Before the promulgation of worthwhile American sports such as baseball, football, basketball or hockey*, non-Americans were forced to content themselves with quasi-sports like croquet, Duck-Duck-Goose and soccer.  It’s no surprise then that these diversion-starved people began to invent their own increasingly bizarre ‘sports.’
However, the Yorkshire miners who in the 1970s invented ferret legging, also known as ferret-down-trousers, had no such excuse.  Although week after week, color television offered far safer and more athletically meritorious sports, the Yorkies designed a contest that very often results in bleeding genitals.

Well, those naughty boys (and girls) have now grown up and take part in the Spitball World Championship ... and to them it seems to be a very serious sport ...
If you didn’t get chance to take part in the championship why not visit the Witcham website, where you’ll see that the village of Witcham near Ely pay hosts to this annual event.
And if you’re thinking of taking up this sport ... perhaps ready for the London Olympics in 2012 ... than forget using the novice equipment of a straw or empty biro ... and get hold of some serious pea shooting equipment...

One year after the hosting of the exceptional Beijing Olympic Games, the 11th National Games, billed as China's mini-Olympics, opened amid a splendid ceremony here Friday evening.
Chinese President Hu Jintao officially opened the Games at the ceremony held in the newly built Olympic Sports Complex in this capital city of east China's Shandong province.
With 55 of all 63 Chinese Beijing Olympic champions expected to compete, the quadrennial national meet is set to stage another sports gala for the country which just celebrated its 60th birthday.
Among those present at the ceremony are President of International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge, who was re-elected at the 121st IOC Session held in Copenhagen just one week ago, and a dozen of IOC members.
When addressing the full capacity of 60,000 at the ceremony...