Chicago Marathon 2013 October 13, 2013

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Final preparations for the 2013 Bank of Chicago Marathon began Saturday as runners began their final moments of training along Lake Michigan and others took to the city’s streets.

With less than 24 hours to go, Chicago is set for the Chicago Marathon, drawing competitors and spectators from all over the world.
“I'm from Toronto,” said runner Audrey Pattacks. “I'm really nervous it's my first time.”

“I'm from Brazil it will be my first marathon,” said fellow first-timer Rafael Vendremine. “I'm a little afraid but very excited.”

It's a diversity of cultures and causes as the marathon raises funds for charities, raking in more than $15 million last year.

Moses Mosop came to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon two years ago in uncertain shape. An Achilles tendon injury had limited his training and Mosop figured his fitness level that race day was about 85 percent.

Then he won the race in a course record time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 37 seconds on a warm day, saying afterward, "When I was 100 percent, maybe I would run 2:02."

The 28-year-old Kenyan hasn't been 100 percent since.

Mosop, also trying to become the sixth man to run four marathons below 2:06, is part of a Sunday field with plenty of candidates to play beat the clock once the pacesetters are finished. There are four other men — three Kenyans, one Ethiopian — with personal bests below 2:06.

Last year's winner, Tsegaye Kebede, has chosen to run New York because it gives him three extra weeks to recover after finishing fourth in the World Championships Aug. 17 in Moscow. Kebede lowered Mosop's course record to 2:04:38 while becoming the first Ethiopian men's champion in Chicago, breaking a nine-year Kenyan winning streak.

The women's race features a rematch of the stirring 2012 battle that saw Ethiopia's Atsede Baysa beat Kenya's Rita Jeptoo by one second. The two traded the lead twice in the final quarter-mile before Baysa prevailed in a sprint finish.

Three-time Chicago winner Liliya Shobukhova of Russia, fourth last year, has taken this year off for the birth of her second child.

Jeptoo, mother of a 3-year-old, appears to be hitting full stride at age 32. Her time at Chicago last year (2:22:04) is a personal best, she blistered a fast desert course in February for the fifth-fastest half marathon in history (66:27) and she won a second Boston title in April — seven years after her first.

South Korea vs Brazil October 12, 2013

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Brazil continue their preparations for the 2014 World Cup with a trip to the Seoul World Cup Stadium where they will face South Korea on Saturday.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's team are steadily building toward their role as host nation next year with a run of impressive results in their past two outings against Australia and Portugal.

Brazil have only faced South Korea four times before, winning three of those matches. But the hosts will be looking for a repeat of their 1-0 win over the South Americans in March 1999.

South Korean football fans will be desperately hoping Barcelona playmaker Neymar can overcome a hip injury to take his place in the Brazilian team.

But Brazil will never be short of major stars to keep supporters entertained, and the likes of Dante, David Luiz, Bernard, Paulinho, Dani Alves and Oscar will be looking to enhance their hopes of playing in the finals next year.

razil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari returns to the place that he enjoyed perhaps the best moments of his career when he led his country to World Cup victory in 2002.

The Selecao are scheduled to play South Korea in a friendly international in Seoul, and Scolari said he has fond memories of the country, where Brazil played all three of their group games in 2002, before winning the ultimate prize in football.

"Those memories are still very vivid," he said. "I feel good here. I also had wins here when I was in charge of Juventude.

"I have only experienced victory here. Now I want to create another good memory with another victory."

Korea, who have already qualified for the World Cup, will look at this friendly as a perfect opportunity to assess one of the favourites for the 2014 World Cup.

South Korea might already have qualified for the World Cup, but their run of one win from six matches since reaching the finals in June will need to improve if they are to make an impact on the tournament.

New coach and former international captain Hong Myung-bo is now in charge of the team after succeeding Choi Kang-Hee, who had guided the team into the finals before stepping down.

Hong will be looking to claim the notable scalp of Brazil to ensure the momentum of support turns in his team's favour as it did when South Korea defeated the South Americans 14 years ago.

South Korea will also be looking to avenge the 3-0 defeat by Brazil in the London 2012 Olympic football semi-finals.

Charlotte Bobcats vs Miami Heat October 11, 2013

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The Charlotte Bobcats will go up on Friday night against the Miami Heat in their second preseason game. Because it is just the preseason, NBA fans seem to think it is not important. However, the preseason is actually rather important to many, if not all teams because they still need to figure out things like, “who will come off the bench first?” “How many minutes will the starters get per game?” “Who will be cut from the roster before opening night?”

The Bobcats enter this game as an example of a team that will be playing very hard before it is time for opening night. The Cats still will have to make cuts, manage minutes and figure out their depth chart before the season begins in late October.
Some may think even proposing a Bobcats victory is silly, but lets not forget this is just a preseason game and I am guessing that LeBron James will be seldom used. Dwyane Wade did not even play the last game. Fans will definitely see some of Chris Bosh as he surprisingly played a good amount of minutes against the Atlanta Hawks.

Let’s not forget that a Bobcats win is never impossible over the Heat. If we all can recall the Bobcats’ 7-59 season (worst record in NBA history) for just a few seconds. Can you guess who one of the seven wins that season was against? That’s right — the Miami Heat.

We all know just how bad the Cats were on the rebounding end last year, finishing 27th in the league in total rebounding. But, tonight signals a new beginning for the Bobcats’ rebounding corps.
With Cody Zeller and Al Jefferson now Bobcats, look for them to record high rebounding totals tonight. Both are talented rebounders who will help bolster the Cats on the rebounding end. Jefferson will need to contain Chris Bosh if he wants to be able to help Charlotte on the rebounding end.


Come out early and don’t fade away
It seems the Bobcats have many games where they start of well and play some pretty solid basketball in the first quarter, and then start to slowly fade away throughout the rest of the game. So how can the Bobcats accomplish this key? By staying consistent throughout the entire game.

Mexico vs Panama October 11, 2013

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While many Mexicans are wearing the green and white colors of "El Tri" in preparation for tonight's game against Panama – which Mexico must win to keep its hopes of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup alive – Mr. Ladrón de Guevara says he sees benefits to losing.

He loves the World Cup and wants to watch his country compete. But Mexico is struggling against Central American minnows to qualify and the country has a history of bowing out of international tournaments in the early elimination rounds. Those are symptoms, he says, of political and managerial problems in the Mexican Football Federation (FMF), and for that reason, Ladrón de Guevara wouldn’t mind seeing his squad sit out the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

Mexico was seemingly a lock to reach Brazil when the final round of qualifying began in CONCACAF. Instead of living up to those expectations, Mexico heads into the final set of qualifiers, beginning against Panama, with its World Cup fate still hanging in the balance.

As it stands now, El Tri are on the outside looking in. They are tied in points with Panama, but sit in fifth place due to the tiebreaker. It illustrates exactly how important the clash between the two sides is in terms of at least earning a playoff berth.

In the past, a trip to Estadio Azteca would have been a daunting task for the Canaleros. That shouldn't be the case this time around, though. Mexico has been far less dominant at home during the Hex, including a loss to Honduras last month.

El Tri must return to form in order to avoid the unthinkable result of missing the World Cup altogether. Let's take a glance at all the key viewing information for the crucial clash, followed by the top storyline and a match prediction.

Where: Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico

When: Friday, Oct. 11 at 9:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. BST)