The NBA Finals; FIFA World Cup kicks off : NPR

EYDER PERALTA, HOST:

And now it’s time for sports.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

PERALTA: NBA Finals – will the Big Apple survive the excitement? And the FIFA World Cup kicks off next week. Sports reporter Michele Steele joins us now. Hey. Good morning, Michele.

MICHELE STEELE: Very nice to talk to you, Eyder.

PERALTA: Hey. So last night, the New York Knicks took a two-games-to-none lead in the NBA Finals. It was a thrilling win that came down to a last-second shot from Wemby, the Spurs superstar, which he missed. Has this series lived up to the intense hype?

STEELE: It’s surpassed it. Game 2 last night, 105 to 104, decided by a single point. Victor Wembanyama finishing with 29 points, the Spurs leading after the first quarter – this was anything but a blowout. And, Eyder, I hope you’re sitting down for this – the last time the Knicks lost a game, April 23.

PERALTA: Woah.

STEELE: It is June 6. They are looking every bit the championship team right now.

PERALTA: But if they win this thing, this championship, it’ll be the first time they’ve won in 53 years. I mean, what would it mean for New York?

STEELE: It would mean everything.

PERALTA: (Laughter).

STEELE: I’ve been covering sports for a long time. I know that 53 years of waiting does something to a fanbase. The last time the Knicks won, Walt Frazier was gliding around in a fur coat. Average rent was $100 a month. I actually looked that up. The news, it was on black-and-white TVs. This would be an absolutely epic celebration in New York if they can pull this off. I’ll be honest – I mean this respectfully, Knicks fans – you couldn’t pay me to be there. It’s going to be absolute chaos.

PERALTA: So let’s move on to soccer. Tonight, the U.S. men’s national team will have its final test ahead of the World Cup. They’re facing heavyweight Germany in Chicago, your hometown, Michele. This should tell us how far Team USA can go, right?

STEELE: Yeah, we’ll see. Here’s what’s interesting about tonight, Eyder. In their last warmup game against Senegal, the U.S. basically swapped out the whole team at halftime. Tonight, the starters are expected to play a full 60 minutes, maybe a little more. This is really our first chance to see what this team looks like, heading into the World Cup. Germany, though, top 10 team we’re going to find out pretty quickly, I think. You know, big picture, the U.S. is expected to get through the group stage, but a deep run beyond that is a much bigger ask.

PERALTA: Yeah, so the only thing anyone here in Mexico can talk about is the World Cup. But if we’re keeping it real, like the U.S., no one really thinks the home team has a shot. So tell us about the favorites. And who are you most excited to watch?

STEELE: Yeah, the favorites here are some names – for any people who are soccer fans, who are World Cup watchers, they’re names that you’ve heard before, right? – Spain, France, Argentina, England has a strong team, Portugal, I’ve already mentioned Germany. My pick, though, to watch here is Spain, and particularly their very young superstar Lamine Yamal – 18 years old, plays for Barcelona. He’s the kind of player, Eyder, who actually makes you put down your phone while you’re watching the game, and that says a lot.

He sat down for a feature with “60 Minutes” – a fantastic feature last year with “60 Minutes.” And he told the reporter that he doesn’t feel any pressure playing in front of global audiences because of how he grew up. He’s the son of immigrant parents from Morocco and Equatorial Guinea. He was born in Spain, and he knows what his young parents faced to keep their family going. He’s got a lot of perspective heading into the biggest tournament of his life. And there’s also a generational thing happening there. And the World Cup stage, Eyder, is exactly where you find out if it’s real. So Spain, Lamine Yamal – easy for me to say that’s who I’m going to have my eye on.

PERALTA: But here, we’ve got the World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Just to recap, none of those teams have any chance, huh?

STEELE: (Laughter) Hey.

PERALTA: (Laughter).

STEELE: We’re optimists here at NPR. So we’ll see what happens once it’s on the pitch. But yes, those teams are all expected to get out of the group, but beyond that, we’ll have to see.

PERALTA: Michele Steele, thank you so much.

STEELE: You bet.

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