Hear, hear...

Ouch:

"Isn't anybody else embarrassed that the nation that invented the game and won the gold medal in Sydney 2000 was not represented in Athens, Greece? I was. Bud Selig and his mercenaries should be. Every American player who pulls on a big-league jockstrap should be. Don't tell me that a star-quality talent pool couldn't be created in which each club makes three significant American players available for an Olympic draft, in which they give up a month -- at full salary, of course -- for Old Glory."

Japan just did it, recruiting a Dream Team from its professional league. Unfortunately, the hand-picked Japanese stars underperformed and settled for the bronze medal. But imagine if they had had Ichiro, the Matsuis and some of the pitching talent currently over here. Cuba won gold with its youngest team since baseball became an Olympic sport. Fortunately for MLB's spastic organizational abilities, there's a chance the sport will be voted out of the Olympics because so few nations play it at a competitive level - the USA apparently included. Then Bud [Selig] can pursue his dream of a winter World Cup, which is a great idea on paper only, but a must to advance the sport if the Olympics dump it. ...