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    Martin Rogers

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    Martin Rogers spent seven years as a soccer writer for the London Daily Mirror, covering the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and international soccer. A journalism graduate from Harlow College, he is now based in Los Angeles.

    • Messi's brilliance lifts Barcelona to improbable Champions League comeback

      Lionel Messi produced one of the most dazzling displays of his career to lead Barcelona to a stirring Champions League comeback against AC Milan on Tuesday and created a slice of tournament history along the way.

      Picking a favorite from Messi's seemingly endless feats of brilliance, which seem to happen on a weekly basis, is a fool's errand, yet there is little doubt that the importance of this contest gives it extra weight.

      Barca was facing elimination after a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of its round-of-16 clash against Italian giant AC Milan, a deficit from which no team had ever recovered in the Champions League's 21 seasons of existence. Yet, with a flick of his left cleat just five minutes into the contest, Messi sent his side on their way to an inspired 4-0 victory that kept alive the club's dream of adding to its modern dynasty of three European titles in the past six years.

      Messi added a second goal just before halftime to suck the life out of Milan, and the one-way

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    • Boxer combats cyberbullying by tracking down his Twitter bully

      Curtis Woodhouse, 32, is a former soccer player turned professional boxer. (Getty Images)Boxer Curtis Woodhouse lived out the private fantasy of countless athletes on Monday, forcing a confrontational Twitter tormentor to back down by turning up at his house.

      Woodhouse, a former professional soccer player in his native United Kingdom, snapped upon receiving a series of taunting tweets from a user named "The Master" after losing his English lightweight title to Shayne Singleton in a controversial bout last weekend.

      "Whats funny u put so much effort in, sacrificed all that time and failed to defend your Mickey Mouse title," was one of the more palatable messages from the @jimmyob88 handle, part of a stream of rants laced with offensive language.

      Curtis Woodhouse tweeted this photo of the road where his cyberbully lives. (@Woodhousecurtis)Yet the keyboard warrior soon had the wind taken out of his sails when Woodhouse apparently tracked down the user's address and drove to his street, believed to be in Sheffield in the northern English county of Yorkshire.

      Upon his arrival, Woodhouse tweeted a photograph of the street sign, stating: "Right Jimbob, I'm here!

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    • Ronaldo, Real Madrid salvage season, leave Manchester United seeing red

      It was the victory that saved his season – and probably his job – but Jose Mourinho was in no mood to celebrate on Tuesday.

      The Real Madrid boss and self-proclaimed "Special One" saw his team rescue itself from Champions League elimination with a 2-1 comeback victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford to progress to the quarterfinals, 3-2 on aggregate.

      Yet, while a controversy raged about the red card issued to United's Portuguese star Nani, a decision that appeared to turn the contest on its head, Mourinho refused to accept any plaudits for the most hotly-debated result of the European soccer season.

      Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after Real Madrid beat Manchester United. (REUTERS)Even before the final whistle, Mourinho turned to shake the hand of his friend Sir Alex Ferguson, the simmering United boss who would point his finger and gesture furiously at Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir at the conclusion of the match, while his players surrounded the official and bombarded him with demands for explanation while offering sarcastic applause.

      By then

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    • Laser pointers: all fun and games until you shoot someone's eyesight out

      High-powered laser pens can do a lot more harm than just distracting an opposing player, like cause permanent blindness, and the fear is that the trend that's taken hold amongst European soccer fans will make its way to the United States.

      Dr. Robert Josephburg, an ophthalmologist and retina specialist at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., has warned Congress that swift action is needed to crack down on the use of the laser pens – a more advanced version of the laser pointers regularly used by teachers and professors – before serious injury occurs.

      Last week, the world's two most famous soccer players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, were both targeted by opposition fans during a pair of matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Spectators shined the light beams into the eyes of the players, presumably in the hope of distracting them from their performances on the field.

      There have been sporadic instances of laser pens being used at American sporting events –

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    • From the World Cup to (hopefully) the Olympics: Ilhan Mansiz's unlikely journey

      Every Olympian has their own tale to tell, their own unique and personal path to the crowning event of athletic achievement.

      Yet if Ilhan Mansiz fulfills his dream of stepping onto the ice as a pairs figure skater for the 2014 Winter Olympics, he may well be the most unlikely and improbable competitor taking part in Sochi.

      For Mansiz's story reads like the kind of script only the most open-minded Hollywood director would entertain, one so unusual that you couldn't make it up. It goes like this:

      A World Cup soccer star is forced to quit through injuries caused by a car crash. Reluctantly persuaded to take part in a reality television ice-dancing show, he falls in love with his partner and wins the show. Not content with that, the pair then embarks upon a six-year quest to qualify for the Olympics as figure skaters … and go on to win the gold medal.

