■ Beer
Brewery toasts German run
German fans are excited over their team's run to the World Cup quarterfinals, and the owner of three major breweries has another reason to celebrate. The Oetker Gruppe, which owns three breweries, said that its keg beer sales have been up by 30 to 40 percent during the tournament. "We're selling 7.5 million liters of beer every day," breweries manager Ulrich Kallmeyer said. "If the German team gets through to the next round, the volume is up 10 percent each time."
■ Fans
Henry slams Spanish fans
France striker Thierry Henry said he was upset that Spanish fans whistled during the French national anthem before Tuesday's second-round World Cup match, which France won 3-1. "I think it's a shame that Spanish fans booed our national anthem. That's something we should talk about," the Arsenal striker told reporters after the game. "I haven't heard something like that before. We didn't boo their national anthem." The main section of red-clad Spanish fans whistled and booed when the Marseillaise was piped over the sound system, with both teams standing at the center of the field.
■ Thailand
Cup causes power surge
The soccer-mad are spending millions of dollars more on electricity this month as they stay up through the night to watch World Cup matches, the nation's biggest utility said yesterday. In the first 19 days of the World Cup, Thailand spent an extra 304.4 million baht (US$7.9 million) on power compared with average use during the year, the Electricity Generating Authority said. The company said it believed the most-watched match so far was the second-round clash between Germany and Sweden, when electricity use spiked to the highest level of the month.
■ Italy
Cannavaro swears by sex
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has put his excellent World Cup form down to a good diet, plenty of sleep and a healthy sex life. The 32-year-old Juventus defender was outstanding in their 1-0 second round win over Australia on Monday when Italy had to play with 10 men for almost the entire second half after Marco Materazzi was sent off. "For an athlete it's as important how you behave off the pitch as you do on it," Cannavaro said at Tuesday's press conference. "Eating well, getting plenty of sleep and having sex -- all of these things are important." Asked how often he has sex, Cannavaro replied: "Whenever I want to, it helps me."
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