The Olympics are just wrapping up, and our Canadian athletes should be congratulated on their efforts in Athens. There were many great moments at the games, both for Canadian athletes and for all athletes. However, there were also a number of pathetic moments, including the usual judging and doping scandals.

There are MANY MANY problems with the Olympics, and since I have this space in which to complain, I'm going to use it. The spirit of the Olympics still burns brightly, however the execution of the games leaves much to be desired. If the I.O.C. is really interested in staying true to the spirit of the original Olympic games, there are a few things that need to be done.

• Allow steroids and whatever other performance enhancing drugs are out there. These drugs are another tool in an athlete's arsenal, just like better shoes, proper diet, or advanced training equipment. Most of the Olympic athletes take performance-enhancing drugs during training - they have to if they want to stay competitive at an international level. The I.O.C. are kidding themselves if they think otherwise. Most world class athletes take and use these drugs during training, they simply have to stop using them in a specific time frame before the Olympics, so that all traces will be eliminated from their bodies. Remove the ban, as all of the scandals related to drug use, simply tarnish the games. Is it the intent of the Olympic games to showcase the best athletes in the world, or is it the intent of the games to showcase the best athletes within a subset? In many cases, the best competitors are eliminated from competition before the games have even started.
• Eliminate the outdated 'amateur' and 'professional' athlete categories. It's irrelevant to most of the world whether an athlete is considered amateur or professional. People are interested in seeing the best athletes in the world compete against each other, regardless of what their status is. Again, I need to ask: is it the intent of the Olympic games to showcase the best athletes in the world, or is it the intent of the games to showcase the best athletes within a subset? If the athletes are at the top of their respective fields, who gives a damn what their status is?
• Judged sports should either be eliminated altogether, or judged in an entirely different way. Every Olympics, there are multiple judging scandals. It tarnishes the Olympic reputation, and destroys much of the majesty of the games, not to mention negating a lifetime of training for some athletes at the losing end of bad judging. Judging is NEVER impartial or fair. Judges can be bought. Judges play favourites. Judges show favourtism. I don't know what the solution is, but I can tell you that judging is both unfair and infuriating. It turns these sports into a joke.
• The I.O.C. (International Olympic Committee) has been proven to be completely corrupt. They can be bought. The I.O.C. needs an internal overhaul, and needs to be re-organized with a mandate of fairness, integrity, and dedication to the original ideals of the Olympics.
• There are far too many sports. Many of them are ridiculous. Sports such as speed walking, synchronized diving, ribbon gymnastics, ballroom dancing, beach volleyball, shot-put (the ability to throw a steel ball really far does not impress me) and discus should all be eliminated from the games. Besides the athletes actually competing in these events, who really cares?
• The sport selection process needs to be reviewed. There are probably more kids skateboarding in New York City alone than there are synchronized divers in the whole world (and no, I'm not suggesting Skateboarding should be in the Olympics). Sport Selections should be done based on a new system. There needs to be a better way of selecting what sports make it and what do not.
• While we're at it, team sports can all be eliminated too. Does the guy who played 'designated hitter' for the American Baseball Team really deserve to be considered an Olympian? In my opinion, Olympians can only be extraordinary athletes. We have the 'World Cup' in every team sport if we really want to know who has the best team. In keeping with the original tradition of the games, it is individual efforts that should be rewarded with Olympic medals. I am interested in who is the best high jumper in the world. I could give a crap who has the best basketball team.
• Sports in which athletes compete against a clock should be eliminated or modified so that the athletes are competing against one another. The Olympics should be about head-to-head competition. There's no excitement to someone who wins a competition by coming across the line two tenths of a second before his opponent (who competed four hours earlier that day). People want to see head-to head excitement.

There are many other problems with the Olympics (and I'm not going to even get into the fact that athletes who get to the games and have a chance of winning are always those from Nations with a large GNP and a large population). The question that really needs to be asked is: what was the original intent of the games? To prove and celebrate the BEST athletes in the world in each sport. The games need to be reduced to a smaller size, and focus needs to return to these few sports. Some of us might even watch these games, if there wasn't so much crap. I do not have all the answers, but I can tell you the kinds of things that do belong in the Olympics: Running. Jumping. Weightlifting. Hand-to-hand combat. Swimming. These are the things that are interesting to ALL people. NOT Table Tennis.

'Nuff said.