Rogge is suffering from an incurable case of foot-in-mouth disease. He denigrated the actual participants in Olympic baseball. He also criticised the, by far, biggest star of the games, Usain Bolt. Criticised him for being awesome. Olympic baseball is doomed because of the major league schedule and I’m not sure I care. Baseball’s doing a good job building its own big international stage with the WBC. There is no need for an Olympic tournament any more. I do feel for softball, somewhat. That sport really could use the added exposure.

Edit: By more exposure I obviously mean more pictures of GWB and Cat Osterman throwing the horns.

HaHaHa.

Sorry, uh, NFW, you chocolate-eating, Chinese-accomodating, surrender Belgian.

Softball should still be included. Baseball shouldn't. On the other hand, I would guess they could probably have A-Rod in 2016, if they wish.

Sally Jenkins at the Wash. Post had a nice column on Rogge. Let's see...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/21/AR2008082101863.html

That may be RR.

yeah, a 41 year old A-Rod in 2016 is what we need

Baseball’s doing a good job building its own big international stage with the WBC.

I hope so. Looks like it's all planned out already, I thought it was still unsure about whether there would be a second one. For the third one I should actually have a job, that would be a cool vacation.

Maybe ARod could be on the US men's field hockey team. There probably isn't a very deep pool of talent in this country for that sport.

i like the wbc more than professional athletes in the olympics. my guess is that all the professional sports would do better with their own wbc style tournament than letting their all-stars play in the olympics. i imagine the nba now collects no money from the olympics, whereas if they had their own wbc style tournament, they would keep the profits. and that would jive with my desire to see pro athletes eliminated from the olympics anyway. i used to like it when the us amateurs beat up the pros from other countries.

they should change that line in the speech that calls the "youth of the world" to participate in the olympics. should call a "bunch of rich professionals" to do it instead.

If they wanted A-Rod, they should've signed him when he was a free agent. I mean, it was a year and a half ago! Show some foresight...

The olympics is being so short sited for this. The answer is fairly obvious to me, make Baseball a winter sport. Yes it means either indoor stadiums or a location that has warm locals as well as the cold locals required for the sport. However, then the games are outside of the baseball season and you will likely have many more MLB participants in the Olympics than you do in the silly WBC.

i like the wbc more than professional athletes in the olympics. my guess is that all the professional sports would do better with their own wbc style tournament than letting their all-stars play in the olympics. i imagine the nba now collects no money from the olympics, whereas if they had their own wbc style tournament, they would keep the profits. and that would jive with my desire to see pro athletes eliminated from the olympics anyway. i used to like it when the us amateurs beat up the pros from other countries.

they should change that line in the speech that calls the "youth of the world" to participate in the olympics. should call a "bunch of rich professionals" to do it instead.

So, back to the days when the Olympics were for those who are born well off only?

Hint, it isn't just the basketballers, the soccer players, the tennis players etc who are pros. Everyone, the runners, the swimmers, the gymnasts, the weightlifters, they're all pros, whether they get paid by corporate sponsors, or government sponsors.

Yes we should go back so that no one is paid. By no one, I include Rogge.

Make baseball and softball Winter Olympic sports.

I don't think most of the winter venues have baseball stadiums handy. Is there a Lake Placid Dome?

You want to play “The Summer Game” at the Winter Olympics? Words almost fail me.

Just like that song, The Boys of Winter. I love that one.

Nobody on the road
Nobody on the, uhm, slopes?

i like the wbc more than professional athletes in the olympics.

This is such a lie. The Olympics have always been the largest whore-bag money, grubbing event in the world. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I'm not sure if people realize that track and field is a huge spectator sport in Europe, every single athlete you saw win a medal over the past 2 weeks in track is highly paid.

I laughed at the idea the NFL Raiders should sign Bolt. I bet Bolt will make more money over the next 10 years than anyone in the NFL. The NFL just doesn't have deep enough pockets.

The International Olympic Committee president said Saturday baseball would do itself a big favor toward getting back on the Olympic program by bringing the best from the major leagues

Whatever. Football (er Soccer) sends even fewer "stars" to the Olympics. Get lost Rogge, keep your BMX bicycling, MLB has international baseball competition under control, thank you.

