Word: pound
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...Financial considerations are now driving them home again. On May 1, 2004, the day of Poland's accession, a pound would buy more than 7 zloty, versus 4 today. In Poland, wages rose 7.7% last year, double their growth rate in the U.K.; and Poland's unemployment rate has dropped from about 14% to under 10% in two years. Newly arrived Poles, eager for jobs, were willing to work for low wages. The influx of Poles triggered tabloid scare stories about Polish laborers stealing jobs and soaking up social services. Now their departure has stirred doleful speculation about labor shortages...
...that's it for softball. The sport is gone from the 2012 games. Proponents are pushing to get back in 2016, but with no guarantees, the anti bat-and-ball bitterness lingers. It's especially strong against baseball. Dick Pound, a member of the IOC and former head of the World Anti-Doping agency, says that, more than the U.S. dominance or lack of participation in many countries, baseball's steroid scandal sparked softball's excommunication. Baseball will cease after Beijing as well...
...think we missed a big opportunity to support women's sport," says Pound. "We were getting the best athletes in the sport, unlike baseball. We're getting athletes that are subject to a very good anti-doping program, unlike baseball. And we're trying to create a balance on the program between men and women. So I think, unfortunately, softball got caught up in the shotgun blast against baseball." A few seconds after Pound spoke from the stands, American Crystl Bustos hit her sixth home run of the tournament, a rocket into the right field seats. The capacity crowd roared...
...Though Matt, 27, refuses to get depressed, pangs still pound his stomach. Shooting gets the spotlight only every four years, when the Olympics rolls around, and even then, something extraordinary - like back-to-back epic chokes - must take place for the sport to snare a headline. Ever hear of Americans Glenn Eller and Vincent Hancock? Of course not, even though they each won shooting gold in Beijing. "For the mass media, all they see is the Olympics," Matt says. Guilty as charged. "People don't get to the other 20 competitions a year. I've won many tournaments by scoring...
...National Terror Cricket is an 800-pound gorilla that has smothered all other sports in India ("Subcontinental Shift," June 30 - July 7). It hogs the media, sponges all the sponsorship, and makes idols of mediocre, inconsistent and narcissistic athletes. Even the sport's bandwagon followers manage to spend hours discussing endless inanities about the turn of a ball or the long hair of a wicketkeeper. If India produces any world-class contenders in, say, chess or shooting or racing, it is a tribute to their doggedness and talent that they flourish despite the specter of cricket looming above them like...