*By Michael Teich*
Russia is still three victories away from hoisting up the FIFA World Cup 2018 trophy, but President Vladimir Putin may already be the tournament's champion.
"This is nothing but a diplomatic and political win for Putin," said Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of [The Banter](http://jointhebanter.com/).
Russia’s victory over soccer powerhouse Spain in Sunday's Round of 16 shocked the sports community and prompted speculation that corruption could be a factor in the historic upset.
The country already engineered to get the World Cup by throwing money around to FIFA officials, said Marcus, and now it could be motivated to influence the outcome of matches. Marcus himself said he joked in his [daily newsletter](https://mailchi.mp/7947f595e587/world-cup-banter-kicks-from-the-penalty-mark) that "this was the biggest Russian upset since the 2016 election."
But Putin shouldn't feel the need to rig the games, Marcus said, because the Russian leader's World Cup campaign is successful just by "having a positive tournament that has gone on without a hitch."
“He looks like the leader of a legitimate government and an open society where people are having fun and rallying around soccer,” said Marcus.
“All of the other stuff when it comes to Russian politics and what Putin’s been doing has been brushed to the side.”
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-putin-is-the-world-cups-biggest-winner).
Will “wiill” Sims, in-game leader of the NobleGG team that recently qualified for the NPL preseason, started gaming as a League of Legends player in 2012. But his League of Legends skills didn’t foreshadow his later esports success. Sims talked with Cheddar Sports about his unlikely path from casual gamer to PUBG pro.
It's no secret that much of the popularity of Epic Games' smash hit Fortnite comes from its status as a free-to-play game. Now, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter says two other surprising titles may make the switch: Overwatch and Call of Duty.
It's become par for the course for Epic Games to release game-changing items in Fortnite just before tournaments. Ghost Gaming's Kayuun shares his worries for what that means for competitive Fortnite.
In a sign of how attitudes around gambling have changed as laws around it have softened, the NFL announced its first-ever partnership with a gambling company, naming Caesars as the league's official casino sponsor. Chris Holdren, chief marketing officer for Caesars, told Cheddar that the sponsorship represents the beginning of a relationship that could eventually become one where the NFL is directly endorsing sports betting.
Bull riding isn't just for the rodeo, anymore. It's coming to a major city near you ー and streaming online ー thanks largely to the efforts of Colorado-based Professional Bull Riders (PBR). And PBR CEO Sean Gleason told Cheddarthe organization has plenty more tricks up its sleeve to keep its momentum going.
The markets opened up sharply higher on Friday after Thursday's big sell-off. The turnaround was due in large part to investor optimism over the upcoming U.S.-China trade talks but also the December jobs report. The U.S. economy added 314,000 jobs last month, topping the 184,000 jobs expected. Plus, Professional Bull Riders CEO Sean Gleason and bull rider Tanner Bryne stopped by to chat about growing bull riding in the U.S. in an ever-changing media landscape.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.
Fitness and beauty booking tool Mindbody is planning to make a play for the next big thing in wellness ー on-demand video, CEO Rick Stollmeyer told Cheddar on Thursday. "You can expect us to be playing in that space because we think that the on-demand and streaming video revolution hitting the fitness space is a big breakthrough," Stollmeyer said.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Dec. 31, 2018.
