2018 & 2022

Congratulations are in order, I think, to this place:

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...and to this place:

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Why, you ask? Because of this!

Russia getting the World Cup makes perfect sense. The event has never been held in Eastern Europe, to begin with. Furthermore, the award comes at a time when Russian soccer is on the rise, both internationally and at club level. Yes, Russia failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, but that was viewed as a shock, where once it would have been accepted with a shrug. Finally, Russia should have no difficulty getting infrastructure together.

Qatar's win is a bit more of a puzzle. The economics of the thing should be no problem - Qatar is a very rich place, and the stadia they intend to build are gorgeous. However, it's a tiny country (this is going to be the most compact World Cup ever), and FIFA itself has raised concerns about the summer heat - concerns that the Qataris have responded to by promising air-conditioned stadia.

In both cases, however, I must say that I think FIFA got it right, with all due respect to the other countries who are bidding. The first ever Eastern European World Cup, to be followed by the first ever Middle Eastern World Cup? Sounds good to me.

AROOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Remember the bad old days? Remember how, back in Medieval times, if the bubonic plague or rampaging Vikings didn't get you, well, there were always the marauding packs of wolves to contend with? Remember that?

Yeah, marauding wolves. Good thing we don't have to worry about them any more!

In unrelated news, here's some surveillance footage of a completely routine traffic stop just outside Rostov-na-Donu, Russia:

And we would be remiss if we were to pass up this opportunity to provide the following musical interlude:

Sticking With Hockey For A Moment

There was much coverage here of the Winter Classic game between Detroit and Chicago at Wrigley Field a couple of weeks ago. However, I feel moved to point out that there was in fact another match played outdoors recently; the newly-created Continental Hockey League (KHL) played its inaugural All-Star game outside as well - in Red Square.

Here is a very nifty-looking picture from the event: