World Cup ... That's Sports, Isn't It?

NEW YORK -- Seventy-one percent of Americans still don't know the World Cup is being played in the United States, according to a Harris Poll.The world's most-watched sporting event begins in nine U.S. stadiums this Friday, but 56 percent of those surveyed say they are not interested in watching any games on television and 65 percent aren't interested in attending. Only 38 percent know that the World Cup involves soccer.The poll of 1,253 adults was conducted from May 23-26 and has an error margin of 3 percent. The results were released on Monday.Soccer officials, however, are taking heart: The percentage of those who don't realize the World Cup is in the United States has decreased from 80 percent in February and 87 percent last October. nArgentina striker Claudio Caniggia is rapidly recovering from a toe injury and could play for at least part of a fully fledged practice game set for Tuesday."He'll be fit for the debut," team doctor Nestor Ugalde said Monday. Argentina meets Greece in its opening Group D match at the Foxboro stadium outside Boston on June 21.Caniggia, physically fit but short of match practice after a 13-month ban for doping, injured the big toe of his left foot in a clash with defender Sergio Vazquez during practice Saturday.nPreparing secret tactics for their World Cup opener against Brazil, the Russian national team is trying to seal itself off from reporters and fans.Tough security surrounds the exclusive compound overlooking Santa Cruz, California where the Russians are staying, and no cameras or photographers are allowed during their semi-closed training sessions at a nearby college. "We want peace and quiet," said Russia's team manager Nikita Simonyan. "We don't want reporters or fans bothering us while we prepare for the important opening match."Russia plays Brazil, one of the favorites to win the title, at Stanford, California, on June 20 in a Group B that also includes Sweden and Cameroon.Despite an underdog status that gives the Russians a 40-1 chance to win the World Cup, some players voiced cautious optimism about their match against Brazil, a 3-1 favorite to win the championships."No one should underestimate us," said striker Sergei Yuran defying the team's self-imposed ban on interviews with reporters. "We can manage at least a tie against the powerful Brazil."nHe was known as "The Black Spider."He wore black from head to toe: black jersey, black shorts, black socks, black boots and black gloves. He was born in Moscow in 1929 and grew up to become one of the Soviet Union's most beloved sports figures.He played on the Soviet teams that reached the quarterfinals of the 1958 and 1962 World Cup tournaments and the semifinals of the 1966 tournament. In 1963, he was voted European player of the year. In 1970, when he retired, 100,000 fans gathered at Lenin Stadium in Moscow to honor him at a testimonial match between Dinamo and an all-star team representing the rest of the world.And when he died in 1990, at age 61, he was remembered by soccer fans worldwide as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the game.His name was Lev Yashin.In a sport like soccer, forever reliving the exploits of its heroes, there was little chance that Yashin would ever be forgotten. Now, there is no chance.FIFA, world soccer's governing body, has created a new award, the Yashin Cup, that will be presented for the first time this summer to the best goalkeeper in the 1994 World Cup tournament. Awards already are given to the best player and the top goal scorer, but there has never been one for the player whose job it is to prevent goals.Among the 24 participating teams, there are a number of likely candidates to win the Yashin Cup and the honored player will not necessarily be the goalkeeper of the World Cup-winning team. (AP, Reuters, LAT)