckham in the photo has the player supposedly wishing: “I hope you are just as impartial in the state parliament as you were on the football pitch.”

Beckham’s management said on Thursday they had already taken steps to prevent further distribution of the campaign photo.

“The individual in question did not seek approval with regards to the use of David’s image and our lawyers have been in contact to see that the image is taken out of circulation,” Beckham’s spokesman Simon Oliveira said.

Shortly afterwards Leuba, 41, said there were no plans to reuse the image and that he himself had never authorised the campaign.

“It was just a joke, a surprise that a friend arranged for me in the newspapers,” Leuba told Reuters. “I got a mail from Beckham’s lawyers which I have passed on to the advertising agency involved but the whole thing is finished anyway.

“It was never part of my official campaign and I think it’s amazing that it has got so much attention. I don’t think anybody in Switzerland would really have thought that David Beckham was supporting my campaign or even knew anything about it.”

People who run anti-bullying programs are crying foul over the Bullies name. They say when children attend the games, they’ll get the wrong idea that bullies are cool.

A Rochester businessman, Nicholas Fritts, tells Syracuse TV station WSYR that the team’s name doesn’t promote bullying and shouldn’t raise concerns. The team’s mascot is a muscle-bound bull.

But the director of one Syracuse group, Jenna’s Foundation for Non-Violence, says the team name goes against everything anti-bullying educators are trying to get across to kids.