Cuba to Play

The story of the Bush administration’s curious strategy -- mixing sports and politics obnoxiously -- to do with Major League Baseball’s first World Classic has made for headlines in many ports of call. This is an update to a story reported on SLANTblog on Jan. 18 about Cuba being barred from play -- now Cuba is back in the game.

As of this writing, 16 teams, representing 16 nations -- including feisty Fidel Castro’s Cuban national team, perhaps with a few potential defectors on board -- are set to play baseball in a few weeks. The slant on this offbeat sports story depends entirely on one's point of view; it's much more than sports news in lots of places.

To illustrate that point here’s a set of links, all updates on Cuba’s renewed participation in the tournament, which is set to run from Mar. 3 to Mar. 20:

heartbeatnews: U.S. Caves -- Allows Cubans To Play In WBC
Miami Herald: Playing ball now in Cuba’s court
The Daily Yomiuri: U.S. frees Cuba, averts World crisis
LA Times: Cuba Back in the Game
AP: Castro says Cuba will play

Play ball!