http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/john_donovan/01/06/cuba.wbc/index.html

Without Cuba, the World Baseball Classic, that highly charged and already 
highly politicized 16-team tournament scheduled for its debut in March, 
likely won't ever get to a "Play Ball!"

The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is threatening to pull its 
sanctioning of Major League Baseball's brainchild if Cuba isn't allowed to 
participate. In a Jan. 3 fax from IBAF president Aldo Notari of Italy to 
MLB, the players union and others, Notari said that the federation would 
order its members out of the WBC if the U.S. government doesn't change 
course and lift its ban on the Cubans.

"Neither the principals of Olympism nor the rules of the International 
Baseball Federation permit any form of discrimination of a political 
nature," Notari wrote, "which is why the IBAF considers your government's 
refusal inadmissible."

Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department, citing a longstanding embargo of 
Cuba, informed MLB that it could not allow Cuba into a tournament in which 
the communist nation would have a financial interest. MLB and the players 
union are petitioning the Treasury Department to reverse the decision, and 
there are some indications that the Cubans would be willing to forfeit any 
money they'd earn as a participant in the event.

"We are extremely optimistic that Cuba will be allowed to participate," Paul 
Archey, the senior vice president of MLB International, said, "and we'll 
have the best tournament we can possibly have."

If the U.S. government doesn't allow Cuba to play, the WBC almost certainly 
would be dead for 2006. Without sanctioning from the IBAF, other teams would 
be forced to drop out or face being banned by the IBAF in upcoming 
international events.

Whatever happens, the issue has to be resolved soon. Sixty-man rosters for 
the participating teams will be submitted on Jan. 17, though that deadline 
probably can be moved.

The inaugural WBC, to be played at seven sites in Japan, Puerto Rico and the 
U.S., is scheduled to begin March 3. The final round is scheduled for March 
18 and 20 at Petco Park in San Diego.

Tony Cummins wrote:

> http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/john_donovan/01/06/cuba.wbc/index.html
> 
> Without Cuba, the World Baseball Classic, that highly charged and already 
> highly politicized 16-team tournament scheduled for its debut in March, 
> likely won't ever get to a "Play Ball!"
> 
> The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is threatening to pull its 
> sanctioning of Major League Baseball's brainchild if Cuba isn't allowed to 
> participate. In a Jan. 3 fax from IBAF president Aldo Notari of Italy to 
> MLB, the players union and others, Notari said that the federation would 
> order its members out of the WBC if the U.S. government doesn't change 
> course and lift its ban on the Cubans.
> 

The IBAF should just ban the US from the Classic and continue with Cuba 
and the other countries.

-- 
Where are the prawns?
Down by the sea.

pearly soames  wrote in message
news:B4exf.161535$aS5.159886@bignews4.bellsouth.net...
> Tony Cummins wrote:
>
> >
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/john_donovan/01/06/cuba.wbc/in
dex.html
> >
> > Without Cuba, the World Baseball Classic, that highly charged and
already
> > highly politicized 16-team tournament scheduled for its debut in March,
> > likely won't ever get to a "Play Ball!"
> >
> > The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is threatening to pull its
> > sanctioning of Major League Baseball's brainchild if Cuba isn't allowed
to
> > participate. In a Jan. 3 fax from IBAF president Aldo Notari of Italy to
> > MLB, the players union and others, Notari said that the federation would
> > order its members out of the WBC if the U.S. government doesn't change
> > course and lift its ban on the Cubans.
> >
>
> The IBAF should just ban the US from the Classic and continue with Cuba
> and the other countries.
>
> --

Given this administration's (and many "red state" Americans') tendency
toward instinctive rejection of any mandate dictated by a foreign
organization, Notari's pronouncement will probably just cause the government
to dig in its heels a bit deeper on the Cuba issue, rather than work toward
a compromise.

The situation really isn't cut and dried. A lot of the bellyaching is from
Republicans looking to keep populous Florida in the "win" column for the
next election, but to many who've fled Cuba over the years, Castro = Hitler,
and they are sincere about not wanting their adopted country to have
anything to do with Cuba until Castro is out of power or, preferably, dead.
Of course, the US did go to the real Hitler's 1936 Olympics ... but the
Republicans would probably spin that by reminding us that a Democrat was in
the White House when that happened.

Howard

Was the IBAF and MLB so out of touch with political realities in the
world that they
didn't see that a Cuban team could be a problem?    I guess they looked
at it with rose
colored glasses and felt "in the spirit of a great game politics can be
set aside and
we can all come together and show true sportsmanship...."