      Okay, so that last bit is far-fetched, and Mansiz and his skating partner/girlfriend Olga Bestandigova face a tough challenge just

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    • Israel vs. Palestine over … a marathon

      An international marathon has become the latest focal point to threaten the delicate political balance between Israel and Palestine, with the International Olympic Committee and two American companies getting caught up in tensions regarding the route of the race in Jerusalem.

      A runner holds an Israeli and Palestinian flag as he takes part in the Jerusalem Marathon. (Getty Images)The Jerusalem Marathon is set to be staged on March 1, with a prize fund of close to $30,000 and a breathtaking backdrop of several sights with deep historical and religious significance.

      However, much as organizers have tried to tout the event as a peaceful showcase of the ancient city, Palestinian government officials have taken action against what they believe to be a "serious breach" of international law.

      The main point of contention is the route itself, part of which runs through Jerusalem's east sector, an enclave captured by Israel during the "Six Day War" of 1967 and subsequently annexed. While the Israeli government insists the region as part of its capital city, Palestinians and the inter national

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    • Can NFL teams ask Manti Te'o if he's gay? Depends on which teams are doing the asking

      A quirk in the American legal system means that NFL teams are governed by differing laws on the level of intrusive questioning they can impose on potential draft picks such as Manti Te'o.

      Te'o's sexuality has been the subject of much debate following the fallout of the Notre Dame defensive star's hoax girlfriend saga that thrust him into a storm of media attention and, unfortunately, public ridicule.

      One NFL insider, NBC Sports' Mike Florio, said Monday that several NFL organizations would like to know whether the powerful Hawaiian linebacker is gay, describing the matter as the "elephant in the room."

      [Related: Questions about Te’o's sexuality remain a concern]

      However, a number of NFL executives told Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver that in interviews with Te'o they did not ask him about his sexuality.

      Which NFL franchises can and can't ask a player if he is gay?
      Can Can't
      Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens
      Arizona Cardinals Buffalo Bills
      Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears
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    • Oscar Pistorius granted bail in killing of Reeva Steenkamp

      Oscar Pistorius was released from custody after winning the right to avoid imprisonment until his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a South African court decided on Friday.

      A four-day hearing culminated with shouts of "Yes!" when chief magistrate Desmond Nair announced he was granting the Blade Runner bail. Pistorius, who kept his head bowed when Nair announced his ruling, was ordered to post $1 million South African rand – $112,771 U.S. dollars – as surety and surrender his passport to prevent him from leaving the country.

      Not allowed to return to his home in Pretoria, Pistorius has reportedly gone to his uncle's house in Waterkloof, a suburb of Pretoria.

      "We are relieved by the fact that Oscar got bail today," Pistorius' uncle, Arnold, told reporters outside the court house, "but at the same time, we are in mourning for Reeva Steenkamp and her family."

      Although Pistorius, who claims he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her through

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    • Without bail, Oscar Pistorius faces time in brutal South African prison

      Oscar Pistorius faces months in one of South Africa's most notorious and dangerous prisons if he fails in his bid for bail before being tried for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

      The Blade Runner's defense counsel battled with the prosecution for a third straight day on Thursday and it is expected that the bail hearing that will determine Pistorius' immediate future will finally conclude on Friday.

      Legal experts believe the matter hangs in the balance, but the decision that will be made by chief magistrate Desmond Nair has extreme repercussions for Pistorius.

      Oscar Pistorius enters the dock during a break in court proceedings. (REUTERS)A denial of bail would see the 26-year-old athlete held in Pretoria Central Prison, a sprawling complex on the edge of the South African capital that comes with a fearsome reputation after years of allegations of violence, rape, cramped conditions and a sinister-sounding inner sanctum known as "The Pot" that previously held death row inmates during the apartheid era.

      It is not known what provisions

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    • Hilton Botha, lead detective in Oscar Pistorius case, faces his own attempted murder charges

      Oscar Pistorius' murder case took a sensational twist Thursday when it was revealed that the chief investigator who analyzed the scene of Reeva Steenkamp's fatal shooting faces seven counts of attempted murder charges himself.

      Hilton Botha, whose stumbling and at times incoherent evidence on day two of Pistorius' bail hearing gave the Blade Runner's case a serious boost, was allegedly one of three drunk police officers who opened fire on a mini-bus taxi full of passengers in 2011, according to South Africa's Eyewitness News.

      According to Botha, the shooting took place as part of the investigation into the murder of Denise Stratford, a Girl Scout leader whose body was discovered stuffed into a drain in 2011. Botha and colleagues were tracking the suspect and as part of their inquiries fired at the mini-bus when it failed to pull over when requested.

      Botha was arrested at the time due to the charges, which were subsequently dropped, before it emerged Thursday that

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