Baseball may be gone, but...

My faith in the international sporting community has been restored. I have been vaguely disturbed over the years by the trend in the Olympics of not only allowing but encouraging the participation of professional athletes. It's happened in basketball and hockey and baseball, and it's made me wonder about the meaning of the Olympics. Is it to become just another money-making venue for highly paid prima donnas to strut in front of cameras and adoring throngs? It's already sold out to corporate sponsorship and TV contracts, but at least they could rely on the emotion and integrity of using "amateur" athletes in most sports.

Then, in one fell swoop, the IOC got rid of baseball, and some of the balance was restored. (They also got rid of softball, which I think is a tragedy, and not just because the USA won every game.) At least we wouldn't have to hear about how A-Rod and Barry Bonds were waffling about whether their hangnail was bad enough to keep them from joining the US National team.

Now, more news comes from the Olympics to restore my faith further. Curling, one of the weirdest sports I've seen, will no doubt have center stage during these Olympics in Turin, Italy, thanks to a special calendar that helps promote the sport's exquisite athletes. (No, I have not purchased this calendar.) I mean, who could fail to love an ice sport that does not use skates, instead utilizing brooms and stones? Alas, there is no swimsuit division, but I still will be sure to catch the high definition broadcast (if there is one).

Writing Update
I have written two new short stories but have not yet heard back from either QuickFiction or The First Line. I don't expect to until some time probably near the end of March.