While soccer has always been one of the most popular sports in Europe and South America and laid the foundation for American football, even with the arrival of super stud David Beckham, it has never really caught on in the United States. The sexy lean men with muscled calves and the strong, powerful women with an amazing... um… competitive nature just seem to evoke some sort of gay connotation. Football.uk.com writer Marty Mercado explained:  

“Another idea that soccer 'promotes' that strikes fear into Americans’ hearts is homosexuality. Soccer does not explicitly promote homosexuality, if it does at all, but in America, it is regarded as a 'girly sport.' Homosexuality has always been a controversial issue that Americans have tried to avoid, and a sport like soccer that does not appear to be manly enough has failed to attract attention from the US.”  

Well said Marty, now if they would only play shirtless, then we could truly test that theory. 

Speaking of shirtless, the University of Idaho Vandals are gearing up for the upcoming season, and they are doing it with a lot of baby oil. 

Their new “toughness” campaign, which I guess is to demonstrate that football players can be hot too, looks like the cover of the latest Falcon porn video. There is really no explanation why the boys are stripped down in the photo, but then again, do we really need one?  

Wouldn’t it be nice to be such a celebrity that you could call up your agent and find a hot girl from the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and marry her? American tennis superstar Andy Roddick did just that when he wanted to meet 20-year-old fashion model Brooklyn Decker. 

Roddick has been a top contender on the circuit ever since winning the US open in 2003, but he has been unable to relive that glory on the court. Elsewhere, he has thrived, receiving endorsements and sponsorship deals from several huge companies, and his boyish good looks and charm have earned him a legion of adoring fans despite the fact that he hasn’t won a major tournament in almost five years. I guess now that he’s engaged to Decker, Rafael Nadal (right) will become the heartthrob of the tennis court. 

Tiger Woods is the golden boy of the PGA tour and has always had a pretty squeaky clean image in media, but this week his temper flared and could cost him a fine. Woods, arguably one of the best golf players of all time, has dominated the circuit, capturing 64 official PGA titles, 22 professional titles, and has been named PGA player of the year nine times since he joined the tour in 1996.  

He is one of the most prolific golfers ever, and as such is always a target for photographers and paparazzi. At the WGC-CA Championship at Doral, a photographer snapped a shot in the middle of Woods' down swing causing him to completely lose his cool. 

Woods screamed “Jackass!”' and warned, 'The next time a photographer shoots an [expletive] picture, I'm going to break his [expletive] neck.' OK, so it wasn’t much, but this is golf and his outburst could warrant a fine. 

WWE fans in Florida got more bang than they bargained for when they attended an event at the Citrus Bowl this week. Officials said that 35 people were burned by a faulty fireworks show at WrestleMania XXIV. Apparently a cable that held fireworks on the southwest end of the stadium snapped, shooting rockets into the stands.  

The WWE released an official statement about the incident, which said, "While we apologize to anyone who was injured and/or alarmed by this occurrence, we take solace in the fact that the reported injuries were minor." 

The $300,000 pyrotechnics show had been developed by Zenith Pyrotechnology and Orlando fire officials approved and signed off on the event. Later that evening, the Undertaker defeated Edge for the title. Tragic. 

On the slopes, sexy American snowboarder Jamie Anderson bested Torah Bright and Kelly Clark to win the TTR World Title after taking the Slopestyle title at the 2008 Roxy Chicken Jam. The Roxy Chicken Jam is the final women’s event of the tour, and the women were in the tightest race ever entering the event.  

Anderson told the press, "I am so amped to win today. I cannot believe it. When I awoke this morning, I did not anticipate this happening. All of the girls came out with fantastic riding. The Roxy Chicken Jam is one event we all look forward to."  

It has to be said that women on snowboards are just plain hot.  

And finally, Barack Obama took a second away from the campaign trail to show his skills, or lack thereof, in the bowling alley. He hit the lanes with Senator Bob Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.) to help demonstrate his “every man” quality and instead just wound up embarrassing himself by scoring a whopping 37 in the first seven frames of his game. Obama assured the Associated Press, "My economic plan is better than my bowling.”  

One would hope.  

Senator Hillary Clinton didn’t let the pathetic performance slip by, suggesting that she would challenge Obama to a bowl off for delegates in her April Fools speech.  

"It's time for his campaign to get out of the gutter," the Boston Globe reports. Clinton also poked fun at her own campaign strategy, saying that she would be "ready to bowl on Day One."