Tomorrow on August 31st 2008 and in 25 different cities,  runners all over the world will run a 10K marathon to support a great cause through Nike. Coming together will not only raise money for charities, but each location provides music performances to celebrate the union of athletes around the globe.

As headquarters in Los Angeles, participants not only get free music from the top music acts of today but also have Kanye West as the musical spokesperson. Bringing sports and music together, West has performed at the official registration opening for the event and will perform a post-marathon show as well.

Nike informs everyone on their website that “Runners will take to the streets passing the city’s most famous landmarks before ending at the LA Coliseum to see West take the stage.” West take part of this honor as he stated,

“I’m hitting the stage in Los Angeles for the Nike+ Human Race, Nike’s dopest 10k run ever. This race is bringing together hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world to run and listen to some great music while serving a higher cause, and I’m excited to perform in L.A. as part of the grand finale.”

What a cool way to unite the world with two events that bring strength and passion to those who hear about it. Money will go to charities such as UN Refugee Agency, LiveStrong, and NineMillion.org. Registration has already closed but to learn more about the event, you can go to the official website here.

Source: nikeplus.nike.com

Photo by Studio386

The Dodgers had one of their most exciting series against the Phillies. The four game series ended last night capping it off with a 3-1 win and a series sweep.  The first game the Dodgers played Dodgers won the games 8-6, 4-3 (comeback), 7-6 (comeback) and 3-1.  The Dodgers have caught up to the Diamondbacks and have managed to keep pace with them over these past few games.  They are no in a tie with them and maybe if they keep their winning ways going they might be in first place all alone by the end of the week.

The two middle games of the series were by far the most nail biting games.  In game two the Dodgers were down 3-1 after six innings and were able to mount a comeback at the end.  The game ended when Martin scored on Andre Ethier’s walk-off single.

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The Dodgers have made the first step to making the postseason. Third base was in need of a major upgrade over the likes of Andy “You mean pitching’s different in the Majors” LaRoche and Blake “What’s a bat” DeWitt.

On Saturday, the Dodgers made, hopefully, the first of many moves as the trading deadline approaches on July 31st. Casey Blake was traded from Cleveland to LA for a couple of minor leaguers. Now, he may not be the piece of the puzzle that propels the team to the World Series, but he is a nice upgrade. Blake will hit for power and is the gritty type of player that is needed to keep the offense moving.

Are more trades looming in the future or is General Manager Ned Colletti content keeping this young, underachieving team as is? If the past is indicative of anything, then he will make a few minor moves to maybe bolster the bullpen but make sure to keep the farm system intact.

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Working in the media definitely has its perks.

Sunday afternoon I had the pleasure of watching the Dodgers rout the Florida Marlins 9-1, directly followed by playing in the media game.

To start the day off, I viewed the game from the press box. My first experience there was very interesting. I have seen numerous games Chavez Ravine, and the atmospheres could not be more on different ends of the spectrum. In the stands, people are either having family fun time or let’s get hammered time with your friends. In the box, it is all business. You are not allowed to root for either team and the writers/broadcasters discuss the issues on each team in a calm manner. However, the food is free and I took major advantage. Dodger Dog here, nachos there. I’ll end up blaming the food for my play later, just wait.

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Sigh. The Clippers.Every time you think they are getting close to getting back on track, the curse of Donald Sterling bites them where it hurts the most. The wallet.

Baron Davis is coming home after signing a multi-year contract with LA’s other team. After playing his high school ball at Crossroads in Santa Monica, Baron moved just a few miles down the road to Westwood and UCLA. He was ecstatic to play again for his hometown fans.

Too bad the happiness was short lived.

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The Dodgers took 2 out of 3 this weekend from their hated rivals, the San Francisco Giants. In doing so, they are now only a half game out first place in the NL West despite the fact that they are two games below .500.

With the All-Star break coming up, that fact got me thinking: Will they stay the underachieving, boring to watch team that put them in this position? Or can they right the ship and become a team to reckon with?

Let’s take a look at each scenario individually and come up with a conclusion from there.

This Dodger team is harder to watch than “The Bill Engvall Show.” The offense is stagnant. Nobody can hit in a clutch situation. And can someone please hit a three run homerun? Oh wait, that would mean there has to be baserunners.

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For most Americans, the sport of gymnastics works like Santa Claus, surfacing every four years bringing excitement and joy during the summer Olympics, only to disappear again, leaving everyone wondering where all the toys came from.

