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Security Heightened at U.S.-Cuba Game
By Kevin Gray, Associated Press
Writer
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic , 12 - Dominican
authorities beefed up security at the gold medal
game between Cuba and the United States during
the latest chapter in a long baseball rivalry
between the nations.
Soldiers in camouflage circled the stadium and
closed some of the gates leading into the park.
One soldier said Dominican officials more than
doubled security, and estimated the total number
of troops at around 400. He said the possibility
of Cuban defections were a major concern.
"Our mission tonight is to ensure that no
Cuban defects," he said on condition of anonymity.
"If one defects, they've threatened us with
jail, and said they would dismiss us from the
army."
Traditionally, the Cuban baseball team has had
the highest percentage of defectors, with many
looking for major league contracts. In recent
years, Orlando Hernandez and his half-brother,
Livan, have defected, while Jose Contreras signed
a $32 million, four-year contract last winter
with the Yankees.
But those fans who came to the game didn't seem
bothered by the additional security as a party
atmosphere prevailed at the historic Quisqueya
Stadium.
"It's a great atmosphere for baseball,"
U.S. coach Ray Tanner of South Carolina said before
the game. "This is what it's all about. Much
like the U.S., they have a tremendous passion
for baseball."
Some Cuban fans stood on seats dancing to merengue
and salsa music played by an eight-piece band
between innings. Even the Pan Am Games' official
mascot, Tito, joined in the fiesta, shaking his
green manatee costume to the music as he mingled
in the crowd.
Four Cuban flags were draped over the dugout,
and many smaller ones were waved by fans.
Coming into the game, Cuba had won eight straight
Pan American Games titles, including beating the
United States 5-1 for the 1999 championship in
Winnipeg.
Fidel Castro Marks 77th Birthday Today
By Anita Snow, Associated Press
Writer
HAVANA, 13 - Fidel Castro, the world's longest
ruling leader, turns 77 Wednesday after a year
that saw his communist-run island grow even more
isolated as he lashed out at his European allies
and jailed some of his most vocal critics.
But despite rumors that he was in poor health,
the bearded revolutionary has shown in recent
weeks he still has the energy to give his traditional
hours-long speeches and keep up a work schedule
that would exhaust a much younger man.
He also remains as defiant and independent as
ever.
"Cuba does not need the help of the European
Union (news - web sites) to survive," Castro
told an enthusiastic crowd of about 10,000 supporters
in the eastern city of Santiago on July 26 as
he celebrated the 50th anniversary of the start
of the Cuban revolution.
Fidel Castro Ruz was born in eastern Cuba's sugar
country, where his Spanish immigrant father ran
a prosperous plantation. His official birthday
is Aug. 13, 1926, although some say he was born
a year later.
No official celebrations of the leader's birthday
were announced. Castro usually keeps the occasion
low-key, sometimes sharing a cake with Cuban schoolchildren.
Still, Cuba's official media was filled Wednesday
with birthday greetings.
"A giant kiss from the grandson who loves
you so much," the child Elian Gonzalez wrote
in a letter published in Juventud Rebelde, the
communist youth newspaper. Elian was 6 years old
in 2000 when Castro led a successful international
campaign to return the boy from his relatives
in South Florida to his father on the island.
The international custody focused American attention
on the island that later led to attempts to ease
U.S. trade and travel sanctions against Cuba.
But Castro began losing some of his former friends
this spring when his government launched a crackdown
on the opposition, jailing 75 dissidents and sentencing
them to prison terms of up to 28 years.
It was the firing-squad executions of three convicted
ferry hijackers during that same period that especially
troubled some of Castro's foreign supporters.
Even some formerly sympathetic intellectuals
on the left expressed disappointment, among them
Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano, who once praised
Castro as a "symbol of national dignity."
"Must they learn the bad habits of the enemy
they are fighting?" Galeano wrote, criticizing
the executions.
Cuba later justified its use of the death penalty
to halt a brewing emigration crisis.
When the European Union expressed concern about
the April 11 executions and the crackdown on dissidents,
Castro mocked the prime ministers of Spain and
Italy as "fascists" and led huge protests
outside those countries' embassies here.
During his July 26 speech, Castro said Europe
should be ashamed of its past, and said EU members
were "a group of old colonial powers historically
responsible for slave trafficking, looting and
even the extermination of entire peoples."
The EU is Cuba's largest trade, aid and investment
partner. It opened an office in Havana earlier
this year - before the crackdown and the executions
- to administer the up to $16.4 million in aid
it has given Cuba each year.
After Castro said he didn't want the money, the
EU said it was still willing to help.
With Cuba's current economic situation, it can
ill afford to lose any foreign trade or aid.
Castro's government is struggling with a severe
cash crisis, despite a recent jump in the number
of visitors to the island following a tourism
slump following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
on the United States.
This year's sugar harvest - another important
source of foreign currency - brought in only about
2.2 million tons, by far the lowest figure in
decades. The last two annual harvests ranged between
3.5 and 3.6 million metric tons.
Nevertheless, Castro remains firmly in control
after nearly 45 years as the president of the
Council of State, president of the Council of
Ministers and first secretary of the Communist
Party of the only communist state in the Americas
and one of only four in the world.
When Cuba's rubber-stamp parliament confirmed
him in March to a sixth term as the island's maximum
leader in March, Castro acknowledged he won't
be around forever. His current five-year term
would have him governing until he is 81.
"I promise that I will be with you, if you
so wish, for as long as I feel that I can be useful
- and if it is not decided by nature before,"
Castro said at the time in a rare reference to
his advancing age and mortality. "Not a minute
less and not a second more.
