The strange news from around the globe thread

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Fiorentina coach probed over leukaemia death

MILAN, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Former Fiorentina coach Carlo Mazzone is one of three people being investigated over the 1987 leukaemia death of player Bruno Beatrice after allegations he underwent radiation treatment to cure an injury.

Mazzone, Fiorentina boss between 1975 and 1978, has been accused of manslaughter by a Florence prosecutor. Beatrice died aged 39 having been diagnosed two years earlier.

A medical assessment requested by the prosecutor said: "There exists a compatibility between the therapy practised in 1976 and the acute leukaemia diagnosed in Beatrice in 1985."

Mazzone told Radio Radio he was staying calm.

"The investigators came here...some time ago to know what happened and I replied that I was the man on the field, I didn't know what happened in the medical room," he said. "I never interfered in the work of the doctors."

Several Italian players from the 1970s and 80s have died prematurely with relatives alleging that medical practices and drugs used at the time contributed to a variety of illnesses.

The main doctor at Juventus was accused of giving players illegal drugs in the mid-1990s.

Riccardo Agricola was found guilty at a first trial but was later acquitted before a second appeal court reversed the ruling this year, although it was too late for Juve to be punished.

[An Fear Rua]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/7139910.stm

A taxi driver in Germany was left shaken and stirred after handing his keys over to seven-times Formula One champion Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher, 38, asked to take the wheel as he was running late for a flight.

"I found myself a passenger, which was strange enough, but having 'Schumi' behind the wheel was incredible," said taxi driver Tuncer Yilmaz.

"He drove at full throttle around the corners and overtook in some unbelievable places."

Schumacher had flown into the Bavarian town of Coburg to pick up an Australian Shepherd dog called Ed.

He was accompanied by his wife and children to pick up the puppy and the family were late getting back to the local aerodrome for their return flight.

After giving the cabbie an unforgettable experience, Schumacher also gave him a 100 Euro tip.

The dog will be the latest addition to the Schumacher family menagerie, which includes one dog that he brought home from Brazil when his wife Corinna fell for it as it wandered around as a stray while they were at the Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.

[stephenite]

A man nearly died from alcohol poisoning after quaffing a litre of vodka at a German airport security check instead of handing it over to comply with new carry on rules, police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at the Nuremberg airport on Tuesday, where the 64-year-old man was switching planes on his way home to Dresden from a holiday in Egypt.

New airport rules prohibit passengers from carrying larger quantities of liquid onto planes, and he was told at a security check he would have to either throw out the bottle of vodka or pay a fee to have his carry-on bag checked as cargo.

Instead, he chugged the bottle down - and was quickly unable to stand or otherwise function, police said.

A doctor called to the scene determined he had possibly life-threatening alcohol poisoning, and he was sent to a Nuremberg clinic for treatment.

The man, whose name was not released, is expected to be able to complete his journey home in a few days.

AP

[Gold]

crazy!