BECKHAM'S WORLD

August 02, 2004

WE'RE JUST LIVING IN ITIt was a trying week for Beckham, who took heat for singlehandedly slowing the English economy and nearly had his London house (a.k.a. Beckingham Palace) torched by an intruder arrested on the grounds with a crowbar and a gas can. Figures released last week showed retail spending in England jumped by 1.1 percent in June, a spike attributed to the country's run in the Euro 2004 soccer championship. The Financial Times noted the growth "surely would have been more pronounced were it not for...Beckham's flat-footed penalty performance." That missed kick in a loss to Portugal was caught by 25-year-old Pablo Carral—who sat in row Q of Lisbon's Stade de Luz. Carral auctioned the ball off; the gambling website goldenpalace.com bought it for $34,382 and plans to take it on tour, perhaps allowing fans to try to boot it into an open net for �10 ($18) a pop.