Baseball is returning to the Olympics in 2020. The question now is who will be playing.With the Summer Games falling in the middle of the major league season, the sport has never been able to produce the kind of best-against-best spectacle that Olympic hockey and basketball have. But even if that remains the case, there will undoubtedly be some big names taking the field at the Tokyo Games.It just might take a few years before baseball fans really know them.Baseball was a full medal event at the Olympics from 1992-2008, and it was a demonstration sport before that. In 1984, Japan won the gold medal game, beating a U.S. team that included Mark McGwire and Will Clark -- both of whom were a couple years away from their big league debuts. At the Seoul Olympics in 1988, the Americans avenged that loss when Jim Abbott beat Japan in the title game.Heres a brief chronology of Olympic baseball since it became a medal sport in 1992:Barcelona (1992): Jason Giambi and Nomar Garciaparra were part of this U.S. team, but the Americans were drubbed by Japan and Cuba and failed to win a medal. The Omar Linares-led Cubans took the gold.Atlanta (1996): Home-field advantage only meant so much for the U.S., which lost 11-2 to Japan in the semifinals and had to settle for bronze. Cuba beat Japan 13-9 for the gold, with Linares hitting three homers in the title game.Sydney (2000): Cubas Olympic dynasty was finally upended when the U.S. knocked off the two-time defending champions 4-0 to win the gold. Professionals were allowed in the Olympic tournament for the first time, but the conflict with the major league schedule meant the Americans still had a relatively unheralded roster. With Tommy Lasorda managing, Ben Sheets allowed one earned run in 22 innings, and his three-hitter in the final gave the U.S. the title.Athens (2004): The U.S. didnt even make it to the Olympics to defend its title. The Americans were eliminated in qualifying, and the gold medal went back to Cuba, which beat upstart Australia in the final. The Aussies had upset Daisuke Matsuzaka and Japan in the semifinals.Beijing (2008): The last Olympic baseball tournament for a while ended in dramatic fashion, when Cubas Yulieski Gurriel -- who signed a $47.5 million, five-year contract with Houston last month -- hit into a double play with the bases loaded in the ninth inning. South Korea held on for a 3-2 win and the gold.There were plenty of future major leaguers playing in the 08 Summer Games. Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched for the champion South Koreans, and the bronze medal-winning Americans had Stephen Strasburg and Jake Arrieta.Japan failed to medal despite having Yu Darvish, Masahiro Tanaka and Norichika Aoki.Here are a few developments from around baseball this past week:STANDING ALONEAlex Rodriguez is set to play his final game for the New York Yankees on Friday, and David Ortiz has announced hell retire at seasons end. If those two are indeed done after this year, then Albert Pujols will be the only remaining active member of the 500-homer club.The 36-year-old Pujols is at 581. The closest active player below 500 home runs is Miguel Cabrera at 433.FANTASY FOCUSNow that the trade deadline is out of the way and players are settling in with new teams and perhaps new roles, the next big issue to watch down the stretch is innings limits. Weve seen teams exercise caution with young pitchers in ways that can affect their fantasy value.Torontos Aaron Sanchez, the AL ERA leader, hasnt been moved to the bullpen yet, but the Blue Jays are clearly being cautious with him, using a six-man rotation. Detroits Michael Fulmer will also be monitored carefully.LINE OF THE WEEKBaltimores Manny Machado homered in the first, second and third innings, driving in seven runs in a 10-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. That flurry of power gave the All-Star third baseman a surprisingly reasonable chance at a four-homer game, but he went hitless in his next three at-bats.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtristerAir Jordan 1 Italia . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Vans Outlet . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. http://www.scontatescarpenikeoutlet.it/ . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Scarpe Nike Economiche . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Saucony Saldi .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. SOCCERNEW YORK -- In a sign of just how much American soccer has grown up, U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann was fired after a pair of losses in the final round World Cup qualifying.Six days after a 4-0 loss at Costa Rica dropped the Americans to 0-2, Klinsmann was terminated following nearly 5 1/2 years during a meeting at a Los Angeles hotel with U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati and Secretary General Dan Flynn.Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena is the favorite to succeed Klinsmann, and his hiring could be announced as early as Tuesday. Arena coached the national team from 1998 to 2006.A former star forward for Germany who has lived mostly in Orange County with his American wife since his retirement as a player in 1998, Klinsmann replaced Bob Bradley in July 2011. He led the team to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and the second round of the 2014 World Cup, where the Americans lost to Belgium in extra time.OLYMPICSLAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Yulia Zaripova, the Russian gold medalist in the womens 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2012 London Olympics, was among 12 more athletes sanctioned after testing positive in a reanalysis of their doping samples.Zaripova was among seven medalists -- all from countries of the former Soviet Union -- disqualified retroactively from the London Games after their stored samples were retested with improved techniques and came back positive for banned substances.Also sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee were nine weightlifters, a hammer thrower and a long jumper.Zaripova tested positive for the steroid turinabol on a urine sample she provided after winning the steeplechase final on Aug. 6, 2012, the IOC said.COLLEGE FOOTBALLAUSTIN, Texas -- Charlie Strong wants to stay at Texas and predicts a Longhorns national title in the near future. The question swirling around the program is whether he will still be around by the weekend.With dozens of his players attending Strongs weekly news conference, the coach addressed multiple reports that hell be fired by saying school President Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin have promised that he will be evaluated after the regular season ends with Fridays game against TCU.Strong said he has to believe their word and that no decision on his future has yet been made.Next year, I want to come back, Strong said. They said we will be evaluated after that game. I dont know how they will be thinking, but winning that game would help.Perrin, who did not attend the news conference, on Sunday called reports that Strongs future had already been decided rumors.PRO FOOTBALLTEMPE, Ariz. -- With his team in the midst of a highly disappointing season, Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians was in the hospital after feeling ill overnight, the team said.The Cardinals issued a statement saying the 64-year-old coach was not feeling well Sunday night after returning home from Arizonas game in Minnesota and his wife took him to the hospital.The Cardinals said via Twitter on Monday night that Arians has been released from the hospital.Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said he spoke to Arians when the coach still was in tthe hospital, saying he is resting comfortably.ddddddddddddBOSTON -- A former NFL player and his business partner have pleaded guilty in Boston to running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme involving fraudulent loans to professional athletes.Prosecutors say former New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots cornerback Will Allen and partner Susan Daub pleaded guilty to federal fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges in federal court in Boston.Daub lives in Coral Spring, Florida, and pleaded guilty. Allen lives in Davie, Florida, and pleaded guilty last week.Prosecutors say they got money from investors by saying they were making high-interest loans to professional athletes. In some cases, the loans were for less than they claimed or were non-existent.Prosecutors say they took in more than $35 million and repaid less than $22 million.PRO BASKETBALLSANTA ANA, Calif. -- Former NBA star Dennis Rodman has been charged with hit-and-run for a wrong-way-related crash on a Southern California freeway.Orange County prosecutors filed misdemeanor charges against Rodman for a July 20 accident on Interstate 5 in Santa Ana.Prosecutors say Rodmans SUV was traveling north in a southbound carpool lane around 12:30 a.m., forcing a sedan to swerve into a dividing wall to avoid a collision.Rodmans attorney, Paul Meyer, says the incident occurred on a poorly signed exit ramp. He says Rodman corrected the driving error without the cars touching, stopped and spoke to people in the other car.Rodmans also charged with driving across a dividing section and without a valid license, and giving police false information.He could face two years in county jail if convicted.GYMNASTICSMASON, Mich. -- A former USA Gymnastics team doctor was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Michigan involving a child under 13.Three charges were filed against Dr. Larry Nassar according to online court records in Ingham County. The alleged incidents occurred in 1998. The records dont indicate whether the charges involve one victim or more.Nassar was arrested and lodged in the county jail. Its unclear when hell appear in court. A message seeking comment was left for his attorney.Nassar, 53, has been under scrutiny this year after two gymnasts, including a member of the 2000 U.S. womens Olympic team, accused him of sexual abuse.PRO HOCKEYNEW YORK -- The NHL is taking steps to avoid another John Scott situation at the All-Star Game.The league announced new fan voting rules that disqualify players from being named All-Star captains if theyre injured or sent to the American Hockey League. Scott, a journeyman enforcer, was voted in by fans last year when he was with the Arizona Coyotes and still served as the Pacific Division captain despite being traded to the Montreal Canadiens and demoted to the AHL.Scott was the MVP of the 3-on-3 tournament that will be back for a second year, but the NHL didnt want a similar awkward situation to happen leading up to the 2017 All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. ' ' '