In the soccer world (or "football," to freedom-hating ale swillers), you do not want to be a referee who makes a questionable call. I mean, soccer fans are animals. Europeans seem to just accept the fact that after a match a roving pack of belligerent, mulleted steakheads will roam the streets of their towns looking for people to injure to make up for the team that they like not winning. Imagine what they'd do to you if they thought you made the wrong call! Luckily, there's a fancy new soccer ball that'll take some of the pressure off of refs.

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Get your snowboard out. Or if you are as bodily uncoordinated as me, your sled. It's snow time and the Frequency Audex Motorola Bluetooth, a $US300 Bluetooth-equipped helmet with built-in controls developed by Burton and Motorola, is just what the doctor ordered to listen to your fav tunes speeding down those pearly-white slopes. Then, the doctor will order plaster, anti-inflammatory drugs and three months in bed. Full specs ahead:

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LEDs are becoming pretty commonplace in clothes these days, but Willy Bogner has come up with an idea that is actually useful rather than decorative. He has come up with solar-powered ski suits with LED trim on them to keep you visible on the slopes. The thin film technology lights were designed by Osram, and Bogner unveiled them at an event in Munich last month. There's another pic after the jump.

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Watching football is clearly the best way to get scores to the games you're interested in, but if you're unable to view the games due to being busy or having them blacked out in your area, this fancy new Ambient Football Scorecast should keep you all up to date. It displays football scores in real time, allowing you see just how badly your precious Dolphins are being pummeled by whatever team they happen to be playing against this week. It also displays team and schedule info, making it a nice little gadget for the desks of football fans. Although for $US125, they could just check ESPN.com like a normal person, but hey, gadgets! [Product Page]

Winter is coming and it's just about time to hit the slopes, but are you having trouble deciding between downhill skiing and snowboarding? The Venom Switchboard is a cross between the two, and adds an aluminium steering bar for even greater control. This vehicle looks like it mixes together just the right amount of danger and thrills, and it's not all that expensive, either.

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Microsoft and ESPN have struck a deal to sell NCAA basketball and football games, the X Games and shows like Madden Nation in the Live Marketplace. Standard-def NCAA games are $3; HD versions run $4.50, and they go live "within 48 hours" of the end of the game. ESPN content is $2 for standard def and $3 for HD. [Yahoo!/AP]

Before hell freezes over, let's try a bit of in-line skating, but these skates offer more than that. Strap on a pair of Kian Khuan's 720 inline skates, and a whole new dimension is laid out before us, because these super inline skates not only go forward and backward like any others, but can also spin 360 degrees in place and even roll sideways. Try that with a pair of ice skates. Since these 720s aren't for sale yet, we may have to wait for the spring thaw before we bang up our knees and elbows with them. Forget kneepads, make that Master Chief's suit of armour. [Yanko Design]

It's not that we have any particular dislike for doors, it's just that, growing up in a barn, we never had any use for them. But this Ping-Pong door is enough to change our minds. Housing a Ping-Pong table within an internal frame, the door...unfolds...for a quick match. It's a clever, efficient use of space for those who don't require a full-size table to get their Forrest Gump on.

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We are always looking for the best ways to improve our rigorous physical workout routines, and the Informance smart sunglasses look like a worthy asset to our arsenal of workout gear. The instrument is intended for use by professional athletes, and will allow them to view vital statistics in their peripheral vision using a projected image on one of the lenses.

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It's actually not quite as dirty as it sounds. Thermablades, developed by Tory Weber, are heated to five degrees Celsius, which cuts down friction between the skate and the ice by increasing the layer of water between the two. Result: Players go faster, easier. Right now, barely 10 players are set to don the fancy footwear next month, but the idea has enough traction (sorry) that Wayne Gretzky himself thinks they're "going to revolutionize hockey." I know nothing about hockey except what I learned from his N64 game and I suck at skating, so I'll take his word for it. [Reuters]