A recent Deseret News opinion piece noted that baseball and softball are to be replaced in the Olympic Games by rugby and golf. The article surmised that this reflected anti-American bias on the part of the International Olympic Committee.
Let me propose a simpler theory: Rugby and golf are simply more popular global sports. The international popularity of golf goes without saying. As for rugby, a quick check on the Web lists 95 countries in the world rugby rankings and with a widely supported world cup that has been occurring since the mid-'80s. Baseball, by contrast, ranks 22 countries and is just about to have its first world cup the World Series being a rather optimistic misnomer.
I suggest baseball prove it has real global support and then go back to the IOC in a few years. In the meantime, let's not be quite so paranoid about America-bashing.
Lee Sheppard
Provo