Q: There was a college football game played in Ireland at the beginning of the season. At halftime, they showed parts of a game similar to lacrosse. I would like to know the name of that game. I had never seen it.
—Paul E. McGinty, McDonough
A: The sport of hurling was demonstrated at halftime of Penn State's 26-24 victory over Central Florida at Croke Park in Dublin on Aug. 30. Hurling is played with a flat bat with a slightly curved end, called a hurley, and a ball. Teams attempt to advance the ball up the field to score by knocking the ball in (three points) or over the opponent's goal (one point).
Players can catch or slap the ball to pass it, but the hurley is used for either carrying the ball or for hitting the ball on long passes and shooting. There are 15 players on a side and the field generally is about 160 yards long.
Q: Can you verify if a photo of a man with an injured face lying in a hospital bed is the Ferguson police officer who shot Michael Brown? It’s going around in an email.
—Don Haller, Douglasville
A: The photograph, which shows a man with a badly swollen and bruised face, is a 2006 photo taken of freestyle motocross rider Jim McNeil, not Ferguson (Mo.) police officer Darren Wilson. Wilson's shooting of Brown on Aug. 9 led to racially charged rioting in that town. McNeil died in 2011 from injuries he sustained while practicing for an exhibition at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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