Depending on the outcome of tests, there’s the real possibility that Ginobili’s jammed ankle from the Western Conference playoffs – with swelling that never subsided – could cost the Spurs a chance for a fifth NBA title in 11 years. Ginobili is 32 years old and Spurs management had understood that a decade with his national team has come at a cost for them. To watch him turn that ankle, hobble to the sideline and collapse just broke your heart. Ginobili would do anything for that Argentina jersey on his back – and did.

Add this injury to the A Bogut ankle....where is David Stern?

The Olympics have always been the largest whore-bag money, grubbing event in the world. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I'm not sure if people realize that track and field is a huge spectator sport in Europe, every single athlete you saw win a medal over the past 2 weeks in track is highly paid.

Always? Since 1896?

<i>Get lost Rogge, keep your BMX bicycling...<i>

But those are the best BMX racers in the world!

You want to play “The Summer Game” at the Winter Olympics? Words almost fail me.

It's hard to believe, isn't it? We have a wonderful tradition of not giving a crap about Olympic baseball in August, and people are ready to just throw it all away. And for what? The glory of not giving a crap about Olympic baseball in February?

Even with major league players I probably wouldn't care at all about Olympic baseball beyond how any Rays players do. The major attraction of the Olympics to me is seeing all these sports that I wouldn't normally see. I can see baseball for six months in the regular season and a few more weeks of the playoffs, I don't see swimming, gymnastics, volleyball (beyond the occasional beach volleyball even that gets televised), etc. any other time.

Whatever. Football (er Soccer) sends even fewer "stars" to the Olympics.

I think they're about even. There were what, three soccer stars at the Olympics? Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, and Freddy Adu? And there were three baseball stars at the Olympics, Yu Darvish, Lee Seung-Yeop and Yuliesky Gourriel. Although the soccer stars are at least familiar to people worldwide instead of just their home countries.

I think the "under 23, plus a couple ringers" formula is working pretty well. Mark Cuban is quoted today in an article about Ginobili's injury as saying basketball should do the same thing.

Yes we should go back so that no one is paid. By no one, I include Rogge.

And to whom does HUGE amount of money that the Olympics generate go too then? Even more for the corporations? Why? Why shouldn't the athletes be paid? Why should they train 6-8 hours a day for free?

Even with major league players I probably wouldn't care at all about Olympic baseball beyond how any Rays players do. The major attraction of the Olympics to me is seeing all these sports that I wouldn't normally see. I can see baseball for six months in the regular season and a few more weeks of the playoffs, I don't see swimming, gymnastics, volleyball (beyond the occasional beach volleyball even that gets televised), etc. any other time.

My feelings exactly. I'm glad the U.S. basketball team is playing well, but I have no interest in watching it. I'm interested in Olympic sports where an Olympic medal represents the ultimate accomplishment (or close to it) for an athlete, and that's simply not true for baseball, basketball, tennis and soccer players.

Only way MLB could ever send players and keep playing:

Keep the season going as is, but allow each Major League team to place protection tags on a certain amount (anywhere from 4 to 20) of players (the number of protections they would have would depend both on how the team is doing- contenders would get more, teams that are out of it would get less- and how many players the team has that would be eligible to play the olympics). That way, playoff races wouldn't be affected much (since division leaders and major contenders for the Wild Card would likely not be losing any major players-the people that would be eligible from those teams would be solely of the back-up and middle relief variety), and the bad teams would still be able to protect their meal tickets (the Mariners, for example, would still be able to protect Ichiro). Additionally, a "Olympic Round" could be added to the draft, a sandwich pick round where a team would get a draft pick for every player they lost to the Olympics.

So Team USA would have this Olympics sent people like Luke Scott, Joey Votto, Aaron Boone, JP Howell and such.

