Dave McGillivray spent seven years mapping out the runners-friendly course that landed the city the women’s marathon trials for the U.S. Olympic team.
The Olympic trials and Boston Marathon race director received a unanimous vote of approval from the elite Americans who will compete this morning. The top three finishers will represent the United States in the 2008 Beijing Games.
“I’m very happy with the way the conditions have been set up because it will promote a really fast race,” said Waltham-born Deena Kastor, who won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Games and is the prohibitive favorite for today’s race. “I think that’s good for everybody. I’m excited about this course because it’s created for a more honest team.
“I think we can give the crowd a straightforward and quick Olympic trials race. I think we have a great course for the athletes as well as the spectators.”
The only things that the trials course and the traditional Boston Marathon route have in common are that they are 26.2 miles long and end on Boylston Street. The trials will begin in front of the Hines Convention Center, circle the Boston Common and Public Gardens, reverse course on Commonwealth Avenue, traverse the Mass. Ave. Bridge and loop around Memorial Drive before returning to Copley Square.
Most of the course will be flat. The only unpredictable variant will be the direction and strength of any wind that crops up this morning.
“We decided to think about something a little bit more flat and fast and that’s why we came up with what we did,” McGillivray said. “This has been quite an event for us and it’s been seven years plus in the making. It is still 26.2 miles that you have to do. But there’s a prestige to this event and we take that seriously.
“We have really aspired to create as flawless an event as we can produce. We went through a lot of pains to design a course and manage it for these great athletes.”
All of the prerace favorites have backgrounds better suited for a course of this design. Unlike their international sisters who will be contending with Heartbreak Hill tomorrow, the vast majority of Americans began their careers as speed-influenced cross-country runners and track performers.
Elva Dryer of Colorado has competed in the past two Olympics in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter events. Maine’s Emily LeVan was a long sprinter at Bowdoin College. Michelle Lilienthal of Minneapolis is the only one among the favorites who is a career road racer.
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/other_sports/marathon/view.bg?articleid=1088446&srvc=rss
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Cheese!
In the TV show “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Jeff Garlin doesn't really register. That's understandable, since it's Larry David's show. But “I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With” is about James, played by Garlin.
A lonely Chicago actor, James is something of a sad case. He's 39 and shares an apartment with his mother. His favorite film is “Marty,” that downer with Ernest Borgnine as a grown man whose roommate is his mother. It's unclear whether James has modeled his life on the movie, but it's clear no casting agent in town thinks he's right for a planned remake.
Garlin lays on the pitiful details fast and thick. But they're not heavy. The movie is remarkably light. James may not like his life, but mercifully he doesn't hate himself. And there's always a woman interested – two, actually. One is a dark 'n' bouncy weirdo, who, as you could expect, is played by Sarah Silverman. The other is her opposite number, a blond, rambling schoolteacher played by Bonnie Hunt. They're both characteristically funny: Hunt is mock-serious but womanly; Silverman is adolescent and possibly evil.
If the comedy on “Curb” is situational, springing from David's antagonistic sense of propriety, the comedy in Garlin's movie blooms from real, less-abrasive emotions.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20080418-9999-1c18cheese.html
A lonely Chicago actor, James is something of a sad case. He's 39 and shares an apartment with his mother. His favorite film is “Marty,” that downer with Ernest Borgnine as a grown man whose roommate is his mother. It's unclear whether James has modeled his life on the movie, but it's clear no casting agent in town thinks he's right for a planned remake.
Garlin lays on the pitiful details fast and thick. But they're not heavy. The movie is remarkably light. James may not like his life, but mercifully he doesn't hate himself. And there's always a woman interested – two, actually. One is a dark 'n' bouncy weirdo, who, as you could expect, is played by Sarah Silverman. The other is her opposite number, a blond, rambling schoolteacher played by Bonnie Hunt. They're both characteristically funny: Hunt is mock-serious but womanly; Silverman is adolescent and possibly evil.
If the comedy on “Curb” is situational, springing from David's antagonistic sense of propriety, the comedy in Garlin's movie blooms from real, less-abrasive emotions.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20080418-9999-1c18cheese.html
Red Socks Rally Late to Beat Texas
Even without their hottest hitter, the Boston Red Sox still found a way to win.
Sean Casey's bases-loaded walk capped a four-run eighth inning and the Red Sox pulled off another late rally Sunday afternoon, beating the Texas Rangers 6-5 after Manny Ramirez was ejected in the second inning.
