The IOC may have decided to take baseball and softball off the list of official sports, but president Jacques Rogge has left the door open for America’s pastime to return in 2016 – provided the folks at Major League Baseball play along.

“We would love to have as many stars of the major leagues as possible,” Rogge told reporters in Beijing as he took in the bronze-medal game between the United States and Japan, which Team USA won 8-4. If a deal can be worked out with MLB to take an extended All-Star break, as the NHL does for the Winter Olympics, baseball could be voted right back into the Games next year.

It could all boil down to location. The NHL is considering pulling out of the Olympics after the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Chicago is rumored to be in line for the 2016 Games, which would make a midseason break easier to manage. So much for the global village.

They are calling it the new “Green Monster.” Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals are completely revamping the 46 year old stadium and bringing it into the future creating perhaps the most environmentally friendly stadium in all of professional sports.

To become energy efficient low-flow plumbing in the stadium will reduce water consumption by 37%, saving 3.6 million gallons of water a year. New lighting allows for 21% less power and walls in the stadium are highly thermally efficient.

To build the new stadium a low-VOC (volatile organic compound) adhesives, glues, and paints were used along with local building materials to save on transportation costs and emissions. As for the old structure 5,500 tons of construction waste was recycled.

For a finishing touch on the stadium, a removal of all contaminated soil and industrial facilities are removed and replaced with liberally placed cherry trees and drought resistant shrubs to eliminate the need for irrigation.

Congratulations Washington Nationals, you are the wave of the future!

If you’re a hot dog fan and a baseball fan and especially if you’re a fan of eating hot dogs at baseball games, the following is our list of the best “dogs” in Major League Baseball:
1. The Fenway Frank
Fenway Park, Boston

2. Nathan’s Hot Dog
Yankee Stadium, New York

3. Miller’s Dog
McAfee Coliseum, Oakland

4. Hebrew National Dog
Safeco Field, Seattle

5. Met Jumbo Dog
The Metrodome, Minneapolis

6. Aaron’s Hot Dog
Shea Stadium, New York

7. The Hunter’s Dog
New Busch Stadium, St. Louis

8. Schweigert Hot Dog
Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City

9. Grilled Blue Jay Dog
Rogers Center, Toronto

10. Hot Dog Heaven
Turner Field, Atlanta