Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra will start the season on the disabled list with an injured right Achilles' tendon and is expected to be out at least three weeks.
The All-Star slugger said Wednesday that doctors told him to rest. Pokey Reese will be at shortstop when Boston opens the regular season Sunday in Baltimore, and Mark Bellhorn will fill in for Reese at second base.
``I don't like missing more time than I anticipated, but the good thing is we know we have a structured program to be able to talk to all the doctors and get everyone on the same page,'' Garciaparra said after the team placed him on the disabled list.
``My body will tell me when I'm ready. Once that happens it shouldn't take me long to get back in the lineup,'' he said.
Garciaparra was examined Wednesday in Florida by Mark Slovenkai, an ankle and foot specialist from New England Baptist Hospital.
No structural damage was found in the tendon, but the injury was diagnosed as a bruise in the cartilage that covers the tendon. The only treatment is rest.
Garciaparra was injured March 5 when he was hit by a ball during batting practice. He has been limited to just eight at-bats in spring training.
He is the second Red Sox starter to go down this spring. Right fielder Trot Nixon is expected to be out until early May with a lower back problem.
General manager Theo Epstein doesn't plan to trade for temporary replacements.
``It's never a good time to have guys hurt,'' Epstein said. ``We're going to have to wait until they're 100 percent, but we're going to be OK.''
With Garciaparra out, David Ortiz will bat cleanup in Boston's lineup.
Garciaparra hit .301 last season, with 28 home runs and 105 RBIs.
The two-time American League batting champion was the subject of trade rumors during the offseason, when the Red Sox tried to acquire AL MVP Alex Rodriguez from Texas and considered sending Garciaparra to the Chicago White Sox to make room in their infield. But trade talks with Texas broke down, and Rodriguez went to Boston's biggest rival, the New York Yankees.
Garciaparra said he will fly to Boston on Thursday.,
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Bob Cremins, a Boston Red Sox pitcher who faced Babe Ruth in his first big league appearance, died at 98.
He died Saturday at his home in Pelham, the Pelham Funeral Home said Wednesday.
Cremins made his debut in August 1927. Ruth was the first batter he faced, and Cremins retired him on a grounder to first base. The left-hander appeared in three more games for the Red Sox and left baseball the following year.
Cremins later became a cartoonist for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. During World War II he served on an air sea rescue vehicle from 1943-46.
Cremins also managed a boxing gym and a schooner-sailing business on Long Island Sound.
He was buried Tuesday following a funeral at St. Catherine's Church in Pelham.,
__________________________________________________________________________________________
NFL owners adopted a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebrations Wednesday after being embarrassed by Joe Horn's hidden cell phone trick and Terrell Owens' end-zone autograph.
The penalty will be in addition to fines previously in place for choreographed and multiplayer celebrations.
The infractions are considered unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. The yardage will be marched off from the spot at the end of the previous play or, after a score, on the ensuing kickoff. If the infraction is flagrant, the player will be ejected.
``The players know they will be hurting their team,'' Jets coach Herman Edwards said.
The vote was 31-1, with the Raiders the lone dissenter.
In December, Horn made an end-zone call after a teammate handed him a phone that had been stashed under the goal-post padding. The season before, Owens pulled a pen from his sock to sign the football after a touchdown catch.
The owners on Wednesday also:
increased the size of practice squads from five to eight players;
allowed head coaches or any player to call a timeout;
extended the five-day period immediately after the season ends for interviewing assistant coaches to seven days, or the conclusion of the wild-card round. The policy also now will cover high-level front office positions;
made a punt or missed field goal untouched by the receiving team a dead ball once it touches the end zone or touches a kicking team player in the end zone;
modified free kick, fair catch and personal foul rules;
allowed wide receivers to wear Nos. 10 through 19 even when numbers in the 80s are available.
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue also said it was possible the new NFL Network could carry games live in the next television package. The current $17.6 billion contract with ABC/ESPN, ABC and CBS expires after the 2005 season.
