Fidel Castro says the damn yankees don’t want the Cubans to play in the first-ever World Classic Baseball Tournament because the U.S. is afraid of losing to Cuba on the diamond. Sports Illustrated reports:

“We aren’t afraid of anything,” Castro said in a wide-ranging speech late Tuesday. “It’s very difficult to compete against us in any area … not even in baseball do they want to compete with Cuba.”

Hell, maybe he’s right. I mean, really, can’t we just kinda get over this whole boycott thing? Isn’t it time we got a little friendlier with our neighbors down South? “After Cuba promised to donate any money it received to victims of Hurricane Katrina, MLB {that’s Major League Baseball, for all you sports-challenged bibliophiles} reapplied for a license a second time and is awaiting a response.”

For excellent reading about the lives of Cubans in America, read the work of poet and novelist Virgil Suarez, particularly Spared Angola: Memories from a Cuban-American Childhood