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Dave Nilsson


DBAHO

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Sum of u guys mite remember this guy, he used to play for Milwaukee in the late 90's, since u can't root for America at the Olympics in Baseball, u mite as well root for the Aussies instead, lol.

 

BASEBALL star Dave Nilsson will return from semi-retirement to captain the Australian Olympic team next year in Athens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nilsson, 34 on Sunday, was devastated after Australia was knocked out in qualifiers at the 2000 Sydney Olympics when it was expected the team would be a strong medal chance.

Nilsson became an established star in the US, playing with the Milwaukee Brewers through the 1990s.

 

Earlier this year, the catcher/designated hitter turned down a $675,000 offer from the Boston Red Sox to return to the Major Leagues.

 

Nilsson is training six days a week under the supervision of respected Australian team physio Bruce Rawson.

 

Doing the hard yards in training is easy for Nilsson, who views Athens as an opportunity to banish the ghosts and unfulfilled goals of the horror tournament in Sydney.

 

"I'm waking my body," Nilsson said. "I'm working hard to get back in shape, with my main aim the Claxton Shield and then the Olympics.

 

"We have a lot to make up for Sydney -- it was a shocking experience for all involved. We were expected to win a medal and, on review, we should have won one, but to not even make the finals was embarrassing and has taken a long time to recover from.

 

"When you go through something like that you learn a lot. We're already so far ahead of where we were at the last Olympics. It would be great to turn the ship around, and I'm confident we can go on and win a medal in Athens."

 

Nilsson capped a brilliant association with the Brewers when, in 1999 his final year in the big league, he became the first Australian selected for the All Star game.

 

At that stage he was second, behind Greg Norman, on the list of Australia's highest sporting money earners, commanding around $8.5 million a season with Milwaukee.

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