WHAT IS A worthy consolation prize(安慰奖) for a billionaire investor whose attempt to buy a stake in fifa’s football World Cup recently blew up in his face(（计划）惨败，适得其反)? Answer: pivot(转向，调整方向) sharply and snap up(抢购，迅速买下) one of America’s most valuable basketball teams, the Los Angeles Lakers, instead.
对于一位亿万富翁投资者来说，什么才是值得的安慰奖？他最近试图购买国际足联足球世界杯的股份，但计划惨遭失败。答案：迅速转向，转而抢购美国最有价值的篮球队之一——洛杉矶湖人队。
In a $12.5bn deal announced on August 12th, Joshua Kushner, founder of Thrive Capital, an investment firm, will become the Lakers’ controlling shareholder(控股股东), with Bob Iger, an ex-CEO of Walt Disney, as his wingman(副手，搭档), insiders say. The price tag(价格标签，标价) is the highest ever for an American sports team, reflecting institutional investors’ feverish(狂热的，兴奋的) appetite(欲望，胃口) for sports franchises(特许经营权，加盟权).
据知情人士透露，在8月12日宣布的一笔125亿美元的交易中，投资公司Thrive Capital的创始人约书亚·库什纳将成为湖人队的控股股东，而华特迪士尼前首席执行官鲍勃·艾格将作为他的副手。这一价格标签创下了美国体育球队的历史新高，反映出机构投资者对体育特许经营权的狂热兴趣。
The sum is a whopping(巨大的，惊人的) $2.5bn more than Mark Walter, the seller of the team, paid for the Lakers around a year ago, also a record amount(创纪录的金额) at the time. A day earlier a unit of Apollo Global Management, another asset manager, said that it had put $2.6bn of debt and equity(股权，股本) behind the owner of the New York Yankees, a baseball team. Does this mean that sports investment is overheating(过热，发展过快)?
这笔金额比球队卖家马克·沃尔特大约一年前为湖人队支付的价格高出惊人的25亿美元，当时那也是一笔创纪录的金额。一天前，另一家资产管理公司阿波罗全球管理的一个部门表示，已为纽约洋基队（一支棒球队）的老板提供了26亿美元的债务和股权支持。这是否意味着体育投资正在过热？