``I don't think it's likely, but anything in life is possible,'' he said. ``The NFL Network is in the long term.''
NFL Network is carried by satellite and by two of the major cable carriers.
On Tuesday, hours after league owners approved a five-year extension of instant replay, adding a third coaches' challenge if the first two are successful, the NFL succeeded in a federal appeals court in New York.
The court agreed to hear arguments days before the draft to overturn the ruling allowing Ohio State sophomore Maurice Clarett and other underclassman and high schoolers into the draft.
NFL chief counsel Jeff Pash thinks there's a strong chance the court will grant a stay of the lower court ruling before the April 24-25 draft. That means Clarett, Southern California sophomore Mike Williams and seven others would not be included in the draft.
``I think there is a very substantial chance he will not be in the draft,'' Pash said.
Should that happen and the NFL subsequently loses the appeal, a supplemental draft for those players would be held within 10 days of the court decision.
Alan Milstein, Clarett's agent, said that would harm his client. Milstein said Clarett would lose leverage to negotiate a contract, as well as practice time and time to learn his new team's playbook, if he were not drafted in April.
``They did not issue a stay,'' Milstein told The Associated Press. ``They set forth an expedited briefing schedule. Nothing happened today that was unexpected. The court is just doing what it needs to do to work hard and get Maurice in the draft - and with plenty of time to do it.''
Pash said the hearing will be April 19 or 20.
The vote on replay was 29-3, with Kansas City, Indianapolis and Cincinnati voting against. Arizona - for the first time, according to Tagliabue - voted for the five-year extension with the additional challenge.
Twenty-four votes were needed from the 32 teams to keep replay. Tagliabue said some teams were reluctant to put it in permanently in fear it would be too difficult to remove.
In a key financial move, owners renewed for 15 years the NFL Trust, which provides $4 million per team in licensing revenue for merchandise with team logos. But there was enough sentiment from teams such as the Cowboys, Redskins and Dolphins to investigate modifying it, and Tagliabue will appoint a nine-member committee to look at all aspects of revenue sharing.
No one questions the concept of apportioning income, particularly from the eight-year, $17.6 billion television contract.
But owners such as Dallas' Jerry Jones and Washington's Dan Snyder want wider marketing rights for their teams' products. Owners in smaller markets, including Buffalo's Ralph Wilson, Indianapolis' Jim Irsay and Pittsburgh's Dan Rooney, are concerned about what they consider an increasing disparity in cash flow between teams.
Tagliabue, 63, indicated there will be no problem in negotiating an extension of his contract, which expires May 2005. The owners voted unanimously Monday to give him as many as three more years beyond that date.
The owners heard more on the proposal to build a new stadium for the New York Jets on the West Side of Manhattan. Tagliabue said there would be further discussion but emphasized no commitment was made by the league for a future Super Bowl there.
NBA scoring leader Tracy McGrady will miss the rest of the season after the Orlando Magic put him on the injured list Wednesday because of left knee tendinitis.
McGrady, averaging 28 points, skipped the past two games because his knee was sore and now also will be sidelined for the Magic's final seven games.
At 19-56, Orlando has the league's worst record.
``It just isn't getting any better,'' McGrady said. ``The organization doesn't want to me to rush it, and I don't want to rush it. I just don't want to put pressure on myself to try and come back too soon. We're just being cautious.''
He's the second NBA star ruled out for the rest of the regular season this week. On Tuesday, the Philadelphia 76ers announced Allen Iverson will miss their final eight games because of persistent pain in his right knee.
McGrady has all but clinched his second straight scoring title. Sacramento's Peja Stojakovic ranks second with 24.7 points.
McGrady also is averaging six rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.39 steals in 67 games.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The flame for the Athens Games arrived in the host city amid Olympic-level security Wednesday before it begins its global journey.
Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou - the last torch bearer in the flame's six-day journey around Greece - entered the marble stadium followed by a group carrying the flags of the more than 200 nations expected to compete this summer. More than 15,000 spectators stood and applauded.
