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from Olympics" }); </script>  <h1>Don't drop wrestling from Olympics</h1>   <div class="cnn_stryathrtmp"> <div class="cnnByline">By <strong>Mike Downey, </strong>Special to CNN</div> <div class="cnn_strytmstmp">updated 11:04 AM EST, Thu February 14, 2013</div> </div>  <div class="cnn_strycntntlft">  <div class="cnn_stryimg640captioned"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130213182803-downey-olympic-wrestling-story-top.jpg" alt="U.S. wrestler Jacob Stephen Varner, right, celebrates victory over Ukraine's Valerii Andriitsev at the 2012 London Games." border="0" height="360" width="640"/></div> <div class="cnn_stryimg640caption"><div class="cnn_strycaptiontxt">U.S. wrestler Jacob Stephen Varner, right, celebrates victory over Ukraine's Valerii Andriitsev at the 2012 London Games.</div></div> <a name="em0"></a> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"><div class="cnn_strylctcntr"> <div><strong>STORY HIGHLIGHTS</strong></div> <ul class="cnn_bulletbin cnnStryHghLght">  <li>Mike Downey: Committee proposes dropping wrestling from 2020 Summer Games</li> <li>He says wrestlers have had lives raised up and have exalted their nations at the Olympics</li> <li>He says wrestling goes back to the very first games in 708 B.C. </li> <li>Downey: Young wrestlers will lose important goal; Olympic committee should reconsider</li>  </ul> </div></div>  <p class="cnnEditorialNote"><em><strong>Editor's note:</strong> Mike Downey is a former Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune columnist.</em></p> <p><strong>(CNN)</strong> -- Been thinking about wrestlers.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2">No, not about Hulk Hogan or Andre the Giant or The Rock. I mean real wrestlers. Wrestlers who wrestle for real.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph3">Wrestlers who won't wrestle in the 2020 Olympic Games if the International Olympic Committee <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/sports/olympics-may-drop-wrestling-in-2020.html?pagewanted=all" target="_blank">drop kicks their sport.</a> It was revealed Tuesday that the IOC is giving serious thought to the elimination of wrestling from Olympic competition.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph4">Been thinking about Steve Fraser.</p> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"><div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_strylccimg214"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130115224303-mike-downey-headshot-left-tease.jpg" alt="Mike Downey" border="0" class="box-image" height="122" width="214"/> <div>Mike Downey</div> </div></div> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph5">He was a deputy sheriff from Ann Arbor, Michigan, when I watched him in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics on the night he became the first American ever to win a medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. It was shiny. It was gold.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph6">"Knowing me," he said, "I'll probably have it bronzed."</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7">Been thinking about Joe Williams.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph8"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/12/sport/olympics-wresting/index.html" target="_blank">Wrestling may be cut from Olympic Games</a></p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph9">He was a high school and college wrestling champion from Harvey, Illinois, who was 29 when he finally made it to an Olympic Games. He went to Athens in 2004. He dedicated it to his older brother Steve, a former wrestler who died of heart failure right outside Joe's house in 2003. Joe did his best but did not win a medal.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph10">"I don't care. It was still worth it," he told me. "Every long, hard minute from Day 1."</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph11">Been thinking about Clarissa Chun.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph12">She -- yes, she -- is a wrestler. A mere 4 feet, 11 inches tall. (Women's wrestling became an Olympic sport in 2004.) Chun was a kindergarten teacher from Honolulu, the daughter of a Japanese-American mom and a Chinese-American dad. She defeated a seven-time national champion in the U.S. trials in 2008. Then she went to the 2012 London Olympics and got herself a bronze medal.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph13">Also been thinking a little bigger. Been thinking about Rulon Gardner, of course.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph14">He bulked up to 475 pounds before NBC's "The Biggest Loser" invited him to be a contestant. But before that, he stunned the 11-time world champion, Aleksandr Karelin, to become the super-sized Cinderella of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.</p> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"> <div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_stryfactbox"> <div class="cnn_strycorrheader"><b>Become a fan of CNNOpinion</b></div> Stay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at <strong><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122/https://www.facebook.com/CNNOpinion" target="_blank">Facebook/CNNOpinion</a></strong> and follow us <strong><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122/https://twitter.com/CNNOpinion" target="_blank">@CNNOpinion on Twitter</a></strong>. We welcome your ideas and comments. <br/><br/> <br/><br/> <div class="cnn_pad20top"></div> </div></div> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph15">I was in Indianapolis on the 2004 day when ol' Rulon qualified for the Olympics once more ... after a motorcycle crash, after dislocating a wrist in a pick-up basketball game and after a snowmobile misadventure led to a case of frostbite and the loss of a toe.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph16">Why keep wrestling?</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17">"To be able to represent us in the greatest sport in the world ... the oldest sport in the world?" Rulon replied. "To get to do that? Wow."</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph18">Wow, for sure.