The Dominican Republic got off to a good start in the Pan Am Games on Friday, 1 August, pulling off an opening show that received high marks, especially for the second part of its artistic show and the technological homerun of
\nyoung Luis Pujols, who batted a pitch from Hall of Famer Juan Marichal to light the giant torch for the duration of the Games. Pujols is a nephew of Albert Pujols, who has batted 30 homeruns for the Cardinals in Major League Baseball. Marichal had
\nreceived the torch from a beaming three-time Cy Young winner, Pedro Mart?nez who flew in for the show.
\nWeekend competition brought the DR its first medal, courtesy of Angelo Mota Brea, who won silver in greco-roman wrestling, losing the gold to a Cuban competitor. Dominicans also reveled in the victories of the men?s basketball team, which defeated
\nMexico (72-66) and Canada (90-88) in its first two outings. The Dominican baseball team also won its first game 14-0 against Guatemala. The DR will face the US in baseball today.
\nProtocol, accreditations and parking (valet parking at RD$80, later reduced to RD$60, with no parking near the installations) comprised the downfalls of the Games.
\nFor results and other information on the Games check out the Pan Am Games Forum at http:\/\/www.dr1.com\/forums\/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=33
\nAlso see the Pan Am Games web site at http:\/\/panamgames2003.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Dominican Republic got off to a good start in the Pan Am Games on Friday, 1 August, pulling off an opening show that received high marks, especially for the second part of its artistic show and the technological homerun of young Luis Pujols, who batted a pitch from Hall of Famer Juan Marichal to … <\/p>\n