Thanou then lit an elevated cauldron in the white marble Panathenian stadium, which will host archery and the marathon finish at the Aug. 13-29 games. The flame was surrounded by actresses dressed as ancient priestesses who took part in the lighting ceremony on March 25 in the birthplace of the games in southern Greece.
The flame will burn in Athens until June 4 when it starts a global trek across six continents and 27 countries.
The flame's arrival in the heart of Athens was a chance for authorities to test Olympic security measures, which include closing off some nearby areas and blanketing the streets with more than 1,500 police. Security personnel were hidden in parks, stationed atop buildings and undercover amid the crowds.
``I am convinced ... that the Olympic flame will inspire the hearts once more of people to have faith in ideals and renew their love of timeless values,'' said Lambis Nikolaou, head of the Greek Olympic Committee. ``I know, of course, that the international circumstances are anything but favorable.''
The ceremony took place despite a 24-hour nationwide strike by Greece's largest labor union that halted all mass public transportation. Workers were at the site until the last hours in a reminder of the huge delays in preparations.
``Greece links the past of the Olympic Games with their present and future,'' chief 2004 organizer Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, told the crowd before lighting another cauldron outside the stadium.
Mayor Dora Bakoyianni said the Athens flame sends ``a message of peace - the message of fierce, yet harmless, competition.''
Greece is spending more than $800 million to safeguard the games and is working with a seven-nation advisory group, led by the United States and Britain.
About 50,000 police, soldiers and other personnel will guard the games. More than 1,400 security cameras and aerial surveillance by helicopters, a blimp and AWACS aircraft are also planned, while a no-fly zone will be imposed around Olympic venues and other sites. The government has also asked for NATO's assistance.
``I believe wholeheartedly in the power of utopia - the utopia that is and remains the driving force of history for the overthrowing of barbarity,'' Nikolaou said.
The horseshoe-shaped arena - also known as the Kalimarmaro, or good marble, stadium to most Greeks - has spectacular views of the Acropolis and the craggy Lykavittos Hill. It can hold up to 60,000 spectators on bench-style rows. Archaeologists also cleaned and refastened many of the stadium's marble slabs.
Prince Albert of Monaco said he felt ``privileged'' to have been a torchbearer during the initial leg of the relay in Greece.
``The Olympic torch has such an incredible meaning and unites people in a way that probably no other symbol does right now,'' said the prince, who has competed as an Olympic bobsledder. ``That's a tremendous feeling and wonderful ceremony to be a part of.''
__________________________________________________________________________________________
New York Rangers captain Mark Messier took a victory skate, saluted his family, friends and fans in the Madison Square Garden crowd, and even shed a tear. He just couldn't bring himself to officially say goodbye.
The Rangers' 4-3 loss Wednesday night to the Buffalo Sabres had little impact on the NHL standings, but was arguably the league's most important game of the night because New York's No. 11 might've taken the ice for the final time in his 25-year career.
``If I did think in my mind that this was it, I would have made a lot more plans and preparations a month ago,'' said the 43-year-old Messier, who scored his 694th NHL goal in his 1,756th game. ``I didn't know completely in my heart that that was the case. I didn't want to put myself in the situation and then come September perhaps I want to play again.''
Messier usually waits until late in the summer to decide whether to resume his career. Each year there are doubts, yet the Rangers' longtime leader finds the desire to come back. Now with New York missing the playoffs for a seventh straight year, and friend Brian Leetch traded away in a rebuilding roster purge, Messier seems closer to hanging up his skates than ever before.
``I think it would have been a lot simpler, a lot easier if I could have just come out a month ago and said that this is my last year and this be the opportunity my last game,'' Messier said.
In other NHL games, it was Detroit 3, Columbus 2; the New York Islanders 5, Montreal 1; Ottawa 5, Florida 4; Edmonton 3, Dallas 1; Minnesota 5, Colorado 4 in overtime; Calgary 1, Phoenix 0; San Jose 3, Los Angeles 0; and Vancouver 2, Anaheim 1.
