English south coast sees annual marathon and 10km on a weekend that includes Paris and Boston Marathons too

Held alongside one of the Brighton Marathon, the BM 10km has the stronger field of the two, led by Chris Thompson and Steph Twell.

Thompson follows his win in the Bath Half-marathon last month, heading a men’s line-up which also includes Ben Connor, Adam Hickey and John Beattie.

Twell continues a successful road campaign which includes her 52:58 10-miler in the States last weekend. She faces the rejuvenated Kate Reed, plus Elinor Kirk, Emily Hosker-Thornhill, Gemma Steel and Pippa Woolven.

In the marathon itself (both Brighton races are on Sunday April 14) Helen Davies – Britain’s No.4 of last year with 2:35:12 – and 2:18 man James Connor head the line-ups.

Ethiopian Asefa Mengistu, who was fourth in Dubai last year in his PB of 2:04:06 and third on his return this year, is the quickest of eight athletes who have run below 2:08.

Yemane Tsegay, the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon winner, has run 2:04:48, while yet another Ethiopian, Feyisa Lelisa, the 2016 Olympic silver medallist, is next quickest with 2:04:52. Kenya’s Morris Gachaga makes his marathon debut after a recent half-marathon PB of 59:22.

On the women’s side, Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka is the quickest of six sub-2:25 entrants. The 2015 world 10,000m silver medallist ran 2:20:45 in Dubai last year.

Ethiopia’s Azmera Abreha, who was second in Shanghai last year, could challenge her and lines up with a PB of 2:21:51. Kenya’s Sally Chepyego heads the Kenyan challenge with a PB of 2:23:15.

Other Ethiopian contenders are Azmera Gebru, who has clocked 2:23:31, and Tinbit Gidey, who has run 2:23:37. Kenya’s Betty Lempus and Ethiopia’s Haimanot Alemayehu could be in the mix too.

?? PARIS BREAKFAST RUN ?‍♀️?‍♂️
Les inscriptions sont encore ouvertes !
Viens prendre ton petit déjeuner sous la tour Eiffel demain matin !
RDV sur le stand Paris Breakfast Run sur le Salon du Running jusqu’à ce soir 20h00 ou sur ➡️ https://t.co/eDQn1bpLZT#ParisMarathon pic.twitter.com/Lw3SUYd0mo

— Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris (@parismarathon) April 12, 2019

Linden faces Ethiopian record-holder Worknesh Degefa, who earlier this year became the fourth fastest woman in history when running 2:17:41 to finish second in Dubai.

US hopes will be high again as Jordan Hasay, who clocked 2:20:57 in 2017, continues her comeback from injury, while Linden should not be ruled out for a successful defence following sixth in New York last year.

Meskerem Assefa is a strong challenger as the winner of the Frankfurt Marathon last autumn with 2:20:36, when another Ethiopian on the start line, Belaynesh Oljira, was within a couple of minutes of her.

Ethiopia’s Aselefech Mergia, who ran 2:19:31 in 2012, is still a force to be reckoned with, while 2011 and 2013 world champion Edna Kiplagat ran 2:21 last year. Mare Dibaba, the 2015 world champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, also lines up after only 11th in Frankfurt.

Olympian Alyson Dixon flies the flag for Britain as far as the elite women are concerned, while Ireland’s Fionnuala McCormack, fresh from her fine 18th place at the World Cross, also lines up.

Kawauchi’s win last year elevated him from a cult prolific marathon-running figure with more than 30 career wins, to superstardom, but a strong field will make it hard for him to repeat that.

Quickest among them is Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono, who set a course record of 2:04:06 in defending his Amsterdam Marathon title last year.

The current world marathon champion, Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya, will also be on the start line, hoping to improve on his second here last year.

The Ethiopian challenge will be led by Sisay Lemma (PB: 2:04:08), Lemi Berhanu (2:04:33), Solomon Deksisa (2:04:40) and Lelisa Desisa (2:04:45).

Kenya’s Kenneth Kipkemoi (2:05:44), Felix Kandie (2:06:03) and Wesley Korir (2:06:13) are others to watch out for. Eritrea’s four-time world half-marathon champion Zersenay Tadese, should not be discounted either.

Abdi Abdirahman and Dathan Ritzenhein carry US hopes, while Britain’s Scott Overall returns to the marathon hoping to challenge his PB of 2:10:55.

The event is the culmination of an indoor season which has involved more than a million children aged 9-15 across the UK.

Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson is set to be out for three months but may be fit for England's World Cup preparations.

At a news conference on Thursday, director of rugby Dai Young said 27-year-old Robson had "developed a deep vein thrombosis".