The Red Sox overcame a 5-0 deficit to win for the eighth time in nine games. Boston has taken the first three in a four-game series that concludes Monday with the annual 11:05 a.m. start on Patriots Day.
On Saturday night, Ramirez homered during a three-run comeback in the eighth for a 5-3 victory. He was tossed by plate umpire Paul Emmel in the second inning Sunday for arguing a called third strike.
"That means we've got some other good players with this team," Casey said. "The one thing that really impresses with me is how we don't give up on at-bats. We kept grinding on offense."
Ian Kinsler led off the game with a home run for Texas. Milton Bradley had a three-run homer off Tim Wakefield in the sixth, a shot that hit an advertising sign above the Monster seats in left field and made it 5-0.
The Red Sox left the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth, with Joe Thurston — Ramirez's replacement — bouncing out to end the fifth.
"It's just how we drew it up," Boston manager Terry Francona joked. "Again, we didn't have the lead for very long, but we seemed to get it at the right time. There's something to be said for just plugging away and not feeling very sorry for yourself."
Boston closed to 5-2 in the seventh against starter Kevin Millwood on RBI singles by David Ortiz and J.D. Drew. Then the Red Sox struck against relievers Wes Littleton and C.J. Wilson (0-1) for the win.
"We had them beat twice and let them get away," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "We've just got to learn how to put ballgames away."
Jed Lowrie hit an RBI double in the eighth and scored from second when Ortiz hustled for an infield hit on a ball to short right. Pinch-hitter Dustin Pedroia's double made it 5-all.
"Manny gave me a big hug when I got in here, but he hugs me everyday so I don't know what that means," Pedroia said with a smile in the clubhouse.
After Kevin Youkilis was intentionally walked, Drew walked and then Wilson was wild high on a 3-2 pitch to Casey, forcing in the go-ahead run.
"You're feeling good about things the whole game and then when that happens late it (stinks)," Millwood said. "There's nothing much you can say about it. But you tip your hats to the Red Sox. They never quit and they made it happen."
Wakefield (2-0) allowed five runs on seven hits, struck out five and didn't walk a batter in eight innings. Jonathan Papelbon worked a perfect ninth for his seventh save.
Ramirez, who hit his 496th career homer Saturday night, was hitting .425 with five homers and 13 RBIs in his previous 11 games.
Notes:@ Boston SS Julio Lugo shifted to left for the ninth, his first outfield appearance with the Red Sox and first since August 2006 with the Dodgers. ... Millwood is winless in his last 12 road starts, losing nine. ... It was Kinsler's first career leadoff homer. ... Ramirez was ejected for the fourth time in his career. .. Boston 2B Pedroia was given the day off until pinch-hitting in the eighth. ... The wives of Red Sox RHP Curt Schilling (Shonda) and RHP Mike Timlin (Dawn), along with OF Jacoby Ellsbury's girlfriend (Kelsey Hawkins), will run the Boston Marathon on Monday. ... The Red Sox have scored five or more runs in their last eight games.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D905RSKG0.html
Sean Casey's bases-loaded walk capped a four-run eighth inning and the Red Sox pulled off another late rally Sunday afternoon, beating the Texas Rangers 6-5 after Manny Ramirez was ejected in the second inning.
The Red Sox overcame a 5-0 deficit to win for the eighth time in nine games. Boston has taken the first three in a four-game series that concludes Monday with the annual 11:05 a.m. start on Patriots Day.
On Saturday night, Ramirez homered during a three-run comeback in the eighth for a 5-3 victory. He was tossed by plate umpire Paul Emmel in the second inning Sunday for arguing a called third strike.
"That means we've got some other good players with this team," Casey said. "The one thing that really impresses with me is how we don't give up on at-bats. We kept grinding on offense."
Ian Kinsler led off the game with a home run for Texas. Milton Bradley had a three-run homer off Tim Wakefield in the sixth, a shot that hit an advertising sign above the Monster seats in left field and made it 5-0.
The Red Sox left the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth, with Joe Thurston — Ramirez's replacement — bouncing out to end the fifth.
"It's just how we drew it up," Boston manager Terry Francona joked. "Again, we didn't have the lead for very long, but we seemed to get it at the right time. There's something to be said for just plugging away and not feeling very sorry for yourself."
Boston closed to 5-2 in the seventh against starter Kevin Millwood on RBI singles by David Ortiz and J.D. Drew. Then the Red Sox struck against relievers Wes Littleton and C.J. Wilson (0-1) for the win.
"We had them beat twice and let them get away," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "We've just got to learn how to put ballgames away."
Jed Lowrie hit an RBI double in the eighth and scored from second when Ortiz hustled for an infield hit on a ball to short right. Pinch-hitter Dustin Pedroia's double made it 5-all.
"Manny gave me a big hug when I got in here, but he hugs me everyday so I don't know what that means," Pedroia said with a smile in the clubhouse.
After Kevin Youkilis was intentionally walked, Drew walked and then Wilson was wild high on a 3-2 pitch to Casey, forcing in the go-ahead run.
"You're feeling good about things the whole game and then when that happens late it (stinks)," Millwood said. "There's nothing much you can say about it. But you tip your hats to the Red Sox. They never quit and they made it happen."
Wakefield (2-0) allowed five runs on seven hits, struck out five and didn't walk a batter in eight innings. Jonathan Papelbon worked a perfect ninth for his seventh save.
Ramirez, who hit his 496th career homer Saturday night, was hitting .425 with five homers and 13 RBIs in his previous 11 games.
Notes:@ Boston SS Julio Lugo shifted to left for the ninth, his first outfield appearance with the Red Sox and first since August 2006 with the Dodgers. ... Millwood is winless in his last 12 road starts, losing nine. ... It was Kinsler's first career leadoff homer. ... Ramirez was ejected for the fourth time in his career. .. Boston 2B Pedroia was given the day off until pinch-hitting in the eighth. ... The wives of Red Sox RHP Curt Schilling (Shonda) and RHP Mike Timlin (Dawn), along with OF Jacoby Ellsbury's girlfriend (Kelsey Hawkins), will run the Boston Marathon on Monday. ... The Red Sox have scored five or more runs in their last eight games.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D905RSKG0.html
Eli Manning And Abby Mcgrew Marry
New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning married his college sweetheart Abby McGrew at private Mexican seaside wedding on Saturday. Less than fifty guests attended the very private wedding on the Mexican beach, closest family and friends under heavy security witnessed the Eli Manning and Abby McGrew wedding. The couple held hands as they exchanged vows underneath a canvas tent, while a live band stood ready to play after the "official part" wedding was over. The actual ceremony took just about 15 minutes, followed by the reception on the beach. Among the attendees were Manning's parents, Archie and Olivia, and his brothers, Cooper and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Pictures of the wedding could be seen at the New York Post online.
Eli Manning and Abby McGrew met as students at Ole Miss and after a long dating, the couple got engaged last March. Little is known about Abby McGrew, she grew up in Nashville and currently lives in Manhattan. She works in the fashion world as an account executive for Pamela Roland, who designs evening wear and wedding dresses.
http://www.ogpaper.com/news/news-01852.html
Eli Manning and Abby McGrew met as students at Ole Miss and after a long dating, the couple got engaged last March. Little is known about Abby McGrew, she grew up in Nashville and currently lives in Manhattan. She works in the fashion world as an account executive for Pamela Roland, who designs evening wear and wedding dresses.
http://www.ogpaper.com/news/news-01852.html
Monday, April 14, 2008
Ashlee Simpson And Pete Wentz Expecting Baby?
Just when you thought it would be a quite Monday afternoon, the Internet exploded following the report that Ashlee Simpson is pregnant and fiancée Pete Wentz is the father.
According to US Magazine, Ashlee Simpson is pregnant, which is the reason she and Pete Wentz are getting married in what some call "an old-time shotgun wedding". The couple announced last week their engagement with a statement at the social networking Web site friendsorenemies.com, but the rumor that 23-year-old Ashlee Simpson is pregnant could explain the rush.
"We are thrilled to share that we are happily engaged. We consider this to be a very private matter, but we wanted you to hear it straight from us," the announcement read, without a word about pregnancy.
According to US Magazine, Ashlee Simpson is pregnant, which is the reason she and Pete Wentz are getting married in what some call "an old-time shotgun wedding". The couple announced last week their engagement with a statement at the social networking Web site friendsorenemies.com, but the rumor that 23-year-old Ashlee Simpson is pregnant could explain the rush.
"We are thrilled to share that we are happily engaged. We consider this to be a very private matter, but we wanted you to hear it straight from us," the announcement read, without a word about pregnancy.
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