This was Messier's last game of the season, as he won't suit up when the Rangers play at Washington on Saturday. In fact, it wasn't a certainty until Wednesday morning that Messier would dress for the home finale. He missed the two previous games because of a bruised elbow, that followed a two-game suspension he received for a spearing penalty.
``I didn't feel great out there because I haven't skated much in the last seven or eight days,'' Messier said. ``I didn't know how I was going to feel, and I felt a little sluggish on the ice.''
But he felt great at the end, waving to his family and the legions of adoring fans who remember how he came to New York and led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup title in 54 years when they won in 1994.
Jochen Hecht scored a pair of goals 21 seconds apart to break open a tie game and assisted on two other goals to lead Buffalo.
The Sabres, who remained barely alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race with their victory, were in no hurry to celebrate their victory. They, too, joined the Rangers in tapping their sticks on the ice and applauding Messier - a six-time NHL champion.
``To try and fit in 25 years and all of the great moments into one night or one afternoon is a little tough,'' Messier said. ``There are a lifetime of memories that has happened in the last 26 years as a pro and let alone the things before that as a child growing up enabling me to become a professional hockey player.''
__________________________________________________________________________________________
As thoroughly as Michigan won its NIT semifinal game over Oregon, none of the Wolverines lit up Madison Square Garden the way Quincy Douby did for Rutgers. And that is a concern for Michigan coach Tommy Amaker heading into Thursday night's championship game.
The spindly freshman had 35 points and energized the Scarlet Knights with six 3-pointers in their overtime win against Iowa State. Every time Rutgers needed a basket, the kid from Brooklyn would roll up the sleeves on his T-shirt like someone who meant business, then position himself beyond the arc and unload.
``They are definitely a very explosive team and can shoot the ball from the outside,'' Amaker said. ``We're in awe of what they've been able to accomplish. We'll have our hands full.''
So Amaker spent Wednesday watching tape and devising a defensive scheme that he hopes will shut down Rutgers as effectively as the one Michigan used in limiting Oregon to 53 points and 34.5 percent shooting in the semifinals.
It will be a challenge.
The problem starts with Douby, who was averaging 24 points a game in the NIT before scorching Iowa State. He set five career highs and tied another against the Cyclones.
``I didn't expect myself to have this kind of game,'' Douby said. ``But I knew I was going to play well because the first game we played (in the Garden) against Virginia Tech I played horrible and that stuck in my head. We didn't want to come in here and lose again.''
Douby averaged 12.1 points a game this season but looked ordinary in his first college game at the Garden, scoring just four points on 2-for-7 shooting in the Big East tournament against the Hokies. Coach Gary Waters knew Douby was capable of more than that.
``Quincy is an outstanding shooter with the ability to create his own shot,'' Waters said. ``He has displayed the ability to score in bunches. He's a special kid. We knew that when we recruited him. He was raw and needed to develop. We knew he was going to be special. He's the real thing.''
Douby brought down Iowa State, winning a freshman guard duel with Curtis Stinson, another product of the New York City playgrounds. Stinson finished with 32 before fouling out in overtime.
Michigan's win over Oregon was less dramatic. The Wolverines were concerned with shutting down Luke Jackson, the second leading scorer in the Pac-10 with 22.3 points a game. Jackson managed just 17 against Michigan.
``We did a good job neutralizing their scorers,'' Amaker said. ``They missed some shots. We were fortunate. We did our part. I like to think we had a little bit to do with it with our length and athleticism.
``The team has played with an energy and purpose of late and it shows by how well we've played defensively. There's a fine line between winning and losing. Things can go one way or another. Hard work leads to success which breeds confidence.''
For Rutgers, Thursday's game is an opportunity to win a national championship for the first time. Michigan has its share, including a pair of NIT titles in 1984 and 1997. The 1997 crown was vacated due to NCAA sanctions.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra will start the season on the disabled list with an injured right Achilles' tendon and is expected to be out at least three weeks.
