ur life also. I used to say thats why he was so successful.---AP Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton contrib | Forum

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The best baseball news this past week -- outside of the Yankees basically abandoning their postseason chances, of course -- was Wednesdays long expected announcement that the sport will return to the Olympics in 2020. Cal Clutterbuck Islanders Jersey .There will be only six teams in those Olympics, which isnt great, but at least they will be played in Tokyo, which is very good. Japan is passionate about baseball, making those Olympics a much better location for the sports return than when the IOC decided to bring back golf beginning with the Games in Rio, where the sport is not widely played and an expensive new course had to be built, adding to financial woes.Which brings up an important issue. While baseball is returning for the 2020 Olympics, there is no guarantee it will continue in the 2024 Games because the host city could replace it with another sport. If the 2024 Olympics are awarded to Los Angeles, its a good bet baseball will be there. But if one of the other three candidates -- Paris, Rome and Budapest -- get the Games, then it becomes less likely.One reason is the cost of constructing baseball and softball stadiums in cities where the sports are not played very much. That is one of the reasons the IOC dropped the two sports after the 2008 Olympics. Many host cities simply would never use those ballparks again, though the 1992 Olympic baseball stadium was still being used in Barcelona when I visited there a couple of years ago.Another reason is that the IOC wants baseball to send its very best major leaguers, as do most other sports, such as basketball. That, however, is not easy for baseball since the Summer Olympics, unlike the NBA season, come smack in the middle of the major league season. Hockey interrupts its season for the Olympics (which the players love, but the NHL team owners dont) as does the WNBA. Japans baseball league did the same thing in 2008. But dont expect the major leagues to do so when so much is at stake, particularly money. That limits many countries from sending their best players.Of course, not sending the best players isnt considered a major issue in mens soccer where age rules greatly reduce the number of top stars from competing. But the IOC doesnt seem to care about that because soccer is so globally popular.The IOC needs to get over that. Baseball is an international sport. There are current major leaguers from all across the globe, including Japan, Australia, Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, South Korea and Germany as well as America. Heck, there was a player from Lithuania in the Futures Game last month. Aside from Antarctica, Africa is the only continent without a major leaguer, though there are rising prospects from there who might crack the majors soon.Baseball also is much more popular than most events at the Olympics. Does anyone really care about the modern pentathlon? Or sailing? Or trampoline?As former Olympian R.A. Dickey told me last year: If you want to get the greatest athletes in the world together, why not baseball?Even without major leaguers, baseball has sent top prospects to the Olympics. Among them have been Jake Arrieta (2008), Stephen Strasburg (2008), Dickey (1996) and Nomar Garciaparra (1992), plus Tino Martinez (1988), Jim Abbott (1988), Barry Larkin (1984), Mark McGwire (1984) and Will Clark (1984) when it was a demonstration sport. And thats just the U.S. teams.The problem is that those players were generally just prospects and so not very well-known at the time, especially not outside America. How then can the majors get bigger names into the Olympics?One possibility is sending a few recently retired players to the Olympics. They clearly will not be at their peak but they definitely will attract attention and ratings. Imagine the passion if Ichiro is playing for Japan in Tokyo -- if he actually retires by then, since he will be only 46 and has said he doesnt plan to retire until age 50.Another move is for baseball to establish the Olympic team early and then heavily publicize it. Make it clear to fans who the players are and that they are likely to become All-Stars. Have them play exhibitions against major league teams in the leadup to the Olympics. That will give them attention and great experience.Whoever goes, baseball should stay in the Olympics beyond 2020. It is one of the biggest sports in the world and it certainly deserves to be in the Olympics every bit as much as synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics. Matt Martin Islanders Jersey . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. Jordan Eberle Jersey . With his new coach and six-time Grand Slam singles champion Boris Becker watching him during an official match for the first time, Djokovic appeared tentative early against the Slovakian player, who often appeared content to keep the ball in play. http:///...es-islanders-jersey/ .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. DENVER -- Weighing just 153 pounds, former Air Force option quarterback Dee Dowis wasnt the most intimidating presence. That is, until he got the ball in his hands.Dowis, who finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1989, died in a car accident outside Atlanta on Monday morning, police in Gwinnett County, Georgia, confirmed. He was 48.As a lanky sophomore in 1987, Dowis began running coach Fisher DeBerrys triple-option offense. He was an instant hit.Dowis graduated as the academys career leading rusher and had the highest finish ever for an Air Force player in the Heisman voting. During that `89 season, Dowis rushed for 1,286 yards and 18 touchdowns while throwing for 1,285 yards and seven touchdowns. He led the Falcons to an 8-4-1 record and an appearance in the Liberty Bowl.Pound for pound, without a doubt, the greatest, most gifted and talented player to maybe ever play the college game, DeBerry said in a phone interview Tuesday. He proved you dont have to be a physical giant to be a quarterback in the triple-option offense.As a tribute to Dowis, the Falcons rush-ordered helmet decals for their season opener Saturday against Abilene Christian. Other honors are in the works, too.I think anybody who has ever met him will tell you he was quite kind, respectful, humble -- a guy that loved his family immensely, current Falcons coach Troy Calhoun said. Somebody you always felt like was a real quality, quality friend.DeBerry searched his memory for his favorite Dowis highlight. He couldnt come up with just one because, he had a lot of great performances.Like the time he rushed for 249 yards and scored six TDs against San Diego State in 1989. Or when he had 377 yards of total offense versus Northwestern in 1988. He also went 11 for 11 through the air in that contest.Dowis was inducted into the academys athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.He was terrific at anticipating and seeing tthings happening, DeBerry said. Nick Leddy Jersey. If we wouldve been more of a passing team, he would still have been a great quarterback. He was a complete player, not just a runner. He was like a coach on the field.Not to mention one of DeBerrys dearest friends. He once asked Dowis to serve as an assistant coach, but Dowis wanted to stay close to family. The two talked all the time.I admired him so much, DeBerry said. Its a very sad, sad day for Falcon football. For as great of player as he was, he was an even greater friend. ... He leaves a great legacy for us all.According to a news release from the Gwinnett County police, Dowis was going south in the northbound lanes of I-85 early Monday when he pulled his 2014 BMW into the center median. As he backed up, Dowis was hit in the drivers side door by a 2015 Subaru driven by a 22-year-old from North Carolina. The other driver was transported to a nearby hospital.The police said Dowis wasnt wearing a seat belt and died at the scene.It is still not clear what caused Dowis to travel down the interstate in the wrong direction. Speed does not appear to be a contributing factor, the release said.Dowis was working as a sales manager for a pharmaceutical company in South Carolina. He is survived by his wife, Tracie, and two children.People all over the nation always say to me, `That was a great quarterback you had at Air Force. Whats his name again? DeBerry recounted. Im always like, `You must be talking about Dee. Theyd tell me how much they enjoyed watching him play and execute so well. I told them, `If you weighed 153 pounds, youd be running for your life also. I used to say thats why he was so successful.---AP Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton contributed.---AP college football site: http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '  and outlook. The disease is so different for everyone, but there are so many great treatments and resources available today that can help manage the disease, Sigalet added. My thoughts go out to him and his family, and I wish him nothing but the best.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '