ANDREW YATES
Whatever you think of the choices for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, the fact that two were selected at once means that bidding won't be back on the agenda for a good long while, but maybe that's not such a bad thing.
In the interim though, it's back to the lifeblood of the sport - the club game, with some interesting matchups in both England and Spain this weekend:
Chelsea v. Everton
Saturday, 10 a.m. (ET), TSN2
Both teams will be desperately looking to turn the page on a nightmare month of November. Defending English Premier League champion Chelsea has taken just four points from its last five games, seeing a five-point lead in the standings evaporate in the process and now finding itself with the uncomfortable situation of looking up at Manchester United atop the table.
Still, the Blues will happily welcome back captain John Terry for Saturday's game, having been out for the last three weeks with a nerve injury in his leg, and key midfielder Michael Essien is available for selection again after missing the last three games through suspension.
Everton will have it all to do if it hopes to pull off the upset, though. The Toffees haven't won at Stamford Bridge in the league since 1994, but the last four trips there have all ended in draws, a result David Moyes's 16th-placed team would surely accept right now as it attempts to pull away from the relegation zone.
ODDS
Chelsea win: 2/5
Everton win: 8/1
Draw: 16/5
Real Madrid v. Valencia
Saturday, 4 p.m. (ET), GolTV
After Monday's humiliation at the hands of Barcelona, Jose Mourinho will be cracking the whip to ensure that tumble doesn't turn into a tailspin. But it won't be easy. Already deprived of key defenders Sergio Ramos and Ricardo Carvalho through suspension, and with striker Gonzalo Higuain out for up to two months with a back problems - prompting speculation Real will pursue a 40-million-euro capture of Wolfsburg forward Edin Dzeko during the January transfer window - Madrid welcomes Los Che to the Bernabeu.
Sitting fifth in La Liga, and safely through to the last 16 of the Champions League, Valencia will make things difficult for Mourinho's men, who will be glad to have Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup after he struggled with an ankle injury for much of the week.
ODDS
Real Madrid win: 2/5
Valencia win: 11/2
Draw: 4/1
Sunderland v. West Ham
Sunday, 11 a.m. (ET), Setanta Sports
After Wednesday's thrashing of Manchester United in the Carling Cup, West Ham will be hoping to find new impetus for its season and climb off the foot of the Premier League table. The Hammers are also no strangers to success at Sunderland's Stadium of Light, having won there back in September in a an earlier round of the Carling Cup.
Still, Sunderland, currently seventh in the table, is unbeaten at home in the league this season, and have conceded just five goals there - a record bettered only by Chelsea - and will be confident facing a West Ham side that has yet to taste victory on the road this year.
ODDS
Sunderland win: 5/6
West Ham win: 10/3
Draw: 5/2