The All-Star slugger said Wednesday that doctors told him to rest. Pokey Reese will be at shortstop when Boston opens the regular season Sunday in Baltimore, and Mark Bellhorn will fill in for Reese at second base.
``I don't like missing more time than I anticipated, but the good thing is we know we have a structured program to be able to talk to all the doctors and get everyone on the same page,'' Garciaparra said after the team placed him on the disabled list.
``My body will tell me when I'm ready. Once that happens it shouldn't take me long to get back in the lineup,'' he said.
Garciaparra was examined Wednesday in Florida by Mark Slovenkai, an ankle and foot specialist from New England Baptist Hospital.
No structural damage was found in the tendon, but the injury was diagnosed as a bruise in the cartilage that covers the tendon. The only treatment is rest.
Garciaparra was injured March 5 when he was hit by a ball during batting practice. He has been limited to just eight at-bats in spring training.
He is the second Red Sox starter to go down this spring. Right fielder Trot Nixon is expected to be out until early May with a lower back problem.
General manager Theo Epstein doesn't plan to trade for temporary replacements.
``It's never a good time to have guys hurt,'' Epstein said. ``We're going to have to wait until they're 100 percent, but we're going to be OK.''
With Garciaparra out, David Ortiz will bat cleanup in Boston's lineup.
Garciaparra hit .301 last season, with 28 home runs and 105 RBIs.
The two-time American League batting champion was the subject of trade rumors during the offseason, when the Red Sox tried to acquire AL MVP Alex Rodriguez from Texas and considered sending Garciaparra to the Chicago White Sox to make room in their infield. But trade talks with Texas broke down, and Rodriguez went to Boston's biggest rival, the New York Yankees.
Garciaparra said he will fly to Boston on Thursday.,
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Bob Cremins, a Boston Red Sox pitcher who faced Babe Ruth in his first big league appearance, died at 98.
He died Saturday at his home in Pelham, the Pelham Funeral Home said Wednesday.
Cremins made his debut in August 1927. Ruth was the first batter he faced, and Cremins retired him on a grounder to first base. The left-hander appeared in three more games for the Red Sox and left baseball the following year.
Cremins later became a cartoonist for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. During World War II he served on an air sea rescue vehicle from 1943-46.
Cremins also managed a boxing gym and a schooner-sailing business on Long Island Sound.
He was buried Tuesday following a funeral at St. Catherine's Church in Pelham.,
__________________________________________________________________________________________
NFL owners adopted a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebrations Wednesday after being embarrassed by Joe Horn's hidden cell phone trick and Terrell Owens' end-zone autograph.
The penalty will be in addition to fines previously in place for choreographed and multiplayer celebrations.
The infractions are considered unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. The yardage will be marched off from the spot at the end of the previous play or, after a score, on the ensuing kickoff. If the infraction is flagrant, the player will be ejected.
``The players know they will be hurting their team,'' Jets coach Herman Edwards said.
The vote was 31-1, with the Raiders the lone dissenter.
In December, Horn made an end-zone call after a teammate handed him a phone that had been stashed under the goal-post padding. The season before, Owens pulled a pen from his sock to sign the football after a touchdown catch.
The owners on Wednesday also:
increased the size of practice squads from five to eight players;
allowed head coaches or any player to call a timeout;
extended the five-day period immediately after the season ends for interviewing assistant coaches to seven days, or the conclusion of the wild-card round. The policy also now will cover high-level front office positions;
made a punt or missed field goal untouched by the receiving team a dead ball once it touches the end zone or touches a kicking team player in the end zone;
modified free kick, fair catch and personal foul rules;
allowed wide receivers to wear Nos. 10 through 19 even when numbers in the 80s are available.
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue also said it was possible the new NFL Network could carry games live in the next television package. The current $17.6 billion contract with ABC/ESPN, ABC and CBS expires after the 2005 season.
