Former Argentinian soccer star Diego Maradona has issued something of an apology to British fans for the infamous "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals. Maradona knocked in the first goal of Argentina's 2-1 win with his hand, an act that went unnoticed by the referee. He went many years without admitting that it was, in fact, a handball.


Maradona has since said he did it because the English goalkeeper was very tall and he couldn't get his head on it. He also called the tipped goal "something that just came out of me. It was a bit of mischief." A bit of mischief??! Huge understatement.

Nevertheless, he was quoted in a London tabloid last week as saying, "If I could apologize and go back and change history I would." However, he shortly thereafter said that the paper changed his words and what he actually said was, "A long time has passed since that and that history can't be rewound."

It is unfortunate that Maradona, who is highly regarded as one of the best soccer players of all time--second only to Pele--will likely be remembered in such a controversial, negative way.

Battle for the Ball
Arsenal Girls U13 team is playing in a boys U14 indoor league. Though the boys won the game on this day, the girls gave it their all and at this moment of impact, held firm while the boy went flying.

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"Lori Chalupny is a fantastic midfielder," U.S. women's soccer team head coach Greg Ryan said. "First and foremost, her work rate both directions, defending and attacking--she went from 18 yard line to 18 yard line tonight....What she does to our midfield and our front line is she runs through the opponent's defense and gets in behind the other side of them and creates great attacking chances, scoring chances, for us. She really makes our midfield much more dynamic than we've been in the past."

It is that work ethic and dynamic dimension that helped Chalupny score the second-fastest goal in World Cup history, with a deflecting strike that found the back of the net just 55 seconds into the game. That proved to be the only scoring power the United States needed as the 1-0 win over Nigeria sent the team out of the toughest group in the tournament and on to the quarterfinals.

Even knowing the result immediately upon sitting down at my desk to start work yesterday morning, and seeing the highlight of the one and only goal of the match, I still tuned in late last night to watch much of the replay of the game to see how the team looked overall.

The Americans countered the Nigerians' speed by moving the ball the more effectively than they had previously during the opening round--despite soggy conditions caused by the leading edge of a typhoon that forced today's games to be postponed.

I'll be cheering them on as they continue their attacking ways against England in a quarterfinal match-up on Saturday.

(Photo provided by Ronald Martinez/GettyImages)

Last weekend marked the 35th anniversary of Title IX, the legislation credited with increasing gender equity in sports. According to the Women???s Sports Foundation, since its enactment in 1972, female athletic participation has increased by a staggering 904 percent in high school and by 456 percent in college.

As someone who has benefited from Title IX, softball star Jennie Finch is quick to share her appreciation for those women that came before her. "I'm truly grateful for people who have paved the way, and have fought the fight," Finch said in the Daily Freeman. "I'm happy they broke down barriers to give women like myself the opportunity to be successful athletes and make a living playing a sport that I love."

I???m no softball star, but I am also thankful for the positive influence of Title IX in my life and the opportunity to play ball in college. Here are some other women who have enjoyed the effects of Title IX and are part of my favorite moments in sports history:

1996 | New Women's Olympic Sports. Women's softball and soccer made their Olympic debut at the Summer Games in Atlanta, and the U.S. dominated, winning the gold in both sports, as well as in basketball, gymnastics and synchronized swimming. The Atlanta Games made stars of Lisa Leslie, Mia Hamm and Lisa Fernandez, giving rise to professional softball and soccer leagues for women in the U.S.

1999 | Women's World Cup. A billion TV viewers and a stadium crowd of 90,000 witness the celebration as the U.S. wins the Women's World Cup in an overtime shoot-out against China. Brandi Chastain ripped off her jersey after scoring the winning goal, giving little girls someone besides a model to look at for a strong, beautiful body. And for the first time, a women's soccer team got as much attention a men's squad usually does.

2007 | Equal Pay at Wimbledon. After 123 years of awarding more prize money to men than women, Wimbledon yielded to public pressure and announced on Feb. 22, that it will offer equal pay through all rounds at this year's tournament.

2006 | Winningest Coach in NCAA History. Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history--male or female--earned her 900th career win as the Tennessee Lady Vols beat Vanderbilt, 80-68. That year, Summitt signed a $1.125 million deal for the 2006-07 season, making her the first women's basketball coach in history to be paid a million dollars or more.

2003 | Annika Plays a PGA Tour Event. Annika Sorenstam became the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to compete in a PGA Tour event. Sorenstam missed the cut at the Colonial--in Fort Worth, Texas--by four strokes, but walked off the course to a standing ovation.

1997 | The WNBA is Born. The WNBA kicked off its inaugural season with eight teams, but unlike the other women's pro basketball leagues before it, this one has enjoyed longevity, this year celebrating its 10th year of existence.

