Elimination of softball from Olympics is a travesty

	Thanks to uninformed voters, Jennie Finch has been shut out of the Olympics. Donald Miralle/Getty Images

While watching baseball Tuesday night I was thinking about softball. Why softball? Because the sport has been screwed royally. Last July, softball was whacked from the 2012 Olympic Games -- by a single vote. One knucklehead from a country you've never heard of decided he wasn't a fan of softball and the sport got the Sopranos treatment. The sport needed 53 votes to stay on the Olympic program. The final vote was 52-52. One voter abstained. I'd love to see one of the IOC members (the votes are anonymous) who voted to eliminate softball get into the batter's box against Jennie Finch. Then I'd like to see Finch suddenly lose her control.

Now comes the best part: Last August, U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth revealed to the Los Angeles Times that he had been told by at least four IOC members that they screwed up their vote. The pinheads thought they were voting against baseball, not women's softball. Call me a cynic but I'm guessing these same IOC members don't get equally confused on the way to the four-star restaurant of a bid city. The softball vote is an insult to women's sports (especially since the IOC has stated it wants to increase the participation of women in the Games) and reeks of anti-Americanism. There is a glimmer of hope. The IOC's next general assembly meets in Turin in February, and here's what has to happen for softball to return for the 2016 Games: At least one-third of the 115 IOC members would need to submit a motion to consider a new vote. At least half have to vote in favor of that. Then, the sport would need a majority in favor to win reinstatement. So when you're watching the Boys of Summer tonight, give the women of softball a quick thought. One online petition  for the sport's reinstatement has nearly 54,000 signatures. Here's hoping that translates into one IOC vote come next February.