``I don't think it's likely, but anything in life is possible,'' he said. ``The NFL Network is in the long term.''
NFL Network is carried by satellite and by two of the major cable carriers.
On Tuesday, hours after league owners approved a five-year extension of instant replay, adding a third coaches' challenge if the first two are successful, the NFL succeeded in a federal appeals court in New York.
The court agreed to hear arguments days before the draft to overturn the ruling allowing Ohio State sophomore Maurice Clarett and other underclassman and high schoolers into the draft.
NFL chief counsel Jeff Pash thinks there's a strong chance the court will grant a stay of the lower court ruling before the April 24-25 draft. That means Clarett, Southern California sophomore Mike Williams and seven others would not be included in the draft.
``I think there is a very substantial chance he will not be in the draft,'' Pash said.
Should that happen and the NFL subsequently loses the appeal, a supplemental draft for those players would be held within 10 days of the court decision.
Alan Milstein, Clarett's agent, said that would harm his client. Milstein said Clarett would lose leverage to negotiate a contract, as well as practice time and time to learn his new team's playbook, if he were not drafted in April.
``They did not issue a stay,'' Milstein told The Associated Press. ``They set forth an expedited briefing schedule. Nothing happened today that was unexpected. The court is just doing what it needs to do to work hard and get Maurice in the draft - and with plenty of time to do it.''
Pash said the hearing will be April 19 or 20.
The vote on replay was 29-3, with Kansas City, Indianapolis and Cincinnati voting against. Arizona - for the first time, according to Tagliabue - voted for the five-year extension with the additional challenge.
Twenty-four votes were needed from the 32 teams to keep replay. Tagliabue said some teams were reluctant to put it in permanently in fear it would be too difficult to remove.
In a key financial move, owners renewed for 15 years the NFL Trust, which provides $4 million per team in licensing revenue for merchandise with team logos. But there was enough sentiment from teams such as the Cowboys, Redskins and Dolphins to investigate modifying it, and Tagliabue will appoint a nine-member committee to look at all aspects of revenue sharing.
No one questions the concept of apportioning income, particularly from the eight-year, $17.6 billion television contract.
But owners such as Dallas' Jerry Jones and Washington's Dan Snyder want wider marketing rights for their teams' products. Owners in smaller markets, including Buffalo's Ralph Wilson, Indianapolis' Jim Irsay and Pittsburgh's Dan Rooney, are concerned about what they consider an increasing disparity in cash flow between teams.
Tagliabue, 63, indicated there will be no problem in negotiating an extension of his contract, which expires May 2005. The owners voted unanimously Monday to give him as many as three more years beyond that date.
The owners heard more on the proposal to build a new stadium for the New York Jets on the West Side of Manhattan. Tagliabue said there would be further discussion but emphasized no commitment was made by the league for a future Super Bowl there.
NBA scoring leader Tracy McGrady will miss the rest of the season after the Orlando Magic put him on the injured list Wednesday because of left knee tendinitis.
McGrady, averaging 28 points, skipped the past two games because his knee was sore and now also will be sidelined for the Magic's final seven games.
At 19-56, Orlando has the league's worst record.
``It just isn't getting any better,'' McGrady said. ``The organization doesn't want to me to rush it, and I don't want to rush it. I just don't want to put pressure on myself to try and come back too soon. We're just being cautious.''
He's the second NBA star ruled out for the rest of the regular season this week. On Tuesday, the Philadelphia 76ers announced Allen Iverson will miss their final eight games because of persistent pain in his right knee.
McGrady has all but clinched his second straight scoring title. Sacramento's Peja Stojakovic ranks second with 24.7 points.
McGrady also is averaging six rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.39 steals in 67 games.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The flame for the Athens Games arrived in the host city amid Olympic-level security Wednesday before it begins its global journey.
Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou - the last torch bearer in the flame's six-day journey around Greece - entered the marble stadium followed by a group carrying the flags of the more than 200 nations expected to compete this summer. More than 15,000 spectators stood and applauded.
