ClumsyMonkey.net

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SPORT/07/08/oly ... index.html

I always thought these two sports were a very popular portion of the Olympics. Baseball I can kind of see with the way that the Olympics conflicts with the baseball season, and not to mention the recent doping allegations. But softball? One could make the argument that softball has really helped the Olympics in terms of female audience. Those women were starting to become heroes to young girls. It's a shame, and I believe to be a big mistake. At least we'll still have these events in 2008. Maybe they will be back by 2016.

A lot of the Arab nations forced a push to have them removed.

Perhaps they're trying to eliminate events where one country dominates. The US Womens softball team was virtually unstopable over the last few olympics. If I recall correctly they let in maybe 1 or 2 runs the entire tournament each year...

As for Baseball, I think that beyond the Americas and the far east there aren't a lot of people playing the sport. That's my only guess.

Baseball is huge in Japan and South America. Other than soccer and boxing, it is pretty much all South America has. I believe removing soccer really alienates an entire continent.

So currently USA softball is dominent. That is no reason to remove it. The same was true for women's soccer until recently. That is simply a case of the US leading the way. Women's sports are heavily encouraged in the states and the American women always dominate in its early stages while other countries catch up. By removing softball, it only hurts other countries, not helps.

Karate and Squash aren't going to replace them, Rugby might.

I think they already voted on all possible replacements and they were all turned down. At least according to that article.

I don't know enough about the followings for these sports in other countries, but I've never watched a baseball game in my life and I don't even really know what softball is. I'm pretty sure the same is true of most people in this country.

On a different note, according to the BBC we'll save 50 million pounds by not having to host these 2 sports which shows the crazy amounts of money that will have to be spent on the whole thing!

I didn't watch the baseball or softball in the Olympics either.

It is one hell of a boring game to watch - fun to play like golf and curling, but very, very boring to watch.

and btw, soozy, softball is sort of a women's version of baseball - it differs in that the pitching is done underhand, the ball is bigger, and I think they use metal bats - I'm sure there are other differences but I think that's basically it.

Yeah, that's pretty much what softball is.
I think that baseball can be a fun game to watch, I just have never bothered to watch it during the Olympics.

yeah, baseball at the olympics always seemed pretty ridiculous. even if you do win a gold medal at the olympics in baseball, it's not the ultimate acheivement, the world series is. therefore, it doesn't make a ton of sense to have it.

softball, however, seems to make more sense, just because there is no professional league.

do we send pros to play baseball in the olympics? i thought we sent college kids. and didn't the US lose in baseball the last olympics?

I hope you're not sending pros to the olympics - that goes against everything the olympics is about.

well, our basketball pros go, and they sucked ass this past time.

Bandalero wrote:do we send pros to play baseball in the olympics? i thought we sent college kids. and didn't the US lose in baseball the last olympics?

No you don't

Soozy wrote:I hope you're not sending pros to the olympics - that goes against everything the olympics is about.

How do you figure? The Olympics is about sending the best in the sport to compete. As long as they don't get paid for the Olympics (which they don't) then what is the problem? Every other country does it.

Soozy wrote:I don't know enough about the followings for these sports in other countries, but I've never watched a baseball game in my life and I don't even really know what softball is. I'm pretty sure the same is true of most people in this country.

On a different note, according to the BBC we'll save 50 million pounds by not having to host these 2 sports which shows the crazy amounts of money that will have to be spent on the whole thing!

I'm not sure you'll "save" that money. That may be what it costs to host it but that doesn't account for the revenue it would generate.

And yes Reno. The US sends college kids because of the conflict with the MLB season and they didn't even medal this past Olympics.

hehe, canada even beat them. We came 4th!

woot woot

hi yannic! *wave*