SOCCER TEAM KICKS OUT THE JAMS, BRINGS IN THE HYMNS: Tired of the hooliganism and the on-field violence of the sport, the owner of a Romanian soccer team plans to play hymns and religious music before games:

THE LONDON GUARDIAN reports Steaua Bucharest owner Gigi Becali will no longer play what he considers “devil’s music”, but instead will pipe in “Ave Maria” and the like for the pre-game atmosphere.

“I will take out the song …. ‘We Will Rock You’. Why play that song? So the players kill each other?” Becali defends his divine decision by concluding, “I’m the one who pays, and this is the way I like it.”

The owner is also instituting “fines for sad faces”, in which his players can lose up to 30,000 euros (over $40,000) in pay for appearing upset when substituted or taken out during a match.

I doubt Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett will be invited to the Steaua sidelines anytime soon.