Wasps are eighth in the Premiership after 18 matches, seven points off the play-offs.

England's next match is against Wales on 11 August, with the World Cup in Japan starting on 20 September.

"Dan is currently undergoing treatment which is expected to conclude following three months, after which he will be available to return to full training," said Young.

"This means he will not be available for selection for Wasps for the remainder of the season. However, it should enable him to be available for selection for the World Cup preparations."

Robson made his international debut when he came on for the final 11 minutes of England's 44-8 Six Nations win over France in February and then scored a try in the 57-14 victory over Italy in March.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – An unfavorable weather forecast has forced Knoxville Raceway officials to postpone the track’s season opener.

Practice night, originally scheduled for Friday, and opening night, originally scheduled for Saturday, will now be held April 19-20.

With cold temperatures in the forecast for Friday and Saturday, track officials felt it best to postpone until next weekend.

CONWAY, Ark. – With heavy rain being forecasted, officials with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series and I-30 Speedway have made the decision to postpone the third annual Will McGary Tribute, which was scheduled for this Saturday.

“As the week has gone along the rain chances have continued to increase for Friday night through early Sunday morning,” said COMP Cams Super Dirt Series Director Chris Sullivan. “It just made good sense to go ahead and postpone everything. We have some fans and racers coming from a long way to be here. We also have several dignitaries and representatives from the surrounding law office community planning to be in attendance. As a result, the third annual Will McGary Tribute will now be held on Aug. 3 at I-30 Speedway.”

McGary, a police officer, lost his life in the line of duty on Feb. 1, 2013. The hard-working young man was fatally struck by an impaired driver, while protecting and serving the citizens of Conway, Ark. He was only 26 years old.

While McGary’s life may have been unfairly taken away far too soon on that fateful February day, his generosity and his spirit continue to live on. He was an organ donor.  In fact, three recipients received his heart and organs. They continue to live healthy lives because of Will’s generosity.

The race will pay $5,000-to-win for the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series competitors. Billy Moyer and Jack Sullivan claimed wins in the first two editions.

Chelsea stopped three supporters from entering Thursday's Europa League match at Slavia Prague after they were identified singing a derogatory chant about Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, the club has confirmed.

Video of the fans singing "Salah is a bomber" in a Prague bar on Thursday circulated widely on social media, attracting widespread condemnation and prompting anti-discrimination body Kick It Out to call for action.

Three of the six men in the video were identified by Chelsea's away security team and denied access to Eden Arena in Prague. The other three are believed to have stayed away from the ground.

Club statement. https://t.co/tMqiV6H53Z

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 11, 2019

In a statement issued shortly after kick-off, the club pledged to take the "strongest possible action" against any season ticket holders found to have misbehaved.

"Chelsea FC finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour abhorrent and where there is clear evidence of Chelsea season ticket holders or members involved in such behaviour, we will take the strongest possible action against them," the statement read.

"Such individuals are an embarrassment to the vast majority of Chelsea supporters who won't tolerate them in their club."

Chelsea's season has been marred by a series of racist incidents. UEFA opened an investigation into allegations of anti-Semitic chanting by Blues supporters during a Europa League group stage match against Vidi in Budapest in December, though no disciplinary action was ultimately taken.

This episode is particularly damaging with Chelsea set to face Liverpool and Salah -- who spent two years on the books at Stamford Bridge -- in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday, and the Merseyside giants issued a statement of their own in response to the video.

"The video circulating online, showing vile discriminatory chants being aimed at one of our players, is dangerous and disturbing," the statement said.

"Already this season, we have seen repulsive discriminatory abuse inside stadiums in England, Europe and across the world; abuse that was captured on devices and put into the public domain. We have also witnessed numerous hateful attacks on social media.

"This behaviour needs to be called out for what it is -- unadulterated bigotry.

"Liverpool Football Club believes it is the responsibility of those in positions of authority, following proper process, to act urgently to identify and then punish anyone committing a hate crime.

"There is no place for this behaviour in football, there is no place for it in society. A crime of this nature has more victims than any individual it is aimed at and, as such, collective and decisive action is needed to address it.

"As pertains to this latest incident, the club is working with Merseyside Police to ascertain the facts around this footage with the aim of identifying individuals featuring in it.

"In addition, we are working directly with Chelsea Football Club on the matter. We thank them for their condemnation and a commitment to act urgently to identify any individuals responsible."

MS Dhoni has been docked 50 per cent of his match fees for a Code of Conduct breach after Chennai Super Kings' match against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Thursday.