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph19">That was my reaction Tuesday and the reaction from wrestlers everywhere -- a "nightmare," the former collegiate king of the mat, Dan Gable, described it in one interview -- at the IOC's proposal (not yet a done deal) that certain sports are to be abandoned by 2020, with wrestling among those on the hit list.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph20">Somewhere among the gods, Hercules weeps.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph21">You might not know your Greco from your Roman, but it was 708 B.C. when wrestling was a part of the first Olympics, historians tell us. And it was 1896 when the so-called "Modern Olympics" were born ... and, yes, wrestling was there in Athens that summer as well.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph22">It is hand-to-hand combat in its essence. A fight with civility.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph23">It is global activity. Afghanistan and Austria have competed in Olympic wrestling, as have Belgium and Bolivia, and Cambodia and Cameroon, and Macedonia and Mongolia, and so many more.</p> <script> var currExpandable="expand124"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2012/06/08/exp-early-wrestling-burroughs.cnn'; mObj.videoSource='CNN'; mObj.videoSourceUrl=''; mObj.lgImage="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120608111454-exp-early-wrestling-burroughs-00034125-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand124Store=mObj; </script> <a name="em3"></a> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt cnn_strylftcexpbx" id="expand124"> <div class="cnn_strylceclbtn"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif" alt="" border="0" height="23" width="58"/></div> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120608111454-exp-early-wrestling-burroughs-00034125-story-body.jpg" alt="" border="0" class="box-image" height="120" width="214"/><cite class="expCaption"><span>U.S. wrestler could see gold in London</span></cite> </div> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph24">Do you have any idea how many Olympic wrestling medals have been won by athletes from Finland and Sweden? Take a guess. Six? 10? Try 167.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph25">Bulgaria has won 68 Olympic medals in this sport. Bulgarians don't wait around much to see how their athletes do in Olympic figure-skating or tennis or synchronized swimming. But in wrestling, Bulgarians kick butt.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph26">The Olympic Games aren't just for sports superpowers, not just for Russia and China and the USA, USA! Egypt has won golds in Olympic wrestling. I'll bet an Egyptian today would say, hey, if you want to drop something, drop badminton, drop beach volleyball. Leave wrestling be.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph27">As for these United States of America, well, you can prattle on about Michael Phelps or Bruce Jenner or Muhammad Ali or any other famed Olympian we have produced, but keep in mind this: Our wrestlers have won 50 golds. And 125 medals in all.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph28">That mat meant every bit as much to them as that pool did to Ryan Lochte, as that gym apparatus did to Gabby Douglas, as that hardwood floor did to Kobe Bryant. Wrestlers are human, man. If you pin them, do they not bleed?</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph29">I am thinking of scholastic wrestlers all over the globe who starve themselves to make weight, devote countless hours to training for a match, learn every hold and every escape. Most don't dream of selling out Madison Square Garden some day. They do often fantasize about ducking their heads to have a necklace with a medallion draped around their necks.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph30">High school wrestling has been the stuff of literature and cinema, from "The World According to Garp" to "Win Win." It has been a part of many a young man's formative years. It has now become part of a 21st century young woman's world as well.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph31">Without it, we don't have young Jeff Blatnick of Niskayuna, New York, growing up to beat cancer and beat his opponent in the 1984 super-heavyweight gold-medal match, quite a feat for a kid who had his spleen and appendix taken out.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph32">We don't have Steve Fraser, a night earlier, caressing his gold medal with one hand, his pregnant wife with the other, and inviting a reporter (me), "Hey, come on over to the hotel. We'll be partying all night!"</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph33">Because there won't be any Olympic wrestlers any more. Not if the IOC goes through with this preposterous proposition.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph34">Can't we talk these people out of it? Grant them some 2020 hindsight? I do think we can convince them, and I'm pretty sure that I know how. Twist their arms.</p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph35"><i>Follow us on Twitter </i><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122/https://twitter.com/#!/cnnopinion" target="_blank">@CNNOpinion.</a></i></p> <p class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph36"><i>Join us on </i><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122/http://www.facebook.com/CNNOpinion" target="_blank">Facebook/CNNOpinion.</a></i></p> <script type="text/javascript">if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}</script> <p class="cnn_strycbftrtxt">The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mike Downey.