Washington Olympics

2012: Capital's name strengthens region's bid, but Toronto selection for 2008 Games would weaken it.

BALTIMOREANS are realists.

So they surely understand why the city's name is no longer attached to the region's 2012 Olympic bid. The International Olympic Committee requires the name of a single city, not two.

The Baltimore Olympic Games rolls off the tongue, but that's not to be. So the bid's title: Washington D.C. 2012. Let's face it, the capital has the prestige we need to pull off an international coup.

If we win the Games, both the city and region would get the same benefits. If the Chesapeake Region 2012 wins this Olympic quest, we would gain enormous economic, transportation and prestige advantages.

Even with Washington's allure, this thing's still a long shot.

The odds could get worse on July 13, the day the IOC selects the site for the 2008 Olympics. Beijing,

Paris and Toronto are the frontrunners, with China's capital reportedly the favorite.

U.S. cities bidding for the 2012 games collectively will be rooting against Toronto - although humanitarian reasons make Beijing suspect - in the 2008 competition. There's almost no chance that the IOC will hold back-to-back Olympics in North American cities.

Our city's name may no longer be on the application, but Baltimore will stay in the running for the 2012 Olympics if Paris's 2008 bid becomes a fait accompli this summer.