from Kavitha A. Davidson of Bloomberg,

The absence of NHL players would also further highlight just how poor a decision the IOC made when it chose Sochi to host the games. Flash back to 2007, when the committee selected the Russian city by just four votes in a secret ballot that had many scratching their heads over questions of the country's ability to get the infrastructure and security in place for such a major event -- not to mention the whole "worst human-rights record since the Soviet era" thing. The IOC has done a masterful job of deflecting blame to the host nation for the problems that have plagued these Olympics, but let's not forget that the committee chose Sochi over the much more stable and accessible Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The IOC could ultimately be the cause of what it considers an absolute travesty: not having the best athletes in the world representing their countries. The absence of Major League Baseball players from the Summer Games was a primary reason the IOC voted to purge baseball and softball. Wouldn't it be something if that happened with the competition's most high-profile (and highest-revenue-generating) sport -- and it would be completely the IOC's fault?

more