"Now I understand that it was not my destiny
to rest at the end of my life," he added.
Cuba Wins Pan Am Games Baseball Gold Medal
By Janie Mccauley, Ap Sports Writer
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, 13 - The Cubans
won for Castro. And they won for a country that
needs an occasional morale boost from its baseball
team when there's little else to cheer about.
Cuba won its ninth straight Pan American Games
gold medal Tuesday night, beating the United States
3-1 behind three hits from Ariel Pestano and the
two-hit pitching of Norge Luis Vera on two days'
rest.
"In Cuba we play with heart and passion,"
Pestano said. "This is our gift to the Cuban
people for all their support and inspiration they've
given us since we've been here. Viva Cuba!"
Cuba also beat the Americans in the 1999 Pan
Ams in Winnipeg, 5-1.
Coach Higinio Velez dedicated the win to Cuban
president Fidel Castro as an early birthday present.
He turns 77 on Wednesday.
U.S. reliever Huston Street held his hat in his
teeth as the dejected Americans draped their arms
over the dugout railing and watched in disbelief
while the Cubans celebrated wildly on the mound.
Jered Weaver (4-1), the younger brother of New
York Yankees pitcher Jeff Weaver, took his first
loss of the summer and had his streak of scoreless
innings end at 45 2-3. He allowed eight hits and
struck out seven in eight innings.
"We can't do much about what happened,"
Weaver said. "I felt great. I threw good
pitches.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
wear USA across your chest."
Yulieski Gourriel's RBI single in the sixth that
tied the game also broke Weaver's impressive scoreless
innings streak. Then the Cubans, who are professional
players, tagged the tiring Weaver for three straight
singles in the seventh. Pestano came to the plate
with runners on the corners and no outs and drove
a fastball to shallow center field.
The American collegians finished their sensational
summer with a 27-2 record, the winningest season
ever by the U.S. baseball team. Their other loss
was 3-0 against Nicaragua here last Tuesday.
Cuban fans stood on their seats dancing to festive
music played by an eight-piece band next to Cuba's
dugout. Even the games' official mascot, Tito,
joined in the fiesta, shaking his giant green
manatee costume to the music as he mingled in
the crowd.
"It's a great atmosphere for baseball,"
U.S. coach Ray Tanner said. "This is what
it's all about. Much like the U.S., they have
a tremendous passion for baseball. And they've
been very successful."
Four Cuban flags were draped over the dugout,
and many smaller ones were waved by fans, who
chanted "Cu-ba! Cu-ba!" Two men held
cardboard signs reading "Cuba Campeon"
- Cuba champion.
"Their whole delegation is probably here,"
U.S. left fielder Danny Putnam said.
Vera, who went eight innings in Cuba's 10-0 quarterfinal
win Saturday over the Dominicans, struck out nine
and walked three.
Mexico defeated Nicaragua 6-2 for bronze. The
Mexicans lost in the semifinals to the United
States 3-2 in 14 innings.
The Americans were perfect in the pool, sweeping
all five finals.
In all, the United States has 79 golds, 56 silvers
and 51 bronzes for 186 medals. Cuba is next at
117: 56-30-31.
The men's 800-meter freestyle relay featuring
Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.); Bryan Goldberg
(Hollywood, Fla.); Jeff Lee (Muncie, Ind.) and
Dan Ketchum (Cincinnati), set a games record of
7:18.93.
"We're really pleased because that time
would have been competitive at the last Olympics,"
said Ketchum.
Robert Margalis (St. Petersburg, Fla.) won the
400 individual medley ahead of teammate Eric Donnelly
(Gainesville, Fla.). Then Ben Michaelson (Seymour,
Conn.) took the 100 butterfly, setting a Pan Ams
record of 53.04 seconds.
In the women's 200 freestyle, Dana Vollmer (Fort
Worth, Texas) had a big margin over Colleen Lanne
(Tucson, Ariz.). And in the 200 breaststroke,
Alexandra Spann (Austin, Texas) beat two Canadians.
Spann cramped so badly after the race she could
not accept her silver medal, so teammate Courtney
Shealy stood in.
The United States lost two gold medals after
sprinter Mickey Grimes failed a doping test for
having excessive levels of ephedrine, a banned
stimulant. He was stripped of his title in the
100 dash. He also led off the victorious 400 relay
team that games officials said will lose its gold.
"I understand that athletes need to take
responsibility for everything we put in our bodies,"
Grimes said in a statement released through the
U.S. Olympic Committee. "I made a mistake
and I know that my action carries with it a penalty.
"I sincerely regret letting down the U.S.
delegation and my country, and I look forward
to representing my country in the future."
It was the second time in three days a gold medalist
failed a doping test. On Sunday, Surinam's 800
winner Letitia Vriesde tested positive for excessive
levels of caffeine and was stripped of her gold
medal. Vriesde later admitted her guilt, games
officials said.
Also losing gold from the relay are Hason Smoots,
Kenny Brokenburr and Olan Coleman. Brazil gets
the gold.
The 100 title now goes to Jamaica's Michael Frater.
Americans went 3-2 in boxing. The winners were
welterweight Juan McPherson, heavyweight Devin
Vargas (Toledo, Ohio) and super heavyweight Jason
Estrada (Providence, R.I.).
Tara Nott (Stillwell, Kan.) won gold in weightlifting.
A former soccer player and gymnast, she also won
a gold medal in the Sydney Games.
A gold in modern pentathlon for winner Vaho Iagorashvili
(San Antonio) qualified him for the Athens Olympics.
The U.S. women were beaten by Uruguay 35-21 for
the handball bronze medal.
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