Thanou then lit an elevated cauldron in the white marble Panathenian stadium, which will host archery and the marathon finish at the Aug. 13-29 games. The flame was surrounded by actresses dressed as ancient priestesses who took part in the lighting ceremony on March 25 in the birthplace of the games in southern Greece.
The flame will burn in Athens until June 4 when it starts a global trek across six continents and 27 countries.
The flame's arrival in the heart of Athens was a chance for authorities to test Olympic security measures, which include closing off some nearby areas and blanketing the streets with more than 1,500 police. Security personnel were hidden in parks, stationed atop buildings and undercover amid the crowds.
``I am convinced ... that the Olympic flame will inspire the hearts once more of people to have faith in ideals and renew their love of timeless values,'' said Lambis Nikolaou, head of the Greek Olympic Committee. ``I know, of course, that the international circumstances are anything but favorable.''
The ceremony took place despite a 24-hour nationwide strike by Greece's largest labor union that halted all mass public transportation. Workers were at the site until the last hours in a reminder of the huge delays in preparations.
``Greece links the past of the Olympic Games with their present and future,'' chief 2004 organizer Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, told the crowd before lighting another cauldron outside the stadium.
Mayor Dora Bakoyianni said the Athens flame sends ``a message of peace - the message of fierce, yet harmless, competition.''
Greece is spending more than $800 million to safeguard the games and is working with a seven-nation advisory group, led by the United States and Britain.
About 50,000 police, soldiers and other personnel will guard the games. More than 1,400 security cameras and aerial surveillance by helicopters, a blimp and AWACS aircraft are also planned, while a no-fly zone will be imposed around Olympic venues and other sites. The government has also asked for NATO's assistance.
``I believe wholeheartedly in the power of utopia - the utopia that is and remains the driving force of history for the overthrowing of barbarity,'' Nikolaou said.
The horseshoe-shaped arena - also known as the Kalimarmaro, or good marble, stadium to most Greeks - has spectacular views of the Acropolis and the craggy Lykavittos Hill. It can hold up to 60,000 spectators on bench-style rows. Archaeologists also cleaned and refastened many of the stadium's marble slabs.
Prince Albert of Monaco said he felt ``privileged'' to have been a torchbearer during the initial leg of the relay in Greece.
``The Olympic torch has such an incredible meaning and unites people in a way that probably no other symbol does right now,'' said the prince, who has competed as an Olympic bobsledder. ``That's a tremendous feeling and wonderful ceremony to be a part of.''
__________________________________________________________________________________________
New York Rangers captain Mark Messier took a victory skate, saluted his family, friends and fans in the Madison Square Garden crowd, and even shed a tear. He just couldn't bring himself to officially say goodbye.
The Rangers' 4-3 loss Wednesday night to the Buffalo Sabres had little impact on the NHL standings, but was arguably the league's most important game of the night because New York's No. 11 might've taken the ice for the final time in his 25-year career.
``If I did think in my mind that this was it, I would have made a lot more plans and preparations a month ago,'' said the 43-year-old Messier, who scored his 694th NHL goal in his 1,756th game. ``I didn't know completely in my heart that that was the case. I didn't want to put myself in the situation and then come September perhaps I want to play again.''
Messier usually waits until late in the summer to decide whether to resume his career. Each year there are doubts, yet the Rangers' longtime leader finds the desire to come back. Now with New York missing the playoffs for a seventh straight year, and friend Brian Leetch traded away in a rebuilding roster purge, Messier seems closer to hanging up his skates than ever before.
``I think it would have been a lot simpler, a lot easier if I could have just come out a month ago and said that this is my last year and this be the opportunity my last game,'' Messier said.
In other NHL games, it was Detroit 3, Columbus 2; the New York Islanders 5, Montreal 1; Ottawa 5, Florida 4; Edmonton 3, Dallas 1; Minnesota 5, Colorado 4 in overtime; Calgary 1, Phoenix 0; San Jose 3, Los Angeles 0; and Vancouver 2, Anaheim 1.
