We provide a lot of softball equipment and technical assistance to China and we are also sending coaches. It is very important to get young people interested in it.

[Don Porter , the American head of the international softball federation, said he did not expect his sport to get the ax.] Absolutely not, ... I thought, based on my discussions here with IOC members over the last five days, that we had good support. I'm very surprised. We've been good for the Olympic program, but sometimes the game of politics enters into it.

We want to a be a resource and provide assistance.

You talk about Monroe County and you have tremendous softball. There are great rivalries, great players and great coaches.

This is part of the mutual assistance program. Companies provide assistance in times of emergencies.

We're finally starting to catch up with the Europeans on the equipment and the technical side of things.