In brief: Germany celebrates World Cup victory
SOCCER: At a party 24 years in the making, hundreds of thousands of Germans showed their admiration and adoration for their World Cup winners in a victory parade to the Brandenburg Gate on Tuesday.
The players, in matching black T-shirts bearing “1,” lapped up the love by playing up to the estimated 400,000 people packing the “fan mile” in front of the Berlin landmark.
Fans began lining the street overnight to welcome home coach Joachim Loew’s team and the trophy. Germany’s fourth World Cup, the first since 1990, crowned years of work by Loew to modernize the team, and followed near misses at recent tournaments.
“We’re all world champions!” Loew told the crowd.
“Of course, it was a long way to the title, and an incredibly tough one in the end. But we’re incredibly happy to be here with the fans now.”
Mario Goetze, the scorer in the 1-0 win over Argentina in the final on Sunday, was greeted with deafening cheers by the sea of fans waving black, red and gold Germany flags.
Midfielder Toni Kroos led the crowd in a chant of “Miro Klose” – a tribute to veteran striker Miroslav Klose, whose two goals took his World Cup tally to 16 and made him the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
• Expert alleges concussions ignored: Concussion expert Chris Nowinski says World Cup organizers missed a chance to use the tournament as a “bully pulpit” to teach soccer fans and young players around the globe about the dangers of head injuries.
In the final, Germany midfielder Christoph Kramer continued playing after colliding with Argentina defender Ezequiel Garay. Kramer later had to be helped off the field and said he couldn’t remember much from the collision.
• Conte leaves Juventus: Antonio Conte has terminated his contract with Serie A champion Juventus by mutual consent.
• Costa moves to Atletico: Spain striker Diego Costa has completed his move to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid by signing a five-year deal.
January named to All-Star game
WNBA: Indiana guard Briann January, a 2005 graduate of Lewis and Clark High School, has been named an Eastern Conference reserve for Saturday’s WNBA All-Star game in Phoenix.
The 5-foot-8 former Arizona State standout is averaging 11.1 points and 4.5 assists per game.
Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike became the first pair of sisters to be chosen to participate in the game. Nneka plays for Los Angeles and Chiney for Connecticut.
Other Eastern Conference reserves are New York’s Tina Charles, Chicago’s Jessica Breland, Atlanta’s Erika de Souza and Connecticut’s Katie Douglas.
The other Western Conference reserves are Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen, Phoenix’s Candice Dupree, Tulsa’s Glory Johnson and San Antonio’s Danielle Robinson.
• Schimmel leads WNBA sales: Rookie Shoni Schimmel of the Atlanta Dream has the top-selling jersey in the WNBA.
Ex-Vikings punter plans lawsuit
NFL: Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe intends to sue the team over allegations of anti-gay conduct by a coach, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Lawyer Clayton Halunen said they’ll seek a copy of the Vikings’ internal investigation and make it public if they can. They accused the Vikings of reneging on a pledge to release the report.
• Kraft, Belichick interviewed: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick were interviewed by police investigating a homicide in which former player Aaron Hernandez is a suspect.
Kraft and Belichick were interviewed last August during the investigation into the shooting of Odin Lloyd, whose body was found not far from Hernandez’s North Attleborough home.
• Hardy found guilty: Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy has been found guilty of assaulting a female and communicating threats.
Mecklenburg County Judge Rebecca Thorn-Tin sentenced Hardy to 18 months’ probation. A 60-day jail sentence was suspended.
His attorney says he’ll appeal.