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Olympics more important than world series, says US manager
BRISBANE, Australia, Sept 5 (AFP) - American baseball coach Tommy Lasorda said on Tuesday that the Olympic Games were more important to him than the World Series. Although it is far from the best team the US could have assembled, Lasorda, who has won the World Series twice with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was confident his players were capable of ending the United States' Olympic baseball drought. "I want to win this as bad as I ever wanted to win anything in my life, and that includes the LA Dodgers and the World Series," Lasorda said here Tuesday. "This is bigger than major league baseball because it's for my country and that's why I'm proud. "Let me tell you something - I'm going to manage each game like it's the seventh game of the World Series," he added. But he said he was now thinking only of the Olympics, hoping to win the US's first baseball gold medal since the sport received medal status in 1992. The mighty Cubans have reigned supreme at both Olympic competitions but their rivals hoped the tide would turn in Sydney with the acceptance of professional players for the first time. The US had been denied its best players because of major league commitments at home but Lasorda was excited about his squad of minor league players, he said. The 1992 World Series MVP Pat Border is the most experienced player in the US squad, which includes 19-year-old Sean Burroughs.
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