This is such a lie.

um, how can it be a lie to state a preference? i said i liked confining professional baseball athletes to the WBC more than having them in the olympics. am i lying to myself? thank you for being the arbiter between my thoughts and me.

but if you want me to make it into an argument, how's this: i hate the cynical attitude that assumes that "everyone in the olypmics is a professional anyway so why shouldn't we just put pro's out there?" that's the argument that the IOC itself puts out which should raise a red flag. that argument is the public justification for making a change that olympic sponsors were demanding to drive up their own revenue. now coke and staples and mcdonalds want MLB to put its players on the field every four years so they can attract more eyeballs to eventually squeeze more money out of consumers. f*ck them.

there were and always have been plenty of amateur athletes in the olympics and it's bullsh!t to contend otherwise. there are and always will be, of course, plenty of cheaters as there are in any sport. that doesn't make it more palatable to me to just open the floodgates and allow pro's to compete. whatever. i must be lying to myself about this too.

Go back to pure amateurs. I got a huge kick out of watching Jim Abbott and Tino Martinez and Ben McDonald. What was wrong with that?

For that matter, I'd like to see hoops go back to amateurs as well.

The reason they went to pros in the first place was because a lot of the "amateurs" for Cuba and the USSR really weren't. It's not feasible to go to only amateurs for the track events IMHO, so why do it just for baseball and basketball?

They'll have to stand in line behind Madonna, apparently.

College athletes are trying to become professionals, so I assume they train as if they were. The only difference between them and professionals is that they don't get paid and there's a pretense that they're taking classes (some actually are, of course); ergo, for the purposes of the statement "everyone in the olympics has always been a professional," college athletes count as professionals. I'm not sure whether that makes the statement true or not.

The stuff about the Olympics being the "premier competition" for a given sport seems stupid to me. Sure, basketball players (at least American ones) would rather win an NBA title, but they are playing on club teams for that. The Olympics are by far the premier national team competition. I like to see people who wouldn't normally play together giving their all to win a game (unlike all-star games). If you are going to bash the NBA for wanting to be involved in the Olympics, you should bash the Premier League and Serie A and La Liga for allowing their players to play in the World Cup. Also, the NBA has an agreement with FIBA that allows all players who want to participate in the Olympics to do so (assuming they can make their national team) if the player's NBA contract is fully insured. God, I hate Mark Cuban.

The stuff about the Olympics being the "premier competition" for a given sport seems stupid to me. Sure, basketball players (at least American ones) would rather win an NBA title, but they are playing on club teams for that. The Olympics are by far the premier national team competition. I like to see people who wouldn't normally play together giving their all to win a game (unlike all-star games). If you are going to bash the NBA for wanting to be involved in the Olympics, you should bash the Premier League and Serie A and La Liga for allowing their players to play in the World Cup. Also, the NBA has an agreement with FIBA that allows all players who want to participate in the Olympics to do so (assuming they can make their national team) if the player's NBA contract is fully insured. God, I hate Mark Cuban.

I don't object to the NBA players in the Olympics, I'm just not interested in that competition.

For Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and others, winning a gold medal is the pinnacle achievement of their athletic careers. It's what they dream of doing as kids swimming laps or running sprints.

For NBA players, winning an NBA championship is what they dream of. An Olympic medal is not.

In the Olympic setting, I'd rather watch those atheltes for whom the Olympics is that ultimate goal. I suppose you're free to find that preference stupid, but it's really just a matter of taste.

For NBA players, winning an NBA championship is what they dream of. An Olympic medal is not.

For American NBA players. Considering this isn't 1992 when the Americans could just turn up and win, this is an important point, IMHO. This US team is the product of four years of preparation (essentially four years of the Americans taking it as seriously as other teams) and they still aren't totally blowing teams out. So it's not a fait accompli that the Americans will continue to just dominate the event, like they will in softball or something (ignoring that Japan won this year). And there's no doubt in my mind Manu Ginobli prizes his 2004 gold above his NBA titles.

I am with you SoSH. For me the olympics will always be a track and swim meet with added irritants.

I'd love to see major league stars in the Olympics. Unfortunately, the economic structure of MLB would never allow it.

Go back to pure amateurs. I got a huge kick out of watching Jim Abbott and Tino Martinez and Ben McDonald. What was wrong with that?

For that matter, I'd like to see hoops go back to amateurs as well.

I assume then that you don't get a huge kick out of watching Usain Bolt or Yelena Isinbayeva? Or Veronica Campbell Brown?

