Koro

The EU has been disastrous for Greece. Obviously the Greek governments are also at fault. But PASOK, ND and to a lesser extent Syriza, these are all pro-EU governments. They say they are different, however they all follow the same Eurocrat interests.

All I remember of Frings in him scoring a stunner for Germany, might have been in the 2006 WC. That'll be Petsos for Greece at the 2018 WC for sure.

Greece could do with some of this

Its not a good sign that Diamantidis is still the best player on PAO. Calathes and Williams have to step up big time, they have both shown they are capable before. I also think this team is badly lacking enough consistent 3pt shooters right now.

91-86 loss away last night to Anadolu. Now means PAO will face Bourousis and Laboral in the playoffs, without home court advantage. It is a tough series to call, I think both teams have the same record. Hopefully PAO aren't going to regret missing out on home court, since they are much stronger in OAKA. The main problem will trying to stop Bourousis, who is having an MVP season, because I'm not convinced by Radulijca's defending. Calathes and Diamantidis will have a big role given their experience and Williams needs to be on his game.

That idea is more based on ideological and religious similarities and a mutual hatred of Turkey. Anyone who is anti-Turk would naturally be less keen on an alliance with pro-Turkish European nations.

It has always just been hope, rarely expectation. If Putin does not even help close by little Armenia, that will damage how other orthodox communities see him. If this is a brotherhood, then Russia is often a big brother that rarely helps out. But the little brothers of Armenia, Greece, Assyria and Serbia are not strong enough to face up to the Turks alone. Take in WW1 when after the Russian revolution, the bolsheviks removed troops from the battlefront and left the Armenians to the mercy of the Turks.

Well it's not news that he is a corrupt Tsar. He is also acting like a weak one towards the Turks. It is a contradiction to have hostile relations with Turkey, while supplying arms to their brothers in Azerbaijan. And then on top of that those arms are being used to kill Armenians. Clearly old Vladimir and myself have a different outlook. I think Russia should back up its christian brothers in Armenia, in the same way that Turkey would for Azerbaijan. I don't know how Putin sees it, but he's not one for helping other countries and when he does, it seems a bit half arsed (unless you want to count Ukraine). Israel is also supplying drones to the Azerbaijanis. Somehow they had to be involved in this too.

Situation in Armenia/Azerbaijan is delicate. Will inevitably fuel the tensions between Armenia and Turkey, with Russia being drawn into this in one way or another. Erdogan has already stated his support for the Azeri Turks. One problem is that Russia is supplying arms to both Armenia AND Azerbaijan! Putin needs to drop his neo-USSR dreams of keeping influence over all former-Soviet states, read the history books and remember who the real enemy is.

Putin to the rescue http://www.capital.gr/epikairotita/3116911/episkepsi-putin-stin-ellada-sto-telos-maiou

I agree, Greek history post-Byzantine empire has been anything but glorious. There have been some proud moments, but mostly followed by setbacks, defeats and disasters. This subject often gives a 'what could have been' feeling, because of what events did not go Greece's way, although I should be grateful for the ones that did.

I saw yesterday that a new mosque is being built in the area of Bristol that I grew up in. Bristol has had a massive influx of Somalian immigrants, who are also some of the least well integrated groups in society. This is nothing unusual in western European cities now, but it feels a lot different when you see it in your own area. Shame.

Since there is already a page on ancient Greek history, I thought I'd make one for modern Greece, relating to the Greeks struggle to break free of Turkish occupation and how the modern state of Greece was formed. If you're interested I found this video of Greek history from 1821

Greece could do with more proud people like that, so could most of Europe right now.

3D has been honoured as a Euroleague legend. Hopefully he will be able to play in the final 4 one last time this season.

Samaris made it into the UCL team of the week. I don't know if its a good thing for Greece that he's playing CB, rather than CDM. Since Greece already has the CB spot sorted for Sokratis/Manolas/KPapa. But its nice to know that he can play there. Lets wait and see who Benfica get in the next round.

Well done to the boys, but this was never in doubt. A final should not be so lob-sided. A PAO-OLY final would be a far better advert for Greek basketball. The only problem is the fans would likely start a riot again if they were both allowed in the same stadium. Hopefully this isn't Diamantidis' last trophy.

Great article on what we can expect the new FIFA leadership to do about corruption in the game, or rather what they won't do. Points out how UEFA's new general secretary Theodore Theodoridis just so happens to be the son of Olympiakos' vice president. Just when you thought FIFA/UEFA couldn't get any dodgier. http://www.insideworldfootball.com/matt-scott/18966-matt-scott-uefa-s-oversight-on-olympiacos-has-opened-dangerous-ground#.VtbPFn844VU.twitter

Greece surrendered its sovereignty to the forces of darkness long ago. Tsipras will continue to be pushed from one corner to another by Turkey, EU, NATO, corporations, even migrants. Few countries today have true sovereignty thanks to how the nature of international relations has changed, but Greece is in the most pathetic situation out of all the European nations. Electoral change will not solve this, something more drastic is needed. Germany/EU and Turkey are not going to change their positions anytime soon, Greece has no leverage with them. By continuing to tow the line, Tsipras will only turn Greece into a financial colony that also has a similar demographic makeup to Lebanon or Afghanistan.

Aw come on guys, can't we just appreciate these two GREAT players who we are very lucky to be able to watch week in week out. I would say that Messi is slightly better, but if you asked me a couple of years ago, I'd have said Ronaldo. Not that this really matters right now, Suarez had been the difference between Barca and Real (or any other team in Europe) since he signed. They are both extremely gifted technically and as athletes. And I should say that Ronaldo does not have a bad attitude, he has a top work ethic and keeps himself in supreme shape. Yes he is arrogant, but that doesn't really matter on the pitch, you mainly just notice it in interviews and his appearance. Being an arrogant, vein prick seems to have served him well in life up until now anyway.

Notice how the further North you go in Europe, the drug related deaths go up. To be honest I don't have that strong opinions on this topic. I've always thought there are more important political issues to worry about. But I do think the UK has a very different culture from somewhere like Portugal. There's already enough people popping pills up here.

Decent win at home vs a good Fener side tonight. Takes PAO to a 5-3 record. Williams looks a good signing, 13 points on his debut isn't bad.

The point that they lack quality wouldn't explain why they don't stay at mediocre foreign teams longer. But a lot of Greeks do play for average teams. And those sorts of teams seem to turn over players very often and usually don't give out very long term contracts. Apart from perhaps in EPL where even the average teams have a lot of money. The one exception that comes to my mind is Amanatidis, who was at Frankfurt for a long time. Oh yes and Big Samaras at Celtic too. Sokratis could stay at Dortmund for many years, it seems like a great club for him. But I wouldn't say the same thing about Manolas at Roma, since they have a habit of selling their CB for good prices.