Next March, some of the world's premier baseball talent will be on display before MLB's regular season. No, this won't be spring training, but baseball's first true championship tournament.

Never before have the professionals of all the sport's nations competed against each other. And even them, some will choose not to participate due to disinterest, prohibition by their owner or manager, or lack of freedom to play for the country of their choosing. Oh, the sports talk shows will eat this up.

Previous competition between top national talent has been limited to two stages -- the Olympic Games and the Caribbean Series. In the former, the USA has always sent amateur players, while countries such as Cuba have national teams which remain largely intact for years.

In the latter, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, among others, play in a tournament featuring each nation's winter league champion. The Latin American countries, Canada, and the USA have also competed in the Pan American Games, but those are Western Hemisphere amateur contests, so Japan, Australia and Taiwan are not involved.

In a burst of lineage pride, superstar Alex Rodriguez announced he would wear the colors of the Dominican Republic. Memo from the Commish: "Not so fast there sport, I'll decide who suits up for whom."

George Steinbrenner may not even let Pinstripers participate, which would suit Gary Sheffield fine, as he said he only plays for pay (would the Iron Sheff even make a USA Dream Team in the OF -- I wonder). Things are gonna get testy and they're gonna get provincial.

A-Rod is of Dominican descent, and were he a hoopster, that'd be enough to give him the freedom to play for the Dominican Republic in the Olympics.

Mark Jackson, whose mother is of Dominican descent, once expressed such an interest for basketball purposes. Had Jackson gone through with his wish, the Dominican Republic may have had a backcourt of him and fellow NBA'er Felipe Lopez at the World Games in Indianapolis a few years back.

In tennis, Puerto Rican media lambasted Gigi Fernandez for choosing not to represent her native island in Barcelona in 1992. Hakeem Olajuwon, a U.S. citizen, battled for the American Dream Team, but were he of A-Rod's mindset, would have played for underdog Nigeria. Different strokes.

Scuttlebut is that the Dominican Republic will run away with this thing, what with the Tejada's, Pujols', Manny's and Vlad's (supposedly) on their side. I don't see this as walkover for any squad.

In the Caribbean Series, the team with the best big leaguers often does not triumph. The Dominican Republic is also weak on the hill, Pedro Martinez, if he even plays, will be that much older next March. Even should he pitch, who rounds out their staff?

A dozen years ago, they would have fielded a juggernaut -- Ramon and Martinez, Juan Guzman, Jose Rijo, Melido Perez, and closers Jose Mesa and Melquiades Rojas hurling, and a younger Sammy Sosa teaming with the likes of Julio Franco, Moises Alou, Mariano Duncan, Tony Fernandez, George Bell and Felix Jose.

Puerto Rico would have been represented by pitchers Ricky Bones, Jose Guzman, Juan Nieves and Edwin Correa, and everyday types Sandy and Roberto Alomar, Jose Lind, Ruben Sierra, Juan Gonzalez, Bernie Williams, Ivan Rodriguez, Danny Tartabull, Carlos Baerga, and Ivan Calderon.

Wow! Suffice it to say, the U.S. would not have won such a tourney.

No matter who plays, the event will hold our interest (if not Sheff's). Some athletes put their best foot forward in Davis and Ryder Cups, or at an Olympiad.

The downside is that baseball is not a sport best suited to send the cream of its crop to compete for a world crown. It's lengthy schedule, dual nationalities, and clueless commish handcuff its ability to stage a truly worthy diamond spectacle.

The sport has trouble selecting all-star teams without oversights. It has labor woes. Some of its biggest names (Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, Martinez, Sosa) are not what they once were.

That said, I'm still game, even if many of the millionaires are not.