Former champions Spain and Italy eased to comfortable 4-0 wins over weak opponents in European qualifying for the 2018 World Cup on Saturday.A Spain side missing several players due to injury tacked on some late goals to trounce Macedonia while Italy eased up after a first-half barrage at Liechtenstein to remain tied atop Group G with 10 points each.Ireland seized control of Group D with a 1-0 win over Austria, while rivals Wales and Serbia drew 1-1 after a dramatic end in Cardiff.Croatia led Group I after Marcelo Brozovic scored twice in a 2-0 win over Iceland.Only the group winner automatically secures a spot for the World Cup in Russia. The second-place team must go through a playoff to make it to the 2018 tournament.Here is a look at each European qualifying group in play on Saturday:GROUP GMacedonia made a promising start to the match in Granada but went behind for good in the first half when Darko Velkovskis headed clearance landed in his own net.Victor Vitolo Machin scored Spains second goal to put the result beyond doubt, and Nacho Monreal and substitute Artiz Aduriz rounded off the win late.Spain was without the injured Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos and Jordi Alba.We were without several players, but its true that their absences create opportunities, Spain coach Julen Lopetegui said. We have players with talent, attitude and ambition and they showed that tonight.Italy was led by forward Andrea Belotti, who opened and completed the quartet of goals just before halftime at Liechtenstein. In between his strikes, Ciro Immobile and Antonio Candreva scored.Israel moved into third place with nine points after winning 3-0 at 10-man Albania in a match played under tight security. Media reports alleged a group of 15 persons arrested in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia, planned an attack during the game.Albania has six points, and Macedonia and Liechtenstein zero.GROUP DJames McCleans 48th-minute goal in Vienna earned Ireland a third victory in four matches, and left fourth-place Austria facing an uphill task.Hours later, Gareth Bale put Wales ahead against Serbia with his 26th international goal and came close to sealing victory when he struck the base of the post with a shot in the 85th. The Serbians went up the other end of field and equalized 50 seconds later, with Aleksandar Mitrovic glancing a header in off the post.You get close one end and they go the other end and score. Very disappointing, said Bale, who was two goals off Ian Rushs national record.Ireland has 10 points, Serbia eight, Wales six, and Austria four.In the groups other game, a 1-1 draw left Georgia with two points and Moldova with one.Group IForced to play in an empty arena because of numerous cases of spectator unrest, Croatia took the lead early when Brozovic curled in a shot from outside the box.Brozovic got another in stoppage time as Croatia largely dealt well with the Iceland counterattack that caused so many problems for top teams at the European Championship.Croatia has 10 points, ahead of Ukraine with eight after it edged Finland 1-0 at home thanks to Artyom Kravetss first-half goal.Kosovos difficult start to its first major qualifying competition continued with defeat away to Turkey 2-0.Iceland was third with seven points, Turkey had five, while Finland and Kosovo have one each. Authentic Matthew Adams Jersey . 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Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Whoelsale Colts Jerseys . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Distance running was revered because it was indispensable. It was the way we survived and thrived and spread across the planet. You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together. You had to love running, or you wouldnt live to love anything else. - Christopher McDougall in Born To RunBy the time the mens marathon was staged in Rio, on the last day of the Olympics as per tradition, the average Indian fan had switched off. It was the first time since Rome 1960 that India had three in the field, though, for Thonakal Gopi - one among Indias three male marathoners in Rio, it didnt matter that his event wasnt among the most closely followed in the country. He was living a dream.Being at the Olympics was an incredible experience, he says, The target I had set myself was to breach the 2:12 national record. The record was set by Shivnath Singh in Jalandhar way back in 1978.Clocking his personal best, Gopi finished a second shy of compatriot Kheta Ram, at 2:15:26 in 26th position in a field of 155 marathoners in Rio. Nitendra Rawat, the more accomplished marathon runner of the three, finished 84th. Gopi, though isnt new to pulling off surprises. His Olympic qualification itself was a huge surprise considering the marathon was never an event he trained for or competed in.At the Mumbai marathon earlier this year, Gopi, who had never before participated in a full marathon, was brought in as a pace-setter for Rawat. He was supposed to drop out after 30 kms. He didnt. And it paid off.Finishing 37 seconds behind Rawat at 2:16:15, Gopi, primarily a 10000m athlete, wore a look of disbelief when he learnt that he had qualified for the marathon event in Rio. I never imagined that I would compete in a full