Play ball!

Major League Baseball and the players' association have finally agreed on a drug-testing policy that meets the standards of the Olympics and World Anti-Doping Agency. This will allow the first professional World Cup to go ahead in 2005. Jack Curry of the New York Times writes that the most likely scenario is a 16-team tournament featuring the United States as the host, and teams from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Japan, Cuba, Taiwan, South Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, Australia, China, Canada, the Netherlands and Italy. In a less positive development, it seems that many top players may still agonise over whether or not to play. George Steinbrenner may not allow New York Yankees players to participate, for fear of injury. At least this is sounding like a proper international tournament -- complete with the club vs. country disputes so well-known to international football.