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Arguments are being made for which sports should be included as part of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Today, the International Baseball Federation made its pitch to the Olympic committee about being re-included in the Olympics. Baseball and softball were decided to not be included in the 2012 Olympics in London.

Some of the sports hoping for a place in the 2016 Olympics are:

• Baseball
• Softball
• Golf
• Karate
• Rugby
• Roller Sports
• Squash

Which of these sports deserve to be an Olympic sport? Which of these should remain out of the Olympics?

I saw this police beat under the heading, Disorderly Conduct:

Oct. 11: A University of New Mexico football player, unhappy with the outcome of the game, had to be restrained by his coach and fellow players and helped onto the bus after kicking a door.

Has this kid never lost before, or was he happy with the outcomes of those games?  Seriously, if you are going to go to Provo to play a top-10 football team, there is one outcome that should be expected more than others: BYU wins.  I know this must be a less-desireable outcome for New Mexico—it might even make a few unhappy.  

But most people don’t have to be restrained when they are unhappy.  Most people don’t go kicking doors.

I just read from the Reporter Herald that Colorado State (football) kicker Jason Smith broke his arm, and he won’t be able to play in the game verses Colorado University.

I’ve seen other football players play with casts and be just fine. My question is, why would it matter if a kicker has a broken arm? For one thing, a kicker shouldn’t need his arm to kick. Secondly, a kicker should never be touched on the field.

If you watch the Olympics gymnastics this year, you may be confused by the new scoring system which will let athletes score 14, 17, or even higher. The new rules are “heavy on math” and employ two panels of judges: one for technical difficulty, which adds points up from a score of zero; the other for execution and technique, which starts at 10.0 and subtracts for errors. The two numbers are then combined for the final score. As one judge put it, “The system rewards difficulty. But the mistakes are also more costly.” The new rules were adopted after South Korea protested a scoring at the 2004 Olympics.

Softball has only been played at the Summer Olympics three times: 1996, 2000, 2004. This year’s Olympic Games will mark the fourth time the sport has appeared at the Olympics. Because of a lack of world-wide interest, softball will not be played in the 2012 Olympics. The United States has won gold at all three previous Olympic Games.

Medal count
United States: 3 Golds
Australia: 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
Japan: 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
China: 1 Silver

2004 Medalists
United States: Gold
Australia: Silver
Japan: Bronze

Appearances at all 4 Olympic Games (including 2008)
Australia, Canada, China, USA, Japan
Chinese Taipei has appeared at 2 previous Olympic Games and will appear in Beijing.

See also: Wikipedia for 2008 Softball Schedule.