Today's Poll Question: Would you rather watch Baseball or Soccer?

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Get ready to vote on today's daily poll question at smerconish.com.

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But first, Michael explains it for you right here.

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Welcome to The Smerconish Podcast from SiriusXM.

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For Independent Minds.

**Michael Smerconish** (0:14)
Hey, guys, today is Wednesday. It is the 10th of June. Hello, hello, hello on this hump day.
I love today's poll question, and I want to get into some of the background that brings it to light. Which would you rather watch, baseball or soccer, baseball or soccer? I ask, of course, because the World Cup is about to commence, and some really interesting stories, background stories about the World Cup have caught my eye.

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This is The Smerconish Podcast from SiriusXM.

**Michael Smerconish** (0:46)
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The Daily Poll Question at smerconish.com.

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A non-scientific social political question designed to spark broader discussions about current issues.

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Get ready to cast your ballot and leave a rating and review of this podcast on your favorite podcast app.

**Michael Smerconish** (2:27)
So it all starts tomorrow. Tomorrow, Mexico versus South Africa, 3 p.m. Eastern Time in Mexico City. Korea Republic versus Czechia. Is that Czechoslovakia? 10 p.m. in Guadalajara, 10 p.m. Eastern Time. Andrew Giuliani, son of, is the Executive Director of the White House FIFA World Cup Task Force. Sounds like he needs a shorter title. Maybe soccer's are. And I'm into it, and I'm excited to watch it. And I've got all the lexicon down. You know, match not game, pitch not field, nil not zero.
There are 48 teams, 104 games, three host nations, and the final will take place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19th, July 19th. So, oh, and there'll be a half time show for the final. It'll be Coldplay. Beware of the kiss cam. The United States is in Group D with Paraguay, Australia, Turkey.
The group stage schedule, June 12 versus Paraguay in LA, June 19 versus Australia in Seattle, June 25 versus Turkey in LA. Philadelphia, I'm excited to say, one of the 11 American host cities. I'm definitely going to get out for a match, for a match. There's a story in today's daily newsletter that I really loved from The Wall Street Journal yesterday. I just enjoy these back-of-the-house kind of things. It's The Wall Street Journal's guide to the far-flung base camps that World Cup teams are calling home. And there's a map of the United States and of Mexico that has a flag of all the different participants. And where is base camp?
The toughest challenge for the biggest World Cup in soccer history wasn't figuring out which 48 teams would play at the tournament. It was working out where to put them.
But now, as the entire soccer world descends on the US, Canada, and Mexico to play 104 matches and crisscross the country on dozens and dozens of flights, teams are turning high school fields into practice pitches, checking into college dorms and luxury hotels, and for some, enduring the most Jersey melting heat, Jersey melting heat of American summer. And then, the Journal groups them in fun categories. For example, most oppressively hot, that would be the Democratic Republic of Congo, based in Houston. In the lap of luxury, that would be France, in Boston. Why? Because they're apparently staying at the Four Seasons. Not bad. Most desirable location, Algeria, Argentina, England and the Netherlands. What do you think it is?