The Wall Street Journal: Why Russia Makes the Olympics Better

Regardless of whether Russian athletes deserve to be punished, the games will be less entertaining and less fulfilling if they are not in Rio, such opinion was expressed in the article, wrote by The Wall Street Journal columnist Matthew Futterman.

Whle he still thinks that "it would not be fair to let the Russians compete", he also writes that "the Olympics stand to lose plenty without them."

"The Olympic Games have never been better than when they featured two superpowers facing off. A child of the Cold War, I got hooked on the Games in the 1970s and 1980s, when the showdowns between East and West really felt like a civilized form of warfare, a battle between oppression and freedom."

"And just think of what a blanket ban on the Russian team would do to the Rio Games. Yes, we all enjoy watching American athletes win medals. But without a Russian team, the Games threaten to turn into a two-week victory lap for Team USA. There will be almost no drama," he believes.