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A L S O+T O D A Y

Calling Kosovo
By Laura Rozen
Serbs and ethnic Albanians are united -- in misery -- as the bombing and the terror continue

The empires strike back
By Jeff Stein
As the world focuses on the Balkans, the return of Germany and Japan to military action barely made news

T A B L E+T A L K
What pisses you off the most about the U.S.? Foreigners and citizens vent in the International Issues area of Table Talk

___________________
Want to know more about the history of baseball? Find it at barnesandnoble.com
___________________

R E C E N T L Y
Outlaw nation?
By Laura Rozen
Even Serbs who hate Milosevic are outraged at the NATO bombing
(03/27/99)
Verdict on Starr's witness
By Murray S. Waas and Suzi Parker
Whitewater figure David Hale is found guilty on Arkansas state criminal charges.
(03/27/99)
The unhappiest allies
By Gabriel Kahn
Italians question NATO moves in Kosovo as the country braces for more refugees
(03/26/99)
Finally, the Flynt Report
By Carol Lloyd
Are these smutty tales true? Let the reader beware
(03/26/99)
The bombing begins
By Jeff Stein
Will NATO strikes push the Serbs to peace talks, or engulf the region in bloody chaos?
(03/25/99)
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The game was nothing like the rollicking explosion of mad love that erupted in the stadium each of the two previous nights for the first two games of Cuba's version of the World Series. Both those games between Industriales (the Yankees of Cuba) and Santiago (from the city where dictator Fulgencio Batista surrendered to Castro) were attended by die-hard fans, the kind who know a routine fly ball the second it's hit; fans who treat baseball as a delirious, sensual celebration of the game and of the style Cubans bring to playing it.
Sunday was much different. Admittance was invitation-only, so the crowd was much more likely to lapse into numb quiet. It was also much whiter, and much more confused about the game of baseball: During one embarrassing sequence, the fans erupted ecstatically twice in a row on routine ground balls, rather than making that low buzzing sound crowds make when they see a team stranding a runner at third base.
But you have to expect that for a massive, internationally televised gathering with Castro himself front and center. The commandante appears strong for a man in his early 70s, but there's no question a cloudy look has begun to creep into the once-fierce gaze. Talks with regular Cubans during several days in Havana left little doubt that more and more Cubans feel political change coming, some month or some year soon, and are ready to assert themselves, if only marginally.
"The time will come when the two governments will have to come together," said Javier Velasquez, a 45-year-old mechanical engineer. "This game may make the difference. I saw the Berlin Wall fall with my own eyes. Now I ... see a U.S. team play in Havana.
"This is a town that lives sad and it shouldn't. We've lost our fear. The things I'm telling you I would never have said 10 years ago. We want Cuba to open to the world, and the world to open to Cuba. Fidel doesn't have to go, because I think he is the man who has done the most for Cuba. We just want an equal chance."
Castro gained valuable exposure in the United States with Sunday's game, especially since the ESPN cameras brought real-time proof that Angelos and Selig were enjoying Castro's company -- not shrinking away from him as a monster or international outcast, but instead laughing at his jokes. "It was very enjoyable," said Angelos, famous in baseball for his stubborn independence of mind. "He was very generous, and very hospitable. He's a very charming man."
Charm only goes so far, but currents have been set in motion. At least that's the view of no less shrewd a figure than former Oakland A's president Sandy Alderson, now in charge of the game's internationalization as baseball's No. 3 official. He played a key role in setting up Sunday's game, visiting Cuba twice before this weekend, and he too emerged from meeting Castro at a Saturday night reception with a different perspective. "I was impressed by his command of detail," Alderson told me before the game. "He seemed to know a lot about the development of baseball in the United States and other countries."
That comment should be seen as a much lower-profile version of Margaret Thatcher's famous pronouncement that Mikhail Gorbachev was someone the West could do business with. Castro is no Gorbachev. He's the opposite of a reformer, dead-set against change. But many in the know about Cuba believe that nothing has helped Castro retain power more than the embargo, which gives him an excuse for the privation his people suffer. And the argument for ending the embargo could gain force in Washington if momentum toward closer ties builds through cultural events like Sunday's game, or the musical festival Sunday night at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, which featured the Indigo Girls, Jimmy Buffett and Peter Frampton (still alive!), among others.
"My whole point of view is that this is recognition of a cultural bond that exists between the two countries," Alderson said. "It doesn't speak to our economic systems. It doesn't speak to our political systems. It speaks to what we have in common. It's a testimony to the kind of cooperation that can exist. I'm happy we've been able to establish this contact. I think it will be increasingly important as baseball expands its international scope."
At the very least, the event may have punctured one myth about Cuba -- that Castro was a left-handed pitching prospect with an excellent curveball. Alderson said he discussed the point with Castro and came away convinced that was a myth. "He said he was perhaps a better basketball player than a baseball player," Alderson said. "That was illuminating."
N E X T+P A G E+| "Albertbelllllllll!"