Dhoni admitted to the Level 2 offence under Article 2.20 of the IPL's Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction. Article 2.20 deals with "conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game" and "is intended to cover all types of conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game and which is not specifically and adequately covered by the specific offences set out elsewhere" in the IPL's Code of Conduct.

Article 2.20 also states that "when assessing the seriousness of the offence, the context of the particular situation, and whether it was deliberate, reckless, negligent, avoidable and/or accidental, shall be considered. Further, the person lodging the Report shall determine where on the range of severity the conduct lays (with the range of severity starting at conduct of a minor nature (and hence a Level 1 Offence) up to conduct of an extremely serious nature (and hence a Level 4 Offence))."

ALSO READ: Sixes, (non-)no-balls, confrontations: how that dramatic final over unfolded in Jaipur

In the last over of Super Kings' chase, Dhoni had walked onto the field of play to remonstrate with the umpires over a contentious no-ball call. Super Kings had begun the over needing 18 to win, and Dhoni was bowled by a Ben Stokes yorker off the third ball. With eight needed off the last three balls and new man Mitchell Santner on strike, Stokes bowled a full toss. Umpire Ulhas Gandhe signaled a no-ball for height, only for his square-leg colleague Bruce Oxenford to overrule him.

That led to heated arguments in the middle, with batsmen Ravindra Jadeja and Santner getting involved. Dhoni also marched onto the field and got involved in an animated discussion with the umpires.

The delivery stood as a legal one, but Super Kings clinched a thrilling win, with Santner hitting a six off the last ball.

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Jon Gruden has some pointed advice for his new general manager as Mike Mayock approaches his first NFL draft as the Oakland Raiders' general manager, after years as a draft analyst for NFL Network.

Especially with the Raiders holding so much draft capital.

"Don't mess it up, dude," Gruden told Mayock. "I took a lot of slings to get you three first-round picks."

Indeed, Gruden is still taking flak for last fall's trades of All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack and Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper that netted Oakland first-round picks from the Chicago Bears (No. 24 overall) and Dallas Cowboys (No. 27) to go with their own pick at No. 4.

But consider: The Raiders are just the fourth team in the past 30 years -- the first since the 2001 Rams -- to enter draft day with three first-rounders.

Mess it up? Mayock is embracing the challenge.

"You always have to go back to trusting who you are as an evaluator," said Mayock, who also said his board will be stacked by the end of next week.

Oakland, who finished 4-12 last season and has already added 19 players this offseason, has just three defensive ends on the roster. That's despite ending the year with a league-low 13 sacks, 17 fewer than anyone else in the NFL last season. In fact, six individual players had more sacks than Oakland did as a team.

So how fine is that line between drafting for need and drafting the best player available? As Raiders two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Flores said, if you're picking in the top 10 you don't have the luxury of drafting for a specific need because you have needs all over the roster.

"I'm a son of a coach and I know how coaches think, and coaches think need," Mayock said. "And we're a coach-driven building, our coaches are highly involved. That's good. I embrace that. The flip side is, you can't reach. You've got to use some common sense. And that's what I preach."

Mayock said that if two players at different positions rank similarly, but one is at a higher position of need, "Great, let's go get him," Mayock said.

"But if there's a discount, a disparity between the two [players], let's not reach for need because the more you do that, the more you dilute your roster. And that's a conversation we've had a lot."

In his old job as a TV GM, Mayock would put together a draft board based on "league value" and would share it with general managers across the league.

Now? Raider Nation state secrets are at stake. That's why other GMs may be trying to get Mayock to slip up and let them know of the Raiders' draft plans... before he turns the tables.

"I miss just talking ball with you," Mayock recounted someone telling him recently.

"Yeah, same thing," Mayock answered. "Who are you going to take?"

Mayock laughed, even as he says he is not worried about his reputation heading into his first draft as a real GM, or Gruden's playful jab.

"The way I look at this thing from a how-do-people-perceive-me perspective is a lot of people doubted that anybody could come out of the media and go and be a GM for any team," Mayock said. "I know that. I get that.

"But at the end of the day, here's the deal -- if we win, everything will be fine. And if we lose, I'll get fired. And I'm perfectly fine with that."

Before that day possibly comes, though, there is the April 25-27 draft, in which the Raiders hold eight picks, with half of them coming in the first 35.

The flip side is that Oakland does not have a pick from 36 to 105, missing a lot of what Mayock sees as his sweet spot between 20 and 60.

"Between 24, 27 and 35 we have three awesome opportunities," Mayock said. "I happen to like 20 through 60. Always have. I think there are a lot of guys that love the game and are safer picks, sometimes, than top-10 picks.