2001 | Increased Exposure for the Women's Tournament. The NCAA and ESPN announced an 11-year agreement for the cable outlet to televise every game of the women's national championship basketball tournament.

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Veteran 41-year-old striker Romario scored the 1,000th goal of his 23-year career last weekend in the second round of the Brazilian national championship.

One thousand goals scored. That???s amazing, even if Romario does count goals scored in training games and unofficial matches against small clubs towards the 1,000 goal tally. However, his tally reportedly had to be revised several times because he initially counted goals scored in matches that never happened and in games that ended 0-0. That???s bogus.

Three other players have scored 1,000 goals, the most notable being Pele. According to FIFA, Pel?? ended his career with a total of 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches, with his 1,000th goal scored when he was 29 years old. That???s what I???m talking about. Pele surpassed the thousand-goal mark by far and in 12 less years???without padding his own stats. Pele is still, in my opinion, the greatest player to have ever played the game.

On another note, while many Americans will be tuning into the American Idol finale tonight to find out if Jordin or Blake is going to win the competition (Jordin has my vote), there is another major event that I will be tuning into. Today held the biggest event on the European soccer calendar and I, along with many other soccer fans in the U.S. will be watching a replay of Liverpool versus AC Milan in the final of the Champions League. I???m a Liverpool fan so I???m hoping to see a repeat of the 2005 final, which Liverpool won on penalties after dramatically coming back from a 3-0 deficit.

(Photo provided by GettyImages/Richard Heathcote)

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Tomorrow, Major League Soccer???s 2007 season kicks off with a match between D.C. United and the Colorado Rapids.  It???s true, David Beckham has brought a lot of attention with him to MLS, but there are other noteworthy developments this season that will also attract new eyes to the league. Not only will every game be televised for the first time in league history, but there will be a tournament featuring four MLS teams and four Mexican clubs that debuts in July with a $1 million prize.

I was saddened to hear that Cobi Jones announced that he will retire at the end of the season. Growing up very involved in the soccer community, and with heightened exposure around the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Cobi quickly became my favorite player. We shared a jersey number and, I liked to think back then, a similar, spunky style of play. He is the only player who has remained with the same MLS team since the league???s debut in 1996, playing 281 games for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Part of me expected him to always be on the field.

Cobi???s involvement with the same team for so many years brings up an interesting point regarding player loyalty. It the rare professional athlete who remains with just one team, especially if doing so means turning down more money elsewhere. Similarly, in youth sports, there is a fine line between staying loyal to your team and putting yourself in a position to reach a future goal -- such as getting an athletic scholarship.

I personally observed what seemed like a lack of loyalty in the sport community growing up. I played on the same competitive fastpitch softball team for eight years. We were like a second family. I was crushed to learn after one of those years that half of our starting lineup was quitting to create a new team more attractive to college scouts.

I understand that you have to lookout for yourself and do what is in your best interest. However, I couldn???t and didn???t want to switch teams and leave my teammates and coaches of so many years???we had our fair share of exposure, too. Is breaking away from a close-knit team worth a bit more college exposure?

(Photo provided by Getty Images/Doug Pensinger)

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Mia Hamm* and Julie Foudy, two longtime pillars of the United States women???s national soccer team, were the only players elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame recently from among the 62 players on the ballot. Former teammates Hamm and Foudy, each in their first year of eligibility, comprise the first all-women class elected to the Hall of Fame. The duo will join the five women who have been inducted since the hall began in 1950.

???This is one of those things that when you start playing, you never go out there thinking about this opportunity,??? Hamm said in a telephone interview from Carson, Calif., where the announcement was made. ???We were just trying to promote the game in a positive way. It???s very special to me and means my career is over, which I???m fine with. I???m in a good place in my life in accepting this tremendous honor.???

Hamm was selected on 137 of 141 ballots cast, garnering 97.2 percent of the votes, a record in the 62-year history of the hall, which is located in Oneonta, N.Y. Foudy got 118 votes (83.7 percent of votes cast). They will be inducted Aug. 26.

???Two decades playing for your country, and now to be recognized and grouped with the biggest pioneers and legends of the game is a great honor,??? Foudy said in a telephone interview. ???We could see that we were making an impact, and what I love about the group we played with is that everyone saw the bigger picture. It was important not just to excel on the field, it was a message we wanted to give to young kids about sports, life. It was never a chore. What kept us out there was that we wanted to leave that legacy.???

Hamm and Foudy played on the national team that won two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals. They and the team left an indelible mark on soccer and sports when the United States played host to the 1999 Women???s World Cup in huge stadiums that were often filled to capacity.