Olympics BS

[Wally Mo Pena]

From mlb.com

SINGAPORE -- Baseball and softball were dropped Friday from the Olympic program for the 2012 Summer Games in London.
Each of the 28 existing sports was put to a secret vote by the International Olympic Committee, and baseball and softball failed to receive a majority required to stay on the program. The other 26 sports were retained.

Baseball and softball are the first sports cut from the Olympics since water polo in 1936.

The IOC will consider replacing them with two sports from a waiting list of five sports: golf, rugby, squash, karate and roller sports.

Baseball has been vulnerable because it doesn't bring top Major League players to the Olympics. Softball has been in danger because of a perceived lack of global appeal and participation.

"Not all sports are indispensable for the Olympic program, we know that," IOC president Jacques Rogge told the delegates before the vote.

Rogge urged the 100-plus members to vote strictly on the technical merits of the sports and not for subjective, political or personal reasons.

"If you consider a modification, you should be convinced it will bring an improvement," Rogge said.

The IOC will keep the voting figures secret. Not even the IOC members or sports federations will learn the totals. The secrecy was requested by the international federations in order to avoid any ranking or embarrassment for any sports which just barely make the cut.

Rogge said the figures will be seen only by an independent official, who will send the results by sealed envelope to an IOC notary in Lausanne, Switzerland. Rogge will only open the envelope in the case of a voting dispute.

[Wally Mo Pena]

This sucks. It seems like it has to be part of anti-american sentiment around the world, a little FU to us from the IOC members. I say that because baseball has never been more popular around the world, as is evidenced by the huge support for the World Cup, and it makes no sense to cancel it now.

I have several friends in China who say that baseball is taking off there. Just blowing up. We all know about Japan, and all of the Latin American countries. That has to be as much support as Judo, Taekwando, Field Hockey, Canoeing, and Equestrian have ever had.

[awefullspellare]

Ehh. We have the World Cup now and baseball in the Olympics was a joke.

[redsrbetter]

I still want to have baseball in the Olympics without a doubt. It is such a huge honor for most of these ballplayers as they represent their country. I would think it would be a bigger event then a future World Series for these guys. I wish this was not going on. I agree, it sucks.