IOC to reduce 2012 field by at least three

New York, Paris and London are expected to make the cut.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- When the IOC meets this week to come up with a shortlist of finalists to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, the question is: How short?
With nine cities in the running, the International Olympic Committee executive board is expected to eliminate at least three candidates and possibly as many as five Tuesday.
The IOC doesn't have a target number of finalists, but several members said in interviews that five is most likely.
Four cities are virtually assured of making the cut: Paris, London, New York and Madrid, Spain.
One definitely won't stay in it: Havana.
That leaves four cities on the bubble: Moscow; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Istanbul, Turkey; and Leipzig, Germany. At least two of those could be dropped.
The 2012 host will be selected in July 2005 in Singapore.
Geography advantage
Geography favors a European city, because the 2008 Olympics will be in Asia (Beijing), and the 2010 Games will be in North America (Vancouver, British Columbia).
Paris, which last hosted the games in 1924, is viewed as the front-runner. It successfully hosted soccer's World Cup in 1998, and it is seen by IOC members as having paid its dues after failed bids for the 1992 and 2008 Olympics.
London has a strong bid, featuring some of the capital's most famous sports venues and tourist landmarks, including tennis at Wimbledon and triathlon in Hyde Park.
Madrid is the only major European capital which has never hosted the Olympics.
Neither has New York.
"We're cautiously optimistic" of making the short list, New York bid leader Dan Doctoroff said. "We're not taking anything for granted. There's nothing we can really do."
Peter Ueberroth, who ran the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, recently said New York has a good chance of getting the 2012 Games because it's "the only major, major" city in the world yet to host the games.
But New York has to contend with anti-American sentiment fueled by the invasion of Iraq, as well as the geographical disadvantage of having the 2010 Olympics in Canada.
Also, the proposed $1.4 billion Olympic stadium on the West Side of Manhattan, which would also serve as a new home for the New York Jets, has run into some opposition.
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