Greece went 24 years from its first qualification before its next appearance in the final stages of the European Championship but, since its shock victory in Portugal in 2004, it has been ever-present in the finals. Otto Rehhagel, the coach who oversaw that triumph, finally left in 2010 to be replaced by the Portuguese manager Fernando Santos, named Greek coach of the last decade for his work with Panathinaikos, AEK and PAOK. But the method hasn't much changed.
Euro 2012 is nearly here and the 16 competing nations have announced the final 23-man squads they hope will propel them to glory in Poland and Ukraine.
ATHENS -- It's fitting that the tragedy of a basketball team called Maroussi played its final road game of the season in a town called Drama. Nearly broke, Maroussi chartered a bus for the eight-hour ride because it couldn't afford airline tickets. Maroussi lost by 38 points, slipping to 1-22 on the season. Its starting power forward didn't make the trip. Injured? No. Hung over from clubbing? Uh-uh.
Athens' Olympic stadium suffered heavy damage during violent clashes between soccer fans and police, authorities said.
What are the owners and players going to say to one another when labor negotiations resume Monday in New York?
• Here comes the biggest test of the Games: Can NBC survive without Michael Phelps winning a gold medal? Thankfully there's the Redeem Team, the scrappy band of billionaires who face their first real test of the Games on Thursday (8 a.m. ET) against Greece, an impressive winner over Dirk Nowitzki-led Germany.
Since the day my Uncle George -- who was a panty-hose wholesaler and walked with a limp from a boyhood accident -- took me to my first Panathinaikos game, I've bled green.
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