WATERCOOLER CHAT: LEBRON SILENCES CROWD, FIFA NEXT TWO LOCALES
BASKETBALL
Thursday night, LeBron James made his return to Cleveland. This has been one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year. In the pre-game show, the commentators said that the arena had more energy than a game from the NBA Finals. There was emotion in the building, and, of course, bad vibes. When LeBron came out of the tunnel, he was met by a chorus of “boos”. But LeBron did make his first field goal to silence the crowd for a bit. The game stayed close for a quarter, but then it was just all Miami Heat the rest of the way. The Cavs just couldn’t keep up. And in the 4th quarter, LeBron shifted into a different gear, smacking the Cavs for 23 points in the 4th quarter alone. There was no fairy tale underdog here. LeBron clearly showed that he’s all about winning now, and didn’t even make one ‘thank you’ acknowledgment to the fans. Miami 118, Cleveland 90.
SOCCER
Some news out of the soccer world. FIFA has named the locales for two more World Cups. As we learned earlier this year, Rio De Janeiro will host in 2014. And yesterday we learned that Russia will host in 2018, and an unlikely country will host in 2022: Quatar. Quatar has risen to prominence in the past 40 years on oil money. While their population is smaller than Houston, TX, they will have the money and ability to build the stadiums and accommodations necessary to host a World Cup. Sure, it’s a little early to start thinking about 2022 World Cup, but it’s always intriguing to see which country will get a gigantic boost to their economy with one of the biggest tournaments in sports.
