Baseball snubbed by IOC; Golf and Rugby added

The Olympic Committee voted on new sports for the 2016 Olympics in Rio and Golf and Rugby have both made the cut.

However, baseball and softball, along with Karate and Squash, are not going to be added to the games.

I would really like to see baseball be re-admitted into the Olympic sports. Throughout much of Latin America and Asia, and obviously here in the U.S., baseball is huge. I think it is deserving of a spot personally. But I guess that's what the World Baseball Classic is for maybe?

about 1 month ago DTJchris 17 comments 0 recs |

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Golf?

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Oct 9, 2009 4:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Golf isn't a sport.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Oct 9, 2009 4:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Are the Olympics even relevant outside of Basketball, the 100M and womans gymnastics?

thats all anyone seems to notice and swimming every now and then

Okay, just so I understand it... in your wildest fantasy, you are in hell. And you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.

by bren on Oct 9, 2009 4:33 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

As an avid golfer

I have no problem with golf being added, people golf all over the world. I think that baseball is more deserving than rugby though.

"It's been my policy to view the Internet not as an 'information highway,' but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies." - Mike Royko

by DTJchris on Oct 9, 2009 4:42 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Adding golf is pretty insulting,

it’s like adding Formula car racing… Stupid.

by chilango2 on Oct 9, 2009 4:50 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Golf is a game.

Baseball is a sport.

by Clark Addison on Oct 9, 2009 5:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

that's a good point

It is called the Olympic Games. Hmmm

"Fasten those seatbelts"-Pat Hughes

by katie casey on Oct 9, 2009 5:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here's a link...

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=2397716

I find it kind of hypocritical that one main reason baseball is not reinstated is due to PED’s, yet Olympic athletes have been cheating and have been caught for the past 2 or 3 decades. Their anti-doping program is supposed to be the best, but obviously it isn’t perfect (see Ben Johnson, Marian Jones, etc).

I also find it hard to believe baseball is denied when a “sport” like badminton is in the Olympics.

Learn this line, and use it often- "Yes dear, you're right, I'm sorry" -Bob Brenly

by SotoRiot on Oct 10, 2009 11:32 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

One of the major reasons,

why baseball has had problems in the Olympics has been the refusal by professional baseball to allow the best players to compete. Outside of the Americas and the Pacific Rim, baseball is not the most popular of sports, and without dream teams competing, then the level of interest is in most parts very low indeed. For example, I can not remember seeing a single second of the baseball and softball Olympic tournaments on German television during the last 12 years and it was almost impossible find the results in the local print media.

Personally, I find the decision by the I.O.C. a pity, but I can understand it.

OTOH, it was high time that Rugby was included.

Well, I never heard it before, but it sounds uncommon nonsense.
- The Mock Turtle, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll -

by eths on Oct 11, 2009 8:18 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

But

In reality golf is not all that big in south america and africa.

Another reason the IOC doesn’t want baseball anymore is European countries have been completely unable to compete and that’s a big thing to them.

Thank you to all who have offered prayers when I made mention. My nephew Nathan Allan Cubtoseriesby100 was born on Thursday and at his size starts on the O line fot the Bears; 9 lbs 10 ounces and 22 inches!

by cubstoseriesby100 on Oct 11, 2009 10:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree that the pro golf decision is strange and probably not a good idea.

Also one must not forget that while Baseball is played in Europe, but the number of people who play the game seriously is small and that the number of baseball and/or softball diamonds and other facilities is very limited. Also, the impression here has been that Major League Baseball has in the past not been prepared or willing to support our favourite sport as an Olympic sport. Baseball has remained, as the Germans would term it, a Randsportart in most of Asia, Africa, Europe and (afaik) Australia.

The NFL, for example, has been much more supportive of European efforts in establishing American Football here. And Football has enjoyed much greater success than Baseball, even though it too is still a Randsportart. The closing down of the the NFL Europe, has been a blow for European fans of North American sports.

The following links might be of interest:
Confederation of European Baseball in English
Deutscher Baseball & Softball Verband e.V. in German
European Federation of American Football in English
American Football Verband Deutschland e.V. in German

Well, I never heard it before, but it sounds uncommon nonsense.
- The Mock Turtle, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll -

by eths on Oct 11, 2009 4:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Could you please translate "Randsportart" into English?

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Oct 11, 2009 4:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The literal translation is a "sport on the edge/fringe/border/margin"

There is no “real” English word for this a little like Fernweh, Weltanschauung, Zeitgeist etc.

At http://dict.leo.org/ the discussion suggests “fringe sport”, “marginalized sport” or “minority sport” as possibilities. None of these have actually made it into the dictionary at leo.org and are not 100% accurate translations.

Well, I never heard it before, but it sounds uncommon nonsense.
- The Mock Turtle, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll -

by eths on Oct 11, 2009 5:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs