DANIEL ESTRIN, HOST:
We take a look now at sports. It's a new year with a lot on the calendar, like the Olympics and the World Cup. Sports reporter Michele Steele joins us now. Good morning, Michele.
MICHELE STEELE: Good morning, Daniel.
ESTRIN: So why don't we start the new year by looking ahead to some of the biggest events happening this year? First up, the Winter Olympics next month in Italy. What sport are you most looking forward to this time?
STEELE: Well, I always look forward to curling. But many sports fans, including me, will be looking forward to hockey. And it's a huge deal this year, Daniel, because the NHL is finally letting their players back in the Olympics for the first time since 2014. I was watching some coverage of U.S. players getting the call this week that they made the roster. One of them actually said he was shaking. He was so excited. NHL players, no matter what country they're from, very much wanted to be back in the Olympics. They're going to play hard. The U.S. are legitimate gold medal contenders, but they're going to have to get through Canada, so it's going to be really a best-on-best slugfest.
Now, as for the women's team, they don't need an introduction. They need a trophy case. They've been in every Olympic final except for one since 1998. They're led by Hilary Knight. She's gone to five Olympics already. And it should be a really exciting tournament for both men and women in Milan.
ESTRIN: I also want to mention downhill skiing and two dominant women representing the U.S. - Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin - who both have remarkable stories, right?
STEELE: Absolutely. You know, you've got Mikaela Shiffrin, who's really a human math equation. She's so precise. She's so dominant. She has over a hundred wins. She's the only alpine skier to reach that milestone. So when you're watching her, you're really watching the GOAT. She's a woman who just wants to win. And then you have Lindsey Vonn, who literally came out of retirement at 41 - which is ancient in skiing years - with a partially bionic knee. Talk about the ultimate comeback. They're both the fastest women on the slopes, but one is sort of the queen of technical and the other is the queen of metal knees. But both should be fun to watch.
ESTRIN: Yeah. And the FIFA World Cup - it's the biggest sporting event worldwide, at least when it comes to ratings. It's coming to the U.S. this summer. What are you looking forward to there?
STEELE: Yeah. We're just six months away from the biggest sporting event in the world. And this year, for the first time, 48 teams - the biggest field ever - competing against each other, and it's going to be, as you mentioned, hosted right here in the U.S. And for a sports fan, I have to be honest. All the headlines about it so far have been kind of weird. It's felt more like a political convention than a tournament at times, especially with the FIFA peace prize they seemed to just sort of make up to give to the president. And the World Cup historically, Daniel, has leaned into this ethos of, like, world multiculturalism. And not sure you've seen the news lately, but doesn't seem to vibe with this White House too much. So you can't really ignore the politics. Hotel rooms are also costing more than a kidney. You've got what FIFA calls 104 Super Bowls in a month. So it's going to be, logistic-wise, just a huge, huge lift in terms of infrastructure.
But let's get to the soccer part of this. You know, the men's team - they're playing at home. They got a super lucky draw with Paraguay and Australia in their group. It's the friendliest group in soccer. So if they get out of that group, which they're expected to, they have an easier path through the new round of 32. But beyond that, they likely face a European giant like, say, a Belgium. But you know what, Daniel? So many wacky things have happened already. Let's see what happens with this U.S. team.
ESTRIN: Yeah. Wacky seems to be the theme of the day, Michele. That's...
STEELE: I'll say.
ESTRIN: ...Sports writer Michele Steele. Thank you, Michele.
STEELE: You bet. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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