Two quintessential American sports -- baseball and softball -- will be dropped from the Olympic Games after 2008 for different and various reasons, and will not be contested at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. It is possible, however, that one or both sports could win reinstatement in a vote of IOC members in 2009, and be played at the 2016 Olympic Games. In the case of baseball, the strikes against continued inclusion were over its chronic doping problem and the lack of participation by the sport's top players, owing to the refusal of MLB to suspend its season and club owners to release its players for the Olympic tournament. This week, a glimmer of hope was raised when MLB vice president and USA Baseball general manager Bob Watson suggested that the league might suspend its season if either Chicago or Tokyo -- two professional baseball cities in baseball-crazed countries -- won the right to host the 2016 Olympic Games. On this basis alone, however, the glimmer might as well be extinguished, because the IOC is unlikely to condition the inclusion of sports on a particular city's hosting of the Olympic Games. Your thoughts?
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http://mlb.mlb.com/content/printer_friendly/mlb/y2008/m07/d16/c3142921.jsp
http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/167503/mlb-to-allow-top-players-to-participate-in-olympics
http://www.china.org.cn/sports/news/2008-07/18/content_16030965.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/sports/olympics/17baseball.html?ref=sports
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I have been trying to research this topic as my powerpoint presentation and have found almost the same information in each article. I am more curious as to why and how the International Olympic Committee adds and subtracts sports to the Olympic Games. These articles raise interesting point on why baseball is being eliminated from the games. And, I think, each stipulation is reasonable. If the Olympic Games is supposed to showcase the best of the best in each sporting categories, why should baseball be any different? I think the major leagues can take a break every four years for certain players to have the chance to compete in the Olympics. Even if the pay may not be as well or each player may not be playing with his original team, the Olympics is, I think, the highest honor/ accomplishment a player can achieve. To deny this from MLB players is unfair. Also, I agree that steroids should be taken very seriously for obvious and stated reasons.
The International Olympic Committee basically overviews each sport competing or hoping to compete in the games and then stages a vote. Unlike choosing a location for the games, however, deciding whether or not a game should remain is not as intense. Although the teams will still use politics and lobbying, only a majority vote in either direction is needed to keep/eliminate a sport. So, instead of a percentage, a simple majority can hold the future of a sport. This causes turmoil because most teams, rightfully so, believe the voting should be more vigorous. I think changing sports for the reasons mentioned above and adding sports to appeal to the public are noble causese but I think the voting process should include, at least, a rule of percentages.
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