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.

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.

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.

We all know that car racing is a world that is dominated by men. So, a woman involved in this sport will surely stand out, like Danica Patrick. After three years with no wins, Danica Patrick finally tops this male-dominated world. Last Sunday she took home the cup for her victory in the Indy Japan 300! Last Sunday was this 26-year-old’s 50th race, and finally she was able to prove that she can do it, being the first woman to win in open-wheel racing.

Danica Patrick is not merely a woman who should be recognized for her beauty. Her win was achieved due to excellent strategy. She started from the third row and slowly advanced on the track coming close to Helio Castrovenes and Ed Carpenter on the 148th lap. Finally, she was able to get ahead the 2nd place winner Helio Castrovenes on the 198th lap in the 200 lap race. Third place was Scott Dixon, fourth place was Dan Wheldon, and Tony Kanaan fifth.

Holding a big event such as the Olympics is certainly a privilege for any country. For this year that privilege goes to Beijing, China. But, what about the next Olympic Games? There is a possibility that the next venue can be Dubai. Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid made known his intention to make a bid for to host the Olympics. He is still studying on how to go about it, so no year has been quoted just yet.

The official start of the 2008 Olympics is only a few months away. But even as preparations for the said world event are being done, controversies and tensions are also surfacing. In the light of the reports of China’s human rights abuse in Tibet, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that President Bush should think about boycotting the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics. This was what she said in the interview she had with Good Morning America yesterday. She said that since the opening ceremony just gives respect to the Chinese government, it’s better for U.S. to just boycott it.

The world once again witnessed the third match between Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao and Mexican boxer Marco Antonio Barrera. In their final major fight last Saturday Marco Antonio Barrera lost once again to Pacquiao. Pacquiao won with a unanimous decision in the WBC super featherweight battle. The scores given by two of the judges were 118-109 and one with 115-112. You’ll remember that this is the second time that Pacquiao has defeated Barrera on the ring.

Even though two months have already passed since wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and son before killing himself, there is still that big question mark in our minds, especially his fans, on what could have triggered him to do such a thing. Finally we can close the book on this because findings of the study done on his brain cells show that Benoit’s brain has great damage, which could have triggered the killing. And the fact that Benoit had a history on steroid use does not help. According to the investigation Benoit’s testosterone level at that time was way above the normal range, 10 times above.

The Fifa World Cup is a highly anticipated event and is set in a different country every time it takes place and this year Brazil want to do the honors. A group of Brazilian representatives that included some of the players from the Brazilian National team arrived in Switzerland to present the Fifa panel with a 900 page document. This 900 page document is in the form of an application and details 18 Brazilian cities that are nominated to host the matches of the World Cup. The Brazilian application was also placed in a wooden box made out of authentic Brazilian wood which is a smart way of symbolizing that they care about the environment.

Many of you will be aware that Brazilian football legend Pele played a big part in increasing interest in the game of football in the USA when he joined a New York team in the 1970’s. Now Pele is giving Beckham a few tips and warnings because he believes David Beckham can help increase the popularity of football but only if he is prepared for hard work. Beckham joined the Los Angeles Galaxy football team and he was officially presented to the public with his new team yesterday and was given his LA Galaxy Jersey.

Lewis Hamilton earned his number one place in his debut Montreal race in the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Everyone was talking about him with full enthusiasm, happiness and admiration. But the mood was also very different; as at the end of the race it wasn’t just Hamilton they were all talking about, but also Robert Kubica.

An eventful and action-packed Grand Prix was held yesterday where anything and everything, from the expected to the unexpected happened. There were several accidents took place throughout the race, but none of which were of a comparable degree as that of the BMW Sauber’s Driver, Robert Kubica.

If you’ve thought about what you’d be 20 or 50 years from now, what do you think you’d be doing? For sure it won’t be something like what Katsusuke Yanagisawa did at 71 because he just set a new record as the oldest man to conquer Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. Yanagisawa is a retired Japanese school teacher who was able to set this new record last Tuesday May 22. It’s an incredible feat that a man of his age is still able to accomplish what even the younger ones find hard to do.

Howard Porter, one of the considered icons in basketball died last Saturday night as a result of the beating he has suffered one week before. Howard Porter is one of the best players in Villanova history. Porter became well known by being a three-time All-American awardee at Villanova. In 1971 he also fronted the Wildcats to the 1971 NCAA championship game where they lost to the UCLA. The Chicago Bulls also recruited him in 1971 where he spent 3 seasons and then later played with the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons. Andjust when his career in basketball became so promising, everything slipped away when he began to use drugs.

Setting a new world record is not a trivial matter. It takes a lot of hard work and determination. This is what transpired recently in the FINA World Championships. Wiped out during the swimming championship were not just one but four world records that were previously thought to last for several years still. But hey no, the new record setters were three Americans and an Italian. Americans were Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin and Aaron Peirsol; Federica Pellegrini from Italy.