This past weekend, those who looked hard enough caught a glimpse into Santa’s workshop. The 2008 Olympic Team Trials came to their conclusion in Philadelphia, the men finishing on Saturday and the women on Sunday. In typical fashion for the USA Gymnastics organization, however, the trials were more likely to confuse viewers than anything else.

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After getting swept in Detroit it didn’t look very good for the Dodgers heading into the next series against the Reds. Good thing the Reds were in a funk of their own. The Dodgers ended up sweeping the series 3-1, 6-1 and 7-4, thanks to great pitching. The Dodger pitchers Billingsley, Lowe and Stults gave up only six runs in the three games. The Dodgers offense finally came alive for more than one game and scored sixteen runs.

The series against the Reds ended a nine game road trip for the Dodgers. They are back home in L.A. to start a nine game home stand against three American League teams. They face the struggling Cleveland Indians tonight for the start of a three game series. Then they will host the red hot Chicago White Sox, who lead the AL Central, for a three game series. The last series against the AL is a good one, as the Los Angeles Angels come to the face the real L.A. team. The Angels will be at Dodger Stadium for the last three games series. As expected many Angel fans should be there, but nothing good comes out of visiting fans being in Dodger Stadium. Especially since the Angels are doing so well and the Dodgers continue to struggle. We shall see what happens.

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The Lakers are back in the Finals against their old rivals, but we have to wait until Thursday so that the TV schedule is optimum for the NBA. The Angels and Dodgers are heading in opposite directions, but both face teams that have fallen flat on their faces this season.

NBA

Lakers

• at Boston, Thursday, 6:00, ABC
• at Boston, Sunday, 6:00, ABC

The Lakers have made it back to the Finals for another edition of their traditional rivalry with the Celtics after a Western Conference Finals that was way easier than many people thought it would be. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Celtics are a much better team than the Spurs this season. Longtime stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are still looking for their first championships, meaning the Celtics will be just as hungry as the Lakers, and more talented. I expect the Lakers to lose a hard-fought series.

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The Dodgers didn’t fair well in the Windy City. They got blown out of town by the Cubs, getting swept in the three game series in Wrigley Field. They lost 1-3 in the first game, 1-3 in the second and 1-2 in the rubber match against the Cubs. The offense has been non-existent in the last six games for the Dodgers. They have scored a total of seven runs in those six games. Not very good and even if they got great pitching, not nearly enough run support to win any games.

After being swept by the Cubs last series the Dodgers we’re looking for some better luck against the Mets on Thursday. They didn’t get it. The Dodgers dropped the first game of the four game series in Queens 4-8 and have lost six of the last seven games. The upside for the Dodgers is that they scored four runs; which is a offensive outburst for them. The bad news is that Brad Penny gave up five earned runs in four innings, so the Dodgers were behind from the start of the game. They still have three more games against the Mets and who knows maybe a win might come out of it.

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You win some you lose some, that’s the nature of the beast. Teams expect to lose games in a 162 game season, that’s a no brainer. They just hope that they win more than they lose. At some point in the season your team is going to have winning streaks and losing streaks there’s nothing much a team can do, but go out and play. Eventually things will square away.

That seems to be the case for the Dodgers right now. They started out great, then they hit a bump in the road, then they went back up winning seven games in a row. Now they seem to be hanging in there, winning and losing evenly. Such was the case with the last two series.

The Dodgers started the weekend facing the Angels having lost 7 of the last eight games against them. They didn’t fare much better this time around. They faced Joe Saunders in game one and lost 4-2. Kuroda actually pitched well enough to win, but things came apart for the Dodgers when Bennett threw the ball all the way to the warning track, on what should have been the last out of the 4th inning, allowing a run to score. The Angels never gave up the lead after that. The second game the Dodgers won 6-3 behind Dewitt’s 2 run home run, four shut out inning by Kuo and Saito saving the game in the 9th. It was only the second win in eleven tries against Angels. The third and final game they lost 10-2, thanks to Lowe giving up seven runs in five innings.

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About 6,000 miles away in Moscow, the biggest soccer game in the world was played on Wednesday. Here in Los Angeles, as well as everywhere else in the world, the game was enjoyed by every true soccer fan.

The UEFA Champions League Final was played between Manchester United and Chelsea. The British teams gave the world a taste of brilliant soccer and an intensity that can only be felt in a game of this magnitude.

In the end, Manchester United won the cup with a final score of 6-5 in dramatic fashion via penalty kicks. Regulation ended with a tied score of 1-1 and was followed by a scoreless extra time.

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