span in June of 1938. On June 11, the 23-year-old lefty,

SAN DIEGO - Its great being Meb these days.Crazy, too.Meb Keflezighi already was a big-time marathoner, with a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics and a win in the New York City Marathon in 2009. Then came his inspirational victory in the Boston Marathon a year after the bombings there, and his life went stratospheric.Its been a rush of appearances, speaking engagements and other commitments.The highlight? Being seated at the head table with his wife Yordanos at a White House state dinner in August. Keflezighi said President Barack Obama announced his arrival by saying, Here comes the fast guy. Do you know how fast this guy is?Meb being Meb, though, hes loving every minute of it, with his easy smile and laugh.On a spectacular early autumn San Diego afternoon, Keflezighi took a short break before heading to Mammoth Lakes in the Eastern Sierra for 3 1/2 weeks of altitude training prior to running in the New York City Marathon on Sunday.Sitting on the balcony of his house in the upscale Mission Hills neighbourhood, his view stretches from downtown all the way over to Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument, where he took the oath of citizenship on July 2, 1998. Its a far different scene than the one rife with war and poverty that he left behind.Theres an American flag flying from the front of his house. Hes wearing a red, white and blue USA shirt his sponsor, Skechers, made for him.The American dream is to be in San Diego, said Keflezighi. He was born in Eritrea in the Horn of Africa before his father was able to get the family to Italy and then San Diego.New York will be his first marathon since he became the first American man in 31 years to win the Boston Marathon. Keflezighi said life has been crazy since.Its an honour and privilege and it comes with a lot of responsibility, he said. Hopefully everybody that interacted with me before I won Boston, feel the same way after Boston. The demand on my time has changed drastically. Boston just went over the top. To be an American to be able to bring the home title back after what happened last year was a pretty amazing experience, and people appreciate it. Its not even congratulations. Its more, Thank you.Its been hectic but in a great way.Keflezighi knows some people will expect him to win New York. It wont be the end of his world if he doesnt.Hell do the proper amount of training, but at the same time, its not like I have to win New York. Not that I dont want to win New York. At the same time, its, been there, done that. Ive just got to go back to the basics and start working forward.Keflezighi points to last years New York City Marathon, when he was 23rd in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 47 seconds. It was his lowest finish and slowest time for a marathon. His training had been interrupted by injuries, and at one point he slowed to a walk.While other elite runners might grouse or offer excuses, Keflezighi ended up with a special moment. He and Michael Cassidy of Staten Island, whom he met before the race in the elite runners tent, ran the last three miles together. Approaching the finish, they held hands and then raised their arms aloft as they crossed the line.I won my age group, Keflezighi said with a laugh.Sure enough, the engraved crystal plate for winning the 35-39 age group is on a counter in his kitchen, near a box of breakfast cereal with his picture on it. It was made for him after he spoke at General Mills annