By Patrick Quinn
The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece - In a land where ancient proverbs are usually taken to heart, Greeks seem to be planning the Athens Games with "better late than never" in mind.

Others cite another saying: "Don't bite off more than you can chew."

With just 18 weeks left before the Aug. 13-29 games, organizers are still struggling to meet deadlines on many of the most grandiose designs.

"We don't need words any longer. What we need is lots of work," urged Deputy Culture Minister Fani Palli-Petralia, a key Olympics coordinator.

One Greek commentator, Giorgos Papachristos, has even asked for divine help.

"Let us hope that God helps so that Greece doesn't experience a national tragedy in August," he said.

Palli-Petralia's conservative government, elected March 7 after ousting the Socialists, decided to take matters into its own hands.

It canceled a roof for the main Olympic swimming pool, curtailed the length of an ambitious tram line running from central Athens to seaside Olympic venues and scaled back a project to widen the marathon route.

The government also promised to double or triple work crews on numerous projects, including a steel-and-glass roof designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava for the showcase Olympic stadium.

Palli-Petralia vowed to "turn the night into day, so we can be completely ready."

Following the pledge, The Associated Press visited three of the most problematic sites March 28-31 to see if "words" were in fact being turned into "work."

They included a problematic suburban rail project, the delayed tram line and the most troubled site in Athens - the main Olympic stadium complex.

A key day was March 31, when Greeks held a nationwide general strike.

On the suburban rail connecting Athens international airport to the main Olympic sports complex, workers were busy on the first two days but absent on strike day - when just supervisors were present. Halfway finished, the workers at the end of the track line had managed to build 70 percent of a prefabricated station. A diesel engine tested tracks, but power cables for the real train were missing.

Further south, along a stretch of the tram line, workers were pouring concrete and working feverishly all three days, although there were fewer people on strike day.

At the third site, the main Olympic complex - and its albatross, the stadium roof - crews worked feverishly all three days and even into the night.

Although they surprised International Olympic Committee inspector Denis Oswald by pushing a 4,000-ton Calatrava-designed roof into place over the cycling track in just two days, the main stadium's 17,000-ton roof is a different matter.

The IOC wants the stadium roof ready by the end of June at the latest.

On strike day, Oswald inspected the site and said the cycling venue was "a big encouragement for the other roof, which has always been a challenge."

But with much of the facility resembling a Martian landscape of rocks and red dirt, a reporter asked Oswald if he thought workers would finish the job.

"They will have to do everything at the same time," he replied.

Looking at Oswald, one could only wonder if another old proverb ever crossed his mind: "Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today."