A L S O+T O D A Y Calling Kosovo By Laura Rozen Serbs and ethnic Albanians are united -- in misery -- as the bombing and the terror continue The empires strike back By Jeff Stein As the world focuses on the Balkans, the return of Germany and Japan to military action barely made news T A B L E+T A L K What pisses you off the most about the U.S.? Foreigners and citizens vent in the International Issues area of Table Talk ___________________ Want to know more about the history of baseball? Find it at barnesandnoble.com ___________________ R E C E N T L Y Outlaw nation? By Laura Rozen Even Serbs who hate Milosevic are outraged at the NATO bombing (03/27/99) Verdict on Starr's witness By Murray S. Waas and Suzi Parker Whitewater figure David Hale is found guilty on Arkansas state criminal charges. (03/27/99) The unhappiest allies By Gabriel Kahn Italians question NATO moves in Kosovo as the country braces for more refugees (03/26/99) Finally, the Flynt Report By Carol Lloyd Are these smutty tales true? Let the reader beware (03/26/99) The bombing begins By Jeff Stein Will NATO strikes push the Serbs to peace talks, or engulf the region in bloody chaos? (03/25/99) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		PLAY BEISBOL \| PAGE 1, 2, 3 - - - - - - - - - - The game was nothing like the rollicking explosion of mad love that erupted in the stadium each of the two previous nights for the first two games of Cuba's version of the World Series. Both those games between Industriales (the Yankees of Cuba) and Santiago (from the city where dictator Fulgencio Batista surrendered to Castro) were attended by die-hard fans, the kind who know a routine fly ball the second it's hit; fans who treat baseball as a delirious, sensual celebration of the game and of the style Cubans bring to playing it. Sunday was much different. Admittance was invitation-only, so the crowd was much more likely to lapse into numb quiet. It was also much whiter, and much more confused about the game of baseball: During one embarrassing sequence, the fans erupted ecstatically twice in a row on routine ground balls, rather than making that low buzzing sound crowds make when they see a team stranding a runner at third base. But you have to expect that for a massive, internationally televised gathering with Castro himself front and center. The commandante appears strong for a man in his early 70s, but there's no question a cloudy look has begun to creep into the once-fierce gaze. Talks with regular Cubans during several days in Havana left little doubt that more and more Cubans feel political change coming, some month or some year soon, and are ready to assert themselves, if only marginally. "The time will come when the two governments will have to come together," said Javier Velasquez, a 45-year-old mechanical engineer. "This game may make the difference. I saw the Berlin Wall fall with my own eyes. Now I ... see a U.S. team play in Havana. "This is a town that lives sad and it shouldn't. We've lost our fear. The things I'm telling you I would never have said 10 years ago. We want Cuba to open to the world, and the world to open to Cuba. Fidel doesn't have to go, because I think he is the man who has done the most for Cuba. We just want an equal chance." Castro gained valuable exposure in the United States with Sunday's game, especially since the ESPN cameras brought real-time proof that Angelos and Selig were enjoying Castro's company -- not shrinking away from him as a monster or international outcast, but instead laughing at his jokes. "It was very enjoyable," said Angelos, famous in baseball for his stubborn independence of mind. "He was very generous, and very hospitable. He's a very charming man." Charm only goes so far, but currents have been set in motion. At least that's the view of no less shrewd a figure than former Oakland A's president Sandy Alderson, now in charge of the game's internationalization as baseball's No. 3 official. He played a key role in setting up Sunday's game, visiting Cuba twice before this weekend, and he too emerged from meeting Castro at a Saturday night reception with a different perspective. "I was impressed by his command of detail," Alderson told me before the game. "He seemed to know a lot about the development of baseball in the United States and other countries." That comment should be seen as a much lower-profile version of Margaret Thatcher's famous pronouncement that Mikhail Gorbachev was someone the West could do business with. Castro is no Gorbachev. He's the opposite of a reformer, dead-set against change. But many in the know about Cuba believe that nothing has helped Castro retain power more than the embargo, which gives him an excuse for the privation his people suffer. And the argument for ending the embargo could gain force in Washington if momentum toward closer ties builds through cultural events like Sunday's game, or the musical festival Sunday night at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, which featured the Indigo Girls, Jimmy Buffett and Peter Frampton (still alive!), among others. "My whole point of view is that this is recognition of a cultural bond that exists between the two countries," Alderson said. "It doesn't speak to our economic systems. It doesn't speak to our political systems. It speaks to what we have in common. It's a testimony to the kind of cooperation that can exist. I'm happy we've been able to establish this contact. I think it will be increasingly important as baseball expands its international scope." At the very least, the event may have punctured one myth about Cuba -- that Castro was a left-handed pitching prospect with an excellent curveball. Alderson said he discussed the point with Castro and came away convinced that was a myth. "He said he was perhaps a better basketball player than a baseball player," Alderson said. "That was illuminating." N E X T+P A G E+\| "Albertbelllllllll!"