Club World Cup for the years 2009 and 2010 will be held in UAE, as announced by FIFA on Tuesday. Several countries made a bid on the said event, but FIFA placed its favor on UAE. Australia, Japan, and Portugal were the rival bidders for the said event. FIFA stated that the reason they chose UAE to be the venue is because UAE gave a very attractive proposal and that they want to have a change. Likewise, the December time slot made UAE a very suitable venue. It is also the organization’s desire to take the Cup to other continents and countries. For 2011 and 2012, Club World Cup will return to Japan which has hosted the said event since 2005.

Tennis Number 1 Justine Henin retires! Maybe some of you are as surprised as I am by this news. Justine’s announcement came strictly out of the blue, especially that the French Open is just 2 weeks away. She made her intention known at a conference last Wednesday. Justine was firm in her decision and it looks like she’s really putting an end to her glorious career immediately. She was resolute as she spoke to the press for nine minutes. Not once did she lose her composure. She said that she had thought long and hard about retirement since last year and the decision was made after her match in Berlin. By retiring while presently on the No. 1 spot, Justine is leaving with her head held high.

New York Knicks has a new coach in the person of Mike D’Antoni. D’Antoni previously coached the Phoenix Suns up until the team was cast out from the NBA playoffs. D’Antoni signed the deal with the New York Knicks just last Tuesday. The deal involves $24 million for a four-year contract. After the Suns, it is going to be one challenging task for him to take on the Knicks since this team has suffered seven seasons of losses. This team hasn’t won a single playoff round since 2000. It is really going to be such a task to turn things around for the New York team. Among the candidates for the job, Mike D’Antoni is the perfect one according to New York Knicks President Donnie Walsh.

Maria Sharapova is putting her foot down against what WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) is making her do. WTA is threatening to fine her if she does not participate in a photo shoot for the WTA Tour. Sharapova said that she is willing to support the promotional campaign for the Tour, but what she is not happy about is the schedule of the said photo shoot which will be right before the Italian Open in Rome on May 12.

If you are a fan of Kobe Bryant and you feel that it is high time for him to receive an MVP award, well, your wish has been granted. As announced two days ago, Kobe Bryant is 2007-2008 Most Valuable Player. He is the fourth player from the Lakers team to receive this coveted award. Several candidates vied for the said award, but Kobe’s achievements in the game outshone them all. He came on top of Chris Paul from the New Orleans team and Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics.

If you are a fan of Dennis Rodman and would like to know what he’s up to lately then read on. Dennis is known for his controversial behavior even before he retired from basketball, so I guess this new scrape he’s in won’t come as a surprise to you. Last Wednesday this guy was arrested because of domestic violence. He was arrested by the authorities at 11 P.M. last Wednesday at the Century City hotel, and after 2 hours sitting in jail he was released on a $50,000 bail.