Curious: Why are pro basketball and hockey players allowed to compete in the Olympic

[okierock]

Originally Posted by hotreds

And yes, we can't have a sport like softball that is dominated by the USA! Better to have synchronized diving!

or Sailing?

[Av8tor152d]

Originally Posted by poker

Its all about the dollars.

All politics and money these days. Don't even care to watch the Olympics anymore myself.

[SeanGAR]

Those little girls from China are taken away from their families and placed in gym schools. That is all they do .. gym. They are professionals for all intents and purposes .. so why the problem with other pro players?

[macjoe53]

Actually I don't like any of the sports where the outcome is based on the opinion of judges. The may be interesting to watch but when I see some of the inconsistencies in the scoring it leaves me scratching my head.

[bobarian]

Several professional baseball players are on the current Olympic team. Most are minor leaguers. I think baseball has an age limit like soccer.

Almost all of the participants in the Olympics are professional in one way or another. Some sports are more open about it than others. Those without a professional circuit like track or tennis, are paid to train in Colorado at the Olympic training camp. Many athletes from around the world are paid for medals.

[andrewsutherland2002]

Isn't Davey Johnson the US baseball coach/manager this year?

He should be in Cincy right now instead of China.

[Twill413]

Originally Posted by The Professor

And for the record, Phelps is a "pro" (which is why he wasn't allowed to swim for Michigan when he was a student there). My point being that there may be more "pros" out there then you think....

And for the record, nobody except Michigan people would have wanted to watch him whip the swimming suits off everyone in the pool in every event he swam in. Or maybe they would, look at the Olympics ratings.

As to the topic, I dunno, it is what it is. Why are a lot of things done the way they are in the Olympics? Why is boxing scored so strangely?

[hotreds]

Originally Posted by andrewsutherland2002

Isn't Davey Johnson the US baseball coach/manager this year?

He should be in Cincy right now instead of China.

Yes and maybe.

[The Korean]

Originally Posted by The Professor

And for the record, Phelps is a "pro" (which is why he wasn't allowed to swim for Michigan when he was a student there). My point being that there may be more "pros" out there then you think....

I heard some guys last night saying he was a pro swimmer. How is he a pro, does he swim for a certain team, or organization and get paid a salary or is is based all on endoresements?

[The Professor]

Originally Posted by The Korean

I heard some guys last night saying he was a pro swimmer. How is he a pro, does he swim for a certain team, or organization and get paid a salary or is is based all on endoresements?

My guess is it's all the endorsements; but I'm not positive. I just remember they made a point about it during one of the NBC rah-rah-Phelps pre-recorded segments. The endorsements would make sense, though, since you can't bring in that kind of (or any) bank as an NCAA athlete.

And Tony: I agree about not wanting to see Phelps whip up on college kids. Well ... except that I love watching him whip up on everyone else and score a new WR every time. But that's different -- it's the Olympics.

[Alpedhuez55]

Originally Posted by The Korean

I heard some guys last night saying he was a pro swimmer. How is he a pro, does he swim for a certain team, or organization and get paid a salary or is is based all on endoresements?

I am sure it is a combination of endorsements and appearance fees for meets. He will collect a fee just for competing at a swim meet. He has done commercials for cell phones and ESPN among others.

If you have ever seen either of the Steve Prefontaine movies they did a few years back, they both touch upon how corrupt the US Olympic Committee and AAU were. They would basically collect appearance fees for track stars and determine what meets they were able to compete in. They would then give the athletes a very small per diem that barely covered meals. If you wanted to compete in the Olympics, you had to play by their rules. Other countries actually allowed the athletes to keep enough money and make a living.

So while Prefontaine was one of the worlds top Middle Distance runners, the people he was competing against were more or less professionals. He was on welfare when he was in his prime.