</br> </p>   <div class="cnn_stryshrwdgtbtm"> <div id="cnn_sharebar2"> <div class="c_sharebar_cntr c_sharebar_loading"> <div class="cnn_stryswdgtbtm1"> <div class="cnn_stryswdgtbtm1a"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/14/opinion/downey-olympic-wrestling/index.html#disqus_thread">0</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryswdgtbtm1b"><a href="#cnn-disqus-area">Comments »</a></div> </div> <div class="cnn_stryswdgtbtm2"> <div class="c_sharebtmcol1"> <div class="c_sharetitle">SHARE THIS</div> <div class="c_sharebtns"> <ul> <li class="c_sharebtn c_sharebtnfb"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'facebook');"></a></li> <li class="c_sharebtn c_sharebtntwtr"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'twitter');"></a></li> <li class="c_sharebtn c_sharebtngplus"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'googleplus');"></a></li> <li class="c_sharebtn c_sharebtnlnkn"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'linkedin');"></a></li> </ul> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div> </div> <div class="c_sharebtmdiv"></div> <div class="c_sharebtmcol2"> <div class="fb-like" data-send="false" data-layout="box_count" data-width="90" data-show-faces="false" data-action="recommend" href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/14/opinion/downey-olympic-wrestling/index.html"></div> </div> <div class="c_sharebtmdiv"></div> <div class="c_shareweb c_sharebtmcol3"> <ul> <li class="cnn_sswdgtweb1"><a href="#" onclick="if(typeof CleanPrintPrintHtml!='undefined' && CleanPrintPrintHtml) CleanPrintPrintHtml(); else window.print(); return false;">Print</a></li> <li class="cnn_sswdgtweb2"><a href="#" onclick="return(ET());">Email</a></li> <li class="cnn_sswdgtweb3"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$j('#cnn_sharebarmore2').toggle();">More sharing</a> <div id="cnn_sharebarmore2" class="sharebar_othersites sharebar_othersitesl" style="display:none;"> <div class="shareProp"> <div class="sharebutton_reddit" title="Reddit"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'reddit');">Reddit</a></div> </div> <div class="shareProp"> <div class="sharebutton_stumbleupon" title="StumbleUpon"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'stumbleupon');">StumbleUpon</a></div> </div> <div class="shareProp"> <div class="sharebutton_delicious" title="Delicious"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="cnnsocial.share.click('cnn_sharebar2', 'delicious');">Delicious</a></div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div> </div> </div> <script> /* push in config for this share instance */ cnn_shareconfig.push({ "id" : "cnn_sharebar2", "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/14/opinion/downey-olympic-wrestling/index.html", "title" : "Don\'t drop wrestling from Olympics" }); </script> <div class="cnn_strybtmcntnt"> <div class="cnn_divline"></div> <div class="cnn_divline"></div> <div class="cnn_strybtmmorebx" id="outbrain_ext_element" style="display:none;"> <div class="cnn_strybtmmbx1"> <h4>We recommend</h4><div class="cnn_clear"></div> <script> var cnn_oburlStr=location.pathname+''; cnn_oburlStr=(cnn_oburlStr.indexOf('?') > -1) ? 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</div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/05/opinion/gerson-women-marriage/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Women, don't marry young</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 7:28 AM EDT, Fri April 5, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/05/opinion/gerson-women-marriage/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130401123459-nr-patton-princeton-husband-00014719-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Kathleen Gerson says research consistently show that delaying marriage is better for women</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/biedell-intelligence-share/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Presidents should share secrets with Congress</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 6:00 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/biedell-intelligence-share/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120123080316-cia-emblem-langley-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Information is power, writes Elizabeth MacKenzie Biedell, and the branch with the most secret information wins</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/obeidallah-egypt-jokes/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">In Egypt: Tell jokes, go to jail?</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 6:12 AM EDT, Fri April 5, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/obeidallah-egypt-jokes/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130403160300-exp-amanpour-bassem-youssef-panel-00014519-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">If the Egyptian government intends to embrace democracy and freedom of expression, it should not fear Bassem Youssef's comedy performances</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/seymour-ebert/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">What the Internet owes to Roger Ebert</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 1:11 PM EDT, Fri April 5, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/seymour-ebert/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130404170223-seymour-roger-ebert-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Gene Seymour says the Chicago film critic helped change the popular view of critics, had an early and enduring influence on bloggers and web criticism</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/lee-north-korea/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">North Korea is far from suicidal </a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 12:22 PM EDT, Fri April 5, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/lee-north-korea/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130403140418-kim-jong-un-tease-only-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Sung-Yoon Lee says North Korea's strategy is to instill fear and hysteria in South Koreans and Americans. </div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/jackson-mlk-anniversary/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">For Dr. King, everybody in and nobody out</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 12:08 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/jackson-mlk-anniversary/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130121133402-martin-luther-king-1964-file-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">The Rev. Jesse Jackson: Today is the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/bark-leno-fallon/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">How Twitter helped Fallon get Leno's job</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 12:12 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/bark-leno-fallon/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130403131409-02-leno-younger-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Ed Bark says Jay Leno may have kept NBC No. 1 in late night, but the social media pull of hosts like Fallon and O'Brien can deliver the new followers that Leno, Letterman can't.