The Bounce: U.S. has 33 foreign-born Olympians
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ON THIS DATE
1877: Spencer Gore beats William Marshall in 48 minutes (6-1, 6-2, 6-4) in the first men's singles tennis championship at the All England Club, Wimbledon.
1909: Cleveland shortstop Neal Ball pulls off the first unassisted triple play in modern major league history.
1910: Cy Young wins his 500th career game as the Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators 5-4 in 11 innings.
1957: Don Bowden is the first American to break the 4minute mile, finishing in 3:58.7 at Stockton, Calif.
1980: The Summer Olympics open in Moscow without the United States and 64 other boycotting countries.
1987: Nick Faldo of England wins the British Open by one shot when American Paul Azinger bogeys four times on the back nine.
1990: Pete Rose, baseball's career hits leader, is sentenced to five months in prison and an additional three months in a halfway house for cheating on his taxes.
1997: Daniel Komen of Kenya shatters the 8-minute barrier for the 2-mile run and sets a world record of 7:58.61 at the Hechtel Night of track in Belgium. Haile Gebrselassie had set the world record of 8:01.08 on May 3, 1997.
2001: Randy Johnson strikes out 16, a major league record for a reliever, and comes within four outs of combining with Curt Schilling on a no-hitter as Arizona beats San Diego 3-0 in the completion of a suspended game. Wiki Gonzalez hits an opposite-field single to right with two outs in the eighth for the Padres' only hit.
NUMBER OF THE DAY
667
Losses by the NFL Cardinals in their history, the most of any team. Other biggest losers:
Lions 553
Eagles 524
Giants 506
Packers 503
Bears 491
TRIVIA CORNER
Which NFL franchise has won the most games in their history?
Answer: The Bears with 677.
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NEW YORK - As the U.S. struggles with immigration policy, Americans will get a chance next month to see their melting-pot nation through the prism of foreign-born athletes competing in USA uniforms at the Beijing Olympics.
There are at least 33 of them, compared to 27 at the 2004 Summer Games, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee, which didn't track the statistic before then. They include four Chinese-born table tennis players, a kayaker from Britain, Russian-born world champion gymnast Nastia Liukin and seven members of the track-and-field team.
For those seeking symbolism, it's hard to top the men's 1,500-meter squad - Kenya native and Tucsonan Bernard Lagat; Lopez Lomong, one of the "lost boys" of Sudan's civil war who spent a decade in a refugee camp and then attended Northern Arizona University; and Leo Manzano, a Mexican laborer's son who moved to the U.S. when he was 4 but didn't gain citizenship until 2004.
"It's a magical time," U.S. men's track coach Bubba Thornton said. "I'm glad that these young men found their way here. It may just remind us all of where we came from, and how hard the struggle may have been, and how big the dream was to be here."
Within their sport, the three 1,500 runners have been warmly embraced, as have other immigrants among the 596 U.S. Olympic athletes.
"I don't think of any of our foreign-born athletes as foreign," said Jill Geer, USA Track & Field's communications director. "In USATF, no one considers them anything but American, and I'm not saying that just because it's the right thing to say."
Beyond the realm of sports, the rancorous national debate over immigration has focused on foreigners here illegally and whether they should be offered some sort of pathway to citizenship.
Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors stricter immigration enforcement, said foreign-born Olympians merit public support - but should be viewed as exceptions in a system fraught with flaws and unfairness.
"Not everybody coming into the U.S. is an Olympic athlete or a Nobel prize winner," Mehlman said. "Maybe this ought to be a wake-up call that we ought to design am immigration policy that seeks out exceptional people. Now, most of it is based on extended families . . . you don't have a policy designed to bring in people who fit the needs of this country."
William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration, said the achievements of naturalized citizens like Lagat and Lomong should be celebrated, but not used as an argument for a more lenient immigration policy. "The American public is starting to sour on all immigration in reaction to rampant illegal immigration," Gheen said. "The danger is if people say, 'Look at these immigrants who are in the Olympics - therefore you should provide a path to citizenship for all the illegal immigrants in the country.' "
Randy Capps, a demographer with the nonpartisan Urban Institute who studies immigrant families, sees the U.S. as keeping pace with global competition in its acceptance of foreign-born athletes.
"Would you rather have them competing for someone else? Would you rather the U.S. be more competitive or less competitive?" he asked. "You wouldn't want an immigration policy that would exclude people who could potentially be the best at what they do."
Santana changes tune
CINCINNATI - Shea Stadium was not available Tuesday when Johan Santana would have liked to have thrown a bullpen session in preparation for his start Thursday against the Reds. That's a fact.
Shea was not available because of preparations for a pair of Billy Joel concerts this week. That's also a fact.
But the idea that Santana had his nose pressed against the Shea gate and was told by the Piano Man that he couldn't get in? And that Santana used that as an excuse for his awful outing Thursday?That's not really what happened.
Santana on Friday clarified a remark he made Thursday night after he gave up five runs in four innings in the Mets' 10-8 win over the Reds. Santana had answered a question about his long layoff (eight days) between starts by telling reporters he didn't get to throw a prestart bullpen session because Shea was being used.
On Friday, Santana told Newsday he knew Shea would be off-limits during the All-Star break, so he threw a bullpen session Sunday. He said he thought about throwing another Tuesday - that's his routine - but decided against it.
"I thought about throwing on Long Island," he said. "But I had a chance to spend time with my kids and my family. I haven't had a lot of time with my family."
Asked if not throwing a bullpen on Tuesday was the reason he had his shortest outing as a Met, Santana said: "No, man, not at all. Just one of those games. Just couldn't get anything going."
Revolution stop revelation
OKLAHOMA CITY - An American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles was diverted to Oklahoma City on Friday after a passenger stripped nude and later tried to open an emergency exit door before being subdued by members of a professional soccer team and others, the FBI said.
Members of the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer were among those who grabbed the passenger near an exit door, FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said. Tie wraps were placed on the man, whose name was not immediately released. He was taken into custody in Oklahoma City and placed under psychiatric evaluation, Johnson said.
American Flight 725, a Boeing 757, arrived in Oklahoma City at 1:35 p.m. CDT and was back in the air an hour later, said American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith. It landed without further incident at Los Angeles International Airport at 3:13 p.m. PDT.
Craig Tornberg, the soccer team's general manager, said he confronted the man as soon as he saw him emerge naked from one of the plane's restrooms.
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Heidi O. (holiver)
Jul 21, 2008 @ 7:34amThe author of the article, "The Bounce: U.S. Has 33 Foreign Born Olympians," cites Ira Mehlman of FAIR as having said that "foreign born Olympians merit public suport-but should be viewed as exceptions in a system fraught with flaws and unfairness." While it is true that not every immigrant or even a majority of immigrants achieve Olympic status, it is a wonderful and positive reflection of what immigrants can achieve in this country. Their examples should not only inspire us within the realm of Olympic competition, but should also provide us with a more personal view of immigrants which causes us to carefully and humanely consider the issue of immigration and the accompanying necessity of positive immigration reform. - Post a Comment »