Haitians love Brazilian soccer like almost nothing else, a half-century-old histoire d'amour that even smoothed the way for Brazil-led U.N. peacekeepers to help quell political unrest in 2004. With Haitians badly needing a release from tension and misery of the post-quake year, the 2010 Cup and Selecao mean more than ever.

As part of the United States Sports Envoy Program, NBA and WNBA veterans Sam “Big Smooth” Perkins and Sue Wicks gathered with Indonesian basketball figures in a Monday coaching clinic session for some 50 teenagers from around the capital.

The players on Iraq's premier national baseball team saw a baseball stadium for the first time on a recent 10-day visit to the United States, courtesy of the State Department.

APDS Blogger: Miles Knowles

...Navneet Suri, a former consul general to South Africa, said that the popularity and level of awareness created about India by the IPL bandwagon in South Africa was one of the biggest gains of the money-spinner tournament.

Thirty students from the UK will be among the 30,000-strong volunteer force for the Commonwealth Games in October this year.

The overall narrative for these Olympics seems somewhat ambivalent: “they were a rousing success, but…” But they could only take place in a totalitarian country where the government can direct resources at will towards any national project. But the protest zones were left empty and some of those wanting to protest were arrested after they filed their paperwork.