This was Messier's last game of the season, as he won't suit up when the Rangers play at Washington on Saturday. In fact, it wasn't a certainty until Wednesday morning that Messier would dress for the home finale. He missed the two previous games because of a bruised elbow, that followed a two-game suspension he received for a spearing penalty.
``I didn't feel great out there because I haven't skated much in the last seven or eight days,'' Messier said. ``I didn't know how I was going to feel, and I felt a little sluggish on the ice.''
But he felt great at the end, waving to his family and the legions of adoring fans who remember how he came to New York and led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup title in 54 years when they won in 1994.
Jochen Hecht scored a pair of goals 21 seconds apart to break open a tie game and assisted on two other goals to lead Buffalo.
The Sabres, who remained barely alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race with their victory, were in no hurry to celebrate their victory. They, too, joined the Rangers in tapping their sticks on the ice and applauding Messier - a six-time NHL champion.
``To try and fit in 25 years and all of the great moments into one night or one afternoon is a little tough,'' Messier said. ``There are a lifetime of memories that has happened in the last 26 years as a pro and let alone the things before that as a child growing up enabling me to become a professional hockey player.''
__________________________________________________________________________________________
As thoroughly as Michigan won its NIT semifinal game over Oregon, none of the Wolverines lit up Madison Square Garden the way Quincy Douby did for Rutgers. And that is a concern for Michigan coach Tommy Amaker heading into Thursday night's championship game.
The spindly freshman had 35 points and energized the Scarlet Knights with six 3-pointers in their overtime win against Iowa State. Every time Rutgers needed a basket, the kid from Brooklyn would roll up the sleeves on his T-shirt like someone who meant business, then position himself beyond the arc and unload.
``They are definitely a very explosive team and can shoot the ball from the outside,'' Amaker said. ``We're in awe of what they've been able to accomplish. We'll have our hands full.''
So Amaker spent Wednesday watching tape and devising a defensive scheme that he hopes will shut down Rutgers as effectively as the one Michigan used in limiting Oregon to 53 points and 34.5 percent shooting in the semifinals.
It will be a challenge.
The problem starts with Douby, who was averaging 24 points a game in the NIT before scorching Iowa State. He set five career highs and tied another against the Cyclones.
``I didn't expect myself to have this kind of game,'' Douby said. ``But I knew I was going to play well because the first game we played (in the Garden) against Virginia Tech I played horrible and that stuck in my head. We didn't want to come in here and lose again.''
Douby averaged 12.1 points a game this season but looked ordinary in his first college game at the Garden, scoring just four points on 2-for-7 shooting in the Big East tournament against the Hokies. Coach Gary Waters knew Douby was capable of more than that.
``Quincy is an outstanding shooter with the ability to create his own shot,'' Waters said. ``He has displayed the ability to score in bunches. He's a special kid. We knew that when we recruited him. He was raw and needed to develop. We knew he was going to be special. He's the real thing.''
Douby brought down Iowa State, winning a freshman guard duel with Curtis Stinson, another product of the New York City playgrounds. Stinson finished with 32 before fouling out in overtime.
Michigan's win over Oregon was less dramatic. The Wolverines were concerned with shutting down Luke Jackson, the second leading scorer in the Pac-10 with 22.3 points a game. Jackson managed just 17 against Michigan.
``We did a good job neutralizing their scorers,'' Amaker said. ``They missed some shots. We were fortunate. We did our part. I like to think we had a little bit to do with it with our length and athleticism.
``The team has played with an energy and purpose of late and it shows by how well we've played defensively. There's a fine line between winning and losing. Things can go one way or another. Hard work leads to success which breeds confidence.''
For Rutgers, Thursday's game is an opportunity to win a national championship for the first time. Michigan has its share, including a pair of NIT titles in 1984 and 1997. The 1997 crown was vacated due to NCAA sanctions.
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