"I'd love to get a couple more picks in there. We've got a lot of holes that need to be filled and I think that's a really good place to go fishing."

That would mean the Raiders trading to get there. And though they have the capital and flexibility with those four picks in the top 35 to make moves, Mayock was non-committal about dealing two weeks ahead of the draft.

"We have to be ready to pick at 4 and be excited about a player, right?" Mayock said. "Now, we might move up, we might move back. Who knows? We won't know until draft night. But, if we're, quote, stuck at 4, we've got to be ready to go and that's a hell of a lot easier than worrying about all the permutations at 24 and 27 and 35."

And if the Raiders simply stay put with those first four selections?

"We better get four foundation football players," Mayock said. "We define foundation as talent and football character. That's what we want. Guys that love the game. And if we don't move up or down or anywhere, man, we better get four of those guys.

"We need to be nimble."

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers are not bringing back coach Larry Drew for a second season, the team announced Thursday.

Drew led the Cavs to a 19-57 record; he took over when Tyronn Lue was fired Oct. 28 after an 0-6 start.

The team said it reached a mutual decision with Drew.

"We have great respect and appreciation for Larry and the job that he did as the head coach of the Cavaliers for nearly the entire 2018-19 campaign. He brought professionalism, class and steady leadership both this past season and prior four years," general manager Koby Altman said in a statement.

"Larry and I had a productive discussion about this past season, the future of the franchise and the search process that we will shortly launch regarding the head coaching role. Larry respectfully declined to participate in the search process and will not be returning to coach the Cavaliers. All of us in Cleveland wish Larry nothing but the best going forward."

Drew was praised by players for guiding them through an injury-filled season, the club's first since LeBron James left as a free agent. Altman will now hire the Cavs' fifth coach since 2013.

Drew, 61, had been with the Cavs since 2016, when he was brought to Cleveland by Lue. The team won the NBA title in Drew's first season on Lue's staff.

"I am very proud of what we accomplished over the last several years together and will always cherish our championship," Drew said in a statement. "I also want to commend our players this season for the bond that they established, the way they approached their jobs and the hard work and growth they had every day. I am very proud of them and wish them the best as they continue to develop for the future."

When he replaced Lue, Drew knew the Cavs might go in another direction at some point and asked the team to restructure his contract.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis' record hitless streak is now up to 53 at-bats after he went 0 for 3 in a loss to the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.

Davis, in the fourth season of a seven-year, $161 million contract, did manage to draw a walk and score a run in the loss. While he hasn't gotten a hit since Sept. 14 - his other three at-bats resulted in a lineout, groundout and strikeout - Davis maintains a positive outlook.

"I feel like I'm seeing the ball a lot better," Davis said after the game. "I mean, I lined out again and drew a walk a little bit later. Just continue to work.

"For me I can't focus on the result as much as I want to. As much as I want to see some type of return for all the work I'm putting in. I gotta stay focused on the process."

Davis is 0 for 32 with 16 strikeouts this season. Despite his struggles, some fans at Oriole Park continued to show support.

"It's awesome. I mean, I appreciate it so much," said Davis, who has also drawn boos at recent games. "Really the last few nights, just the encouraging yells, shouts throughout the game. I know they're behind me. I know the people that boo aren't the majority and I really appreciate the fans showing up and backing me."

Davis, 33, is looking to regain his All-Star form from 2013 when he drove in 138 RBIs and hit 53 home runs. He hit at least 26 home runs the four seasons after that but regressed dramatically last season, posting a career-worst .168 batting average with 49 RBIs and 16 home runs.

Thursday's loss was Baltimore's third straight and seventh in its last eight games. Baltimore could use Davis's production, but he said he's just trusting the process.

"The more I try to go out there and do or the more I try to shoulder this all by myself, the harder it gets. Like I said I have to trust the process, trust that the work I'm putting in, at some point is going to turn around," he said. "When the weather heats up I would like to think that some of those line drives are leaving. Right now they are getting caught. So I'll just continue to go out there and work and try to put good at bats together."

Whit Merrifield's team-record hitting streak ended at 31 games after he went 0-for-6 in the Kansas City Royals' 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.

Merrifield had passed George Brett (1980) for the longest streak in franchise history on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Merrifield had gone 0-for-5 though eight innings when the Royals were one strike away from a 6-4 win in the ninth. But Mitch Haniger hit a two-run triple off the glove of Royals center fielder Billy Hamilton to drive in two runs and the game went to extra innings.

After Daniel Vogelbach homered to put the Mariners ahead in the 10th inning, Merrifield then struck out to end the game.

Merrifield's 31-game streak was the MLB's longest since Dan Uggla went 33 games in 2011.