The battle for African soccer supremacy
By Adam Burrows, Boston.com Correspondent
LIBREVILLE, Gabon -- Eighteen months ago, the eyes of the soccer world were glued to South Africa, where, for the first time, the FIFA World Cup arrived in the second-most populous continent, home to passionate fans and skilled players, the best of whom increasingly migrate to Europe for work.Now attention turns to the central African nations of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, hosts of the 2012 African Cup of Nations.
Every two years, in their continental equivalent of the World Cup, the survivors of a grueling year of qualifying matches gather to compete for the right to be called African champions.
Group D: Ghana, Botswana, Mali, GuineaGhana and Ivory Coast, traditional heavyweights, arrive as the consensus tournament favorites, with Senegal, Morocco, Mali, and Burkina Faso the dark horse picks.
The Black Stars of Ghana narrowly missed advancing to the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup under controversial circumstances, when Uruguay’s Luis Suarez deliberately handled a ball on the goal line in the 121st minute, near the close of extra time.
Asamoah Gyan, who would go on to be honored as African footballer of the year, missed the resulting penalty, and the South Americans ultimately triumphed on penalty kicks and earned the right to face the Dutch.
Ivory Coast flamed out in South Africa, never making it out of a group of death that included Brazil and Portugal, but the national team is studded with stars of European club soccer.
The roster of the embattled West African nation includes Chelsea’s Didier Drogba, Arsenal’s Gervinho, and Manchester City’s Yaya Toure, recently named 2011 African Player of the Year.
Their English Premier League sides will have to account for their extended absences if the Elephants make it to the Feb. 12th final in Libreville as expected.
Both Ghana and Ivory Coast are hungry for glory and hardware. Ghana, four-time cup winners, last hoisted the trophy in 1982, while Ivory Coast’s sole championship came 20 years ago.
Boston Qualifying Time - News
Boston's race of the weekend came from Charlize Arundell (11) who, although only having the one race, ensured the trip was worthwhile by achieving a Midland qualifying time and short course PB in the 100m breaststroke. James Hurley (12) was the only
Jeff Francoeur, Josh Willingham and Jon Jay were among the 99 qualifying hitters with a better on-base plus slugging percentage than Werth's .718. The Nationals did make a deal with a first baseman Friday, agreeing to a multiyear contract extension
"We had done it two other times, and it was one of our favorite marathons. We went there in October 2010 and qualified there." The Hesters also are qualified for this year's race by posting a qualifying time during their Boston experience.
By Adam Burrows, Boston.com Correspondent LIBREVILLE, Gabon -- Eighteen months ago, the eyes of the soccer world were glued to South Africa, where, for the first time, the FIFA World Cup arrived in the second-most populous continent, home to passionate
"A sub-4 time was certainly doable, but I had to run it just right," Gouthro said. "I checked my qualifying time for Boston, and at my age in 2012 I'd need 3 hours 40 minutes. I put that goal aside for another time and set my sights on sub-4 this first
Out There: Boston Or Bust!
Written by: Susan Lacke
I’ve got a big mouth. This shouldn’t come as shocking news to you. But in spite of my tendency to speak often, loudly, and inappropriately, I’ve actually been able to keep a secret for the past couple months. But now, it’s time for me to open my big fat mouth:
I have a goal. A big, fat, scary, potentially embarrassing one.
It’s not like me to be so secretive. I’ve always told people to share their goals, as terrifying as it may be. It’s much easier to keep our goals to ourselves so that we won’t look foolish if we fall short. But it’s also that much easier to quit when you keep your goals to yourself. If you tell the world about it, you’ve made yourself accountable. And that’s a powerful motivational tool.
So, in the interest of practicing what I preach, here goes:
I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Yes, really. No, this isn’t a joke. Yes, I understand this is a humor column, but this is actually serious. I know, I find it funny, too. I’ll give you a moment to stop laughing. Okay, seriously, stop. It’s not that funny. Now you’re just hurting my feelings. Sigh. Go ahead and change your pants. I’ll wait.
I know I’m not an elite athlete. I’ve done endurance sports for a couple years now, but from marathons to Ironman triathlons, I’ve always been a just-finisher, jogging along and hamming it up on the course. Through these experiences, I’ve discovered my body’s able to do some pretty cool things, more than I ever thought I could do. Now, I’m curious to see what else it’s capable of accomplishing.
Under the torture tutelage of my new coach (Competitor.com senior producer Mario Fraioli, a.k.a. Coach Dude), I’m being turned into a lean, mean running machine. Okay, a slightly soft, kinda awkward running machine. Tomato, tomahto.
Training to qualify for Boston is much different than what I’m used to. My training plans lately have hard speed intervals and hill repeats and a distinct purpose, whereas before my workouts focused mainly on mileage goals and the ultimate objective of “not dying.
@ missed Boston qualifying time by 48 seconds in December!!
Holy crap! Boston Marathon qualifying time is 3 hours 5 minutes for 18-34 year old males...I was thinking I'd be lucky with a 3 hour 30 min
For anyone who cares,I'll be using this acct to chronicle my training & progression towards a Boston Qualifying time in 2012 & beer drinking
RT @: Coach @ now qualifies for the 2013 Boston Marathon! Cleared the qualifying time by 11 minutes! 
Coach @ now qualifies for the 2013 Boston Marathon! Cleared the qualifying time by 11 minutes!