marathon and qualify for the Olympics, says Gopi, who names Mo Farah among his idols, I hadnt even trained for it. Maybe the intensity and continuity I put in my training for 10000m helped.42.1 kms or 26.2 miles, the distance covered at a marathon, is probably one that most of us take 21 days to complete given we walk/jog at least 2kms daily. The ability to judge pace-setting is one of the most crucial tactics in a marathon. Running too slow at the start to save up on energy may result in not being able to inject a quick burst of speed so as to take the lead. While a thrust on speed early on could mean losing advantage and steam towards the finish.Right through the run I was thinking of the 2:12 record and how I would have to cover a km in 3.8s to touch that mark, he says, Its obviously not feasible to maintain that timing in every km. After a certain point in the marathon your mind begins feeling unsettled, your body fatigued and your muscles begin to get tight. I felt I was losing control over my arms and feet and moved my arms back and forth swiftly to try to regain command.Gopi was clearly in the lead among the Indians for the larger part of the race. Completing the 30km mark in 1:34:59, the Kerala runner moved into 39th position. Kheta and Rawat were at 52nd and 93rd respectively. In the next five km stretch, Kheta jumped a few places to be placed at 37th, with Gopi three places ahead of him. Soon enough the pair in the identical blue jerseys were racing alongside each other. Only after I crossed 33 kms did I notice that Kheta was right behind me, says Gopi, His presence worked as a support for me. I told myself OK, now for the rest of the race I can go alongside him.The 28 year-old admits though that he wasnt too happy with the scheduling of the event in Rio. A 9:30 am start meant thaat you finish around afternoon when the heat is at its worst.dddddddddddd Luckily during our event there were light showers but during the womens marathon, it was scorching. He, was, however, prompt to suggest that he did not face any problem with regard to the facilitation of drinks during the race, unlike female marathoner OP Jaisha. I had trained with personalized drinks and used them during the race as well. My coach was there at the station to ensure everything was in place.?Ahead of the Olympics, a ten-month training stint at a high-altitude Ooty facility was coach Surendra Singh Bhandaris way of preparing his wards, Gopi, Kheta and Rawat, for the rigours of a road race. Training at a high altitude helps increase your heart and lung capacity, says Bhandari, who serves as an athletics coach at the Army Institute of Sports in Pune.The main focus has been on endurance and we divide our sessions into basic, preparatory and specific, bringing in speed training four weeks before the competition. Our usual sessions are of three hours in the morning and two in the evening and touch 300km a week during endurance training. Gopi is still new to marathon and his threshold for holding his body together during a race will only get better with increased endurance training.In speed training, Bhandari goes on to fill us in, the idea is to lessen the number of kilometres covered in the weeks preceding the event. Starting with 120-130 kms four weeks before the event, its tapered down to 40-50 km and lesser progressively with the sole thrust on speed.?After 30 kms, my hamstring and calves were hurting. Thats how I slowed down towards the end, says Gopi, Also in the final 3kms the road had a tiled feel to it and since there was a light drizzle it was slippery.Fatigue, cramps and hamstring pulls can be delayed with increased training, says Bhandari, even if not entirely averted. As opposed to a 100m sprint which lasts no more than 10 seconds, its essence lying in speed and its nature being almost entirely anaerobic, in a marathon, which typically spans over two hours, the body uses up its last reserves of energy. An extreme and lonely sport, marathon pushes your mind and body to the edge.The carbohydrate and fat reserves are used up 90 minutes into the race, he says, That explains why cramps set in post the 30 km mark. The body then begins to convert protein into energy. With more endurance training the onset of fatigue can be delayed, bit by bit. We have to push it to 42 km.Hailing from the town of Suthan Bathery, in Wayanad, Kerala, situated at an altitude of 1000m above sea level, Gopi, whose farmer parents alternately grew rice and ginger on their patch of land to bring food on the table, always had an innate love for running. I was into running right from my school years, he says.While I was in college I tried my hand at half marathon too. As the sport grew more integral to his life, he knew he had to find a way to support both his needs and that of the family. A steady, sustained income was crucial, thats how I took up a job in the Indian Army through the sports quota, says the Havaldar in the Artillery regiment.Gopi doesnt recall when he fell in love with running. It was, he feels, always encoded in his system. There is no money in running. But I cant think of another sport I would want to pursue for life, he says, Nothing equals the feeling of running.Or as McDougall put it succinctly: We were born to run; we were born because we run. ' ' '