A team of six, including Baseball Federation president Harvey Schiller and Detroit Tigers center-fielder Curtis Granderson, addressed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Geneva on Friday, hoping for baseball to have a place in the 2016 Games. Two of the IOC concerns were the recent high-profile cases of drug use in Major League Baseball and MLB not allowing the best players to compete in the Games (because of the conflict with the regular baseball season). The baseball contingent vowed to address both issues.
Seven sports are competing for two open slots for the 2016 Games. In addition to baseball, the committee …read more

Just a day after Japan defeated the United States in softball, the International Softball Committee is planning their lobby to get the sport reinstated as an Olympic event. Softball was voted out of the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and won’t be a part of the London Games in 2012. One of the reasons cited was that one country–the United States–dominated the sport. Now a case can be made for competition in the sport.
The International Softball Committee is working to keep international softball visible. The are hosting a Youth World Cup tournament somewhere in Europe in August of …read more

… in Paul Johnson’s list.
The Australia’s Top 101 athletes list that was published on Alpha magazine pushed him to mull it over and come up with his own. But instead of listing 101 of them, he picked the top 25 that he thinks is notable.

Steve Waugh – cricket
Shane Warne – cricket
Pat Rafter – tennis
Mick Doohan – motorcycle racing
Layne Beachley – women’s surfing

Here’s a list of sports that used to be part of the Olympic roster but are now no longer practised.

Cricket

Croquet

Golf

Jeu de paume

Lacrosse

Pelote basque or Basque pelota

Polo

Power boating

Rackets or Racquets

Rink hockey

Roque

Rugby

Tug of war

Water skiing