Greeks' American dream

The German newsmagazine Der Spiegel has spotted the by now well-known story of the Greek national baseball team (Google translation). After coming second in last year's European Champsionships and winning the pre-Olympic Athens tournament this spring, expectations are high for the Greek-American team. Greek Manager Rob Derksen, a Balimore Orioles scout, says his team's ultimate goal is the gold medal. Following Team USA's failure to qualify, the U.S. ambassador in Athens, Thomas J. Miller, says he will be rooting for Greece.

But all is not well in the Greek camp. The American professionals are losing their patience with the five native-born Greek members of the 24-man roster. One of the American-born players, Cory Harris, complained: "We're dealing with 30- to 35-year-olds who have the talent of 10-year-old Americans" (retranslation).