Broken Faces [Flash site] During 2006, photographer Denis Rouvre travelled throughout France to cover a majority of the TOP 14 French (French national championship) rugby matches all the way to the finals. He was given locker room access to take these intimate and striking shots. via SpoFi.
posted to MetaFilter by psmealey at 8:02 AM on September 12, 2007 (29 comments)

A three part biography of skateboarder Rodney Mullen. He invented more than 30 tricks, including the flatground ollie, the kickflip, and the heelflip. Despite being voted the most legendary "extreme sports" athlete of all time, the only extreme thing about him is his reclusive, geeky, devotion to practice.
posted to MetaFilter by roofus at 6:56 AM on March 11, 2007 (27 comments)

Mayhem on the Ice! A short collection of brawls from the heyday of the hockey fight. A big one, and another (international nastiness). Goalie fight? GOALIE FIGHT! A few compilations. Many originate from a past misdeed, like the famous Colorado-Detroit rumble in '97. Debates are abound as to whether it should remain in the game, but fighting's probably not going anywhere.
posted to MetaFilter by rollbiz at 3:53 PM on March 6, 2007 (77 comments)

Three days of rioting and protest across Denmark, fueled by an influx of supporters from outside the country, was the result of the Danish police's sudden eviction of long-standing squat Ungdomshuset ("Youth House"). It was the last such social centre in Denmark, whose self-governed municipality of Christiana also began as a squat (though its future remains in question).

Squatting, the act of taking over abandoned property (sometimes surreptitiously as a way to secure housing for the homeless, sometimes publically as a way to exert political pressure) has a long history, and often meets with intense repression, though has sometimes been instrumental in city-building. In New York City's early days, homesteading was how many neighbourhoods began, and the squat movement which birthed the now-legal ABC No Rio community centre is linked to the city's community gardens, as well as its independent arts culture through publications such as World War 3. (WW3's co-founder Seth Tobocman receives continued attention for his graphic novel War In The Neighbourhood.)

Demolition of Ungdomshuset has already begun.
posted to MetaFilter by poweredbybeard at 8:21 PM on March 5, 2007 (54 comments)