</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/bergen-right-wing-violence/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Growing threat of extreme right-wing violence</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 9:02 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/bergen-right-wing-violence/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120317021404-peter-bergen-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Peter Bergen says the killing of Colorado's prison director fits with a pattern of increased extremist violence. </div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/sutter-arkansas-oil-spill/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Maybe this oil spill will stick</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 7:58 AM EDT, Thu April 4, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/sutter-arkansas-oil-spill/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130402085455-01-ak-oil-0402-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">John Sutter says the pipeline break in Arkansas is another warning sign of the risks from reliance on fossil fuels. </div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/jones-coach-firing/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Wrong move to fire bullying coach</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 1:25 PM EDT, Thu April 4, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/opinion/jones-coach-firing/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130403025840-mike-rice-yells-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Roxanne Jones says Rutgers firing its coach will not take the brutality out of college sports. In fact, Rice's brutal passion for the game got him hired in the first place.</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/hanley-dental-practices/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Don't be afraid of dentists</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 5:56 PM EDT, Wed April 3, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/hanley-dental-practices/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130329164247-dental-chair-implements-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Dr. James Hanley says despite a recent public health alert, dental care in the U.S. is the best in the world.</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/ackers-holmes-death-penalty/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Why death penalty for Holmes wouldn't bring justice</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 7:52 AM EDT, Wed April 3, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/ackers-holmes-death-penalty/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130401112324-james-holmes-court-0312-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">If anyone has the death penalty coming, it would seem to be Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes, James Acker says. </div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/louis-gop-new-york-scandal/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Corruption case a blow to GOP diversity </a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 10:43 AM EDT, Wed April 3, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/louis-gop-new-york-scandal/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130403095300-louis-smith-case-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Errol Louis says charges a GOP state lawmaker tried to rig the New York mayoral election hurts the party's courtship of minorities.</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/kurtz-clinton/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Media, stop trying to crown Hillary Clinton</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 7:30 AM EDT, Wed April 3, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/kurtz-clinton/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130402151101-kurtz-hillary-clinton-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Howard Kurtz says Hillary Clinton is front-page news, even though all she's done is not say whether she's running for president in 2016.</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/spar-same-sex-marriage-kids/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">Science made gay families possible</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 11:12 AM EDT, Wed April 3, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/opinion/spar-same-sex-marriage-kids/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130402190620-spar-gay-couple-kids-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Debora Spar says laws about same-sex marriage have not kept pace with the technological advances that enable gay couples to have children.</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_stryspcvbx"><div class="cnn_stryspcvbxcntr"><div class="cnn_stryscbx1"> <div><a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/02/opinion/brazile-princeton-alum/index.html?iid=article_sidebar">If only I'd snagged a Princeton man</a></div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx2"> updated 3:35 PM EDT, Tue April 2, 2013 </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx3"> <a href="/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/02/opinion/brazile-princeton-alum/index.html?iid=article_sidebar"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122im_/http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130312110919-donna-brazile-video-tease.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="68" width="120"/></a> </div> <div class="cnn_stryscbx4">Donna Brazile says she might have made a poor decision in her youth if she'd followed a Princeton alum's advice.</div> <div class="cnn_clear"></div> </div></div></div> <div class="cnn_strycrcntrpad"> <div class="cnn_divline"></div> <div class="cnn_pad10top"></div> <div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130406011122/http://www.cnn.com/opinion?iid=article_sidebar" 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