Break up to make up

Spring is here and love is in the air! After losing out in a very public goalkeeper controversy, Oliver Kahn, says he will not acrimoniously retire after all. Not only will he accept being Germany's #2 keeper, he'll even cheer on his arch-nemesis Mad Jens:

"I'm not the sort of person who can't lose," Kahn said. "The whole team, including Jens Lehmann, will have my full support."

Okay, so it wasn't completely enthusiastic, but I doubt I would be either given the circumstances. Anyway, Klinsmann will be thrilled to have Kahn's ursine posterior warming the bench as Germany's backup keeper.

But lest you start thinking that the Kahn-Lehmann peace pact is the sign of a new age of peace, love and understanding, also in the news today was reports of a rift between Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. Apparently, Rooney has racked up some 700,000 pounds of gambling debt, much of which is owed to Mickey's bookmaker company, whose customers consist largely of overpaid and undereducated sports stars. Everyone involved (or, more accurately, the agents of everyone involved) denies that any disagreement has taken place, but given Rooney's charming propensity for telling assistant refs to f*** off after every offside call, it's easy to imagine that he's a touch miffed.

So that's what for Rooney... about three months wages? Surely one good Nike commercial could knock that out.