Despite America's 2-1 loss to Belgium in Tuesday's round of 16 World Cup match, soccer fans stateside have crowned the U.S. team's devout Christian goalkeeper Tim Howard a hero for his 16 epic and historic saves under relentless fire from the constantly attacking Belgians.

According to goal.com, Howard, 35, had the most saves in a World Cup match since 1966 when the statistic was first recorded. Now America is in the throes of Howard mania.

The plucky goalie has sparked an unending stream of impressive memes and is a trending topic on Twitter but that's not where the Tim Howard mania ends. more >>

A petition to change the name of a major airport in the Washington, D.C. area in honor of American soccer team goalie Tim Howard is gaining traction.

A native of North Brunswick, New Jersey, and a devout Christian, Howard served as goalie for the United States' World Cup team this year.

During Monday's game against Belgium, Howard made a record 16 saves in the Round of 16 World Cup game, according to the UK Daily Mail. more >>

While the goalkeeper for Costa Rica's national soccer team is being revered for leading his team's victory against Greece on Sunday, Keylor Navas is giving glory to God and credits his efforts to his strong Christian faith.

Navas helped Costa Rica secure a spot in the World Cup's quarterfinals for the first time in the team's history after knocking away a penalty kick from Greece in a move that he says was made for God, his family, teammates and country.

"I talk to God and ask Him to help me. I tell Him that everything I say and do in the game is for His glory and I ask Him to put me an angel on each side, in each post, and behind me so that everything can turn out fine," said Navas, according to Spanish news outlet Protestante Digital. more >>

The late great film critic Roger Ebert had a great line that he used for bad comedies: "You know you're in trouble when the objects of your satire are funnier than you." Somebody needs to email this line to the editors of The Onion, because the folks over there have been outdone this week by people who are absolutely serious.

First, Ann Coulter published a bizarre diatribe against soccer so hilariously bad that I had to double check that it was real. Coulter's collection of bullet points about soccer is like the Comstock Lode of logical fallacies. Coulter thinks the game is boring, lacks real achievement, etc. Ok, that's fair. I disagree but I suppose I can fathom why a nationally syndicated columnist and speaker would want America to know how put off she is by the sport she isn't watching.

But Coulter takes the silliness to another level: more >>

Are you hurtin' for some futbol? The Slate's Andrew Bouvé writes that the 136 goals scored in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup were the most ever.

We offer up this video "as you trudge through your day with temporary match withdrawal—the knockout round doesn't begin until Saturday," as Slate puts it.

"Relive those moments of joy and devastation: four goals each from Argentina's Lionel Messi, Brazil's Neymar, and Germany's Thomas Müller; four for the United States and four against; and every other tally in the entire tournament, from Marcelo's opening own goal to Jan Vertonghen's gimme," Slate states. more >>

The left-leaning protestant denomination United Church of Christ announced that it will sponsor the sporting event "Gay Games 9" in August as the first mainline denomination to provide major financial support.

The event, which takes place every four years and attracts LGBT athletes, will be hosted in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the UCC's national headquarters, where church leaders will help organize events for 30,000 participants in an effort to embrace the LBGT community.

"Serving as a major sponsor of Gay Games 9 is a perfect fit because of the UCC's longstanding commitment to social justice issues," said the Rev. Dr. J. Bennett Guess, a UCC national officer and its first openly-gay church executive, in a statement. "We pride ourselves on being a bold voice for progressive Christianity and look forward to offering the UCC's trademark 'extravagant welcome' to the athletes, volunteers and spectators." more >>