Back in the days of pure amateurism, they would have their medals stripped, their records erased, and been banned from the Olympics.

but if you want me to make it into an argument, how's this: i hate the cynical attitude that assumes that "everyone in the olypmics is a professional anyway so why shouldn't we just put pro's out there?" that's the argument that the IOC itself puts out which should raise a red flag. that argument is the public justification for making a change that olympic sponsors were demanding to drive up their own revenue. now coke and staples and mcdonalds want MLB to put its players on the field every four years so they can attract more eyeballs to eventually squeeze more money out of consumers. f*ck them.

So, since it's the IOC that made the argument, it must not be true then. Also, to say that that is the argument that the IOC made is disingenuous. The IOC was for a long time extremely resistant to pros. Just as they were extremely resistant to female athletes, banning them from MANY events, "for their safety and health".

there were and always have been plenty of amateur athletes in the olympics and it's bullsh!t to contend otherwise. there are and always will be, of course, plenty of cheaters as there are in any sport. that doesn't make it more palatable to me to just open the floodgates and allow pro's to compete. whatever. i must be lying to myself about this too.

Of course there were and always have been plenty of amateurs in the Olympics. Back in the days when anyone who needed to make a living would find it much more difficult to win medals. Again, why should someone train 6-8 hours a day and not be paid for it?

The reason they went to pros in the first place was because a lot of the "amateurs" for Cuba and the USSR really weren't. It's not feasible to go to only amateurs for the track events IMHO, so why do it just for baseball and basketball?

And of course, track and field is NOT amateur, regardless of what the IAAF calls itself. If the Olympics reverts to pure amateurism, athletes like Usain Bolt and Yelena Isinbayeva would be banned from the Olympics, but still competing in Golden League events in Europe, and getting paid for doing so.

And it isn't just Track and Field or baseball or basketball. Weightlifters who train 6 days are week, 6-8 hours a day, aren't doing so out of their own pocket. Their training is supported by their national associations, and some of them also lift in pro leagues for clubs.

Back in the days of pure amateurism, they would have their medals stripped, their records erased, and been banned from the Olympics.

Or, they'd turn to racing horses for desperately needed cash after their first Olympic games (Jesse Owens) or have their hotel and travel expenses paid for by event organizers (Paavo Nurmi) and be banned from returning.

My point about Olympic basketball is that it's totally different than NBA or Euroleague play because players are grouped by country. If you don't care, shut the hell up about it rather than complaining, which belies your claim to not care.

If you don't care, shut the hell up about it rather than complaining, which belies your claim to not care.

If this was directed at me, it was off-the-mark (as well as rather dickish). I don't begrudge anyone else's interest. The competition doesn't interest me. And stating that is neither a complaint nor a remark that belies my disinterest.

The original idea of amateurism in the Olympics wasn't that they didn't want athletes to make money, but that they didn't even want people training for these competitions. They saw that as cheating.

The concept of amateurism in Western sport has usually been a thinly disguised attempt to keep non-desirable people, whether poor or of color, out of sport.

The original idea of amateurism in the Olympics wasn't that they didn't want athletes to make money, but that they didn't even want people training for these competitions. They saw that as cheating.

They didn't want people who weren't "gentlemen" competing and winning. If it was "gentlemen" receiving training, say from the English public schools, that was fine and dandy.

The concept of amateurism in Western sport has usually been a thinly disguised attempt to keep non-desirable people, whether poor or of color, out of sport.

I thought the idea of amateurism was too keep the labor force doing the work from making any money off it while the old guys in suits collected all of the money. Easiest way to profit is to not pay your workforce, just ask the NCAA.

I thought the idea of amateurism was too keep the labor force doing the work from making any money off it while the old guys in suits collected all of the money. Easiest way to profit is to not pay your workforce, just ask the NCAA.

Well, there's a little bit of that too. But in the start before there was any money to be made, it was based not all that subtly on the idea that if we make this thing of ours amateur, then the workin' man can't afford to play it.

There were what, three soccer stars at the Olympics? Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, and Freddy Adu?

So, who was the third? I'd be astonished if Freddy Adu was one of the top 100 players in the Olympic football.