Sorry, but the world doesn't work like that.

stonej wrote:
> Was the IBAF and MLB so out of touch with political realities in the
> world that they
> didn't see that a Cuban team could be a problem?    I guess they looked
> at it with rose
> colored glasses and felt "in the spirit of a great game politics can be
> set aside and
> we can all come together and show true sportsmanship...."
> 
> Sorry, but the world doesn't work like that.
> 
The Cuban team played in the '04 Olympics..I don't remember the US 
boycotting those games...They play in a lot of international 
tournaments...Why is it a problem now???

The problem now is Federal law prohibits the Cubans from making any 
money. Other Cuban teams have come to the US without taking any money. 
The dumb fucks in MLB asked the US for a wavier allowing the Cubans to 
take the money and the Bush administration said the law is the law 
denying the wavier. Bud Selig and his idiots stepped on their dicks one 
more time.

"lhjbbw"  wrote in message news:uMBzf.1945

> The Cuban team played in the '04 Olympics..I don't remember the US 
> boycotting those games...They play in a lot of international 
> tournaments...Why is it a problem now???

sfb wrote:
> The problem now is Federal law prohibits the Cubans from making any 
> money. Other Cuban teams have come to the US without taking any money. 
> The dumb fucks in MLB asked the US for a wavier allowing the Cubans to 
> take the money and the Bush administration said the law is the law 
> denying the wavier. Bud Selig and his idiots stepped on their dicks one 
> more time.

  The Cubans offered to turn their share over their over hurricane 
relief in the US.
> 
> "lhjbbw"  wrote in message news:uMBzf.1945
> 
>> The Cuban team played in the '04 Olympics..I don't remember the US 
>> boycotting those games...They play in a lot of international 
>> tournaments...Why is it a problem now??? 
> 
> 


-- 
   To reply via e-mail please delete 1 c from paccbell

That there is a second waver request being considered doesn't change 
that MLB could have avoided this mess if they did their homework first.

"George Grapman"  wrote in message 
news:DIDzf.14135$Yu.10585@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net...
> sfb wrote:
>> The problem now is Federal law prohibits the Cubans from making any 
>> money. Other Cuban teams have come to the US without taking any 
>> money. The dumb fucks in MLB asked the US for a wavier allowing the 
>> Cubans to take the money and the Bush administration said the law is 
>> the law denying the wavier. Bud Selig and his idiots stepped on their 
>> dicks one more time.
>
>  The Cubans offered to turn their share over their over hurricane 
> relief in the US.
>>
>> "lhjbbw"  wrote in message news:uMBzf.1945
>>
>>> The Cuban team played in the '04 Olympics..I don't remember the US 
>>> boycotting those games...They play in a lot of international 
>>> tournaments...Why is it a problem now???
>>
>>
>
>
> -- 
>   To reply via e-mail please delete 1 c from paccbell

The Cuban team played in the '04 Olympics..I don't remember the US
boycotting those games...They play in a lot of international
tournaments...Why is it a problem now???


The 2004 Olympics were not played in the US, that is the big
difference.  Playing against them is not the issue, the location where
the game(s) is to be played is the problem.

The problem is Bud Selig and MLB fucked up one more time. Federal law 
prohibits Cuban teams from making any money playing in the US.  MLB 
asked for a waiver from the law and the Bush administration said no. MLB 
has redone the deal and asked for another wavier.

When the Cuban team played the Orioles, it was the Clinton 
administration took the legal bribes and issued the wavier. Peter 
Angelos who owns the Orioles is a major contributor to the Democrats.

"stonej"  wrote in message 
news:1137680218.778111.238050@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> The Cuban team played in the '04 Olympics..I don't remember the US
> boycotting those games...They play in a lot of international
> tournaments...Why is it a problem now???
>
>
> The 2004 Olympics were not played in the US, that is the big
> difference.  Playing against them is not the issue, the location where
> the game(s) is to be played is the problem.
>

"stonej"  writes:

> The 2004 Olympics were not played in the US, that is the big
> difference.  Playing against them is not the issue, the location where
> the game(s) is to be played is the problem.

The Cubans played at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, of course, but the
IOC has a lot more clout with these things than MLB. (You can't host the
Olympics if you don't allow all countries to compete)

-- 
Keith Willoughby http://flat222.org/keith/
M. Khan Is Bent

Keith Willoughby  writes:

> The Cubans played at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, of course, but
> the IOC has a lot more clout with these things than MLB. 

And -- nominally at least -- athletes are not paid to compete at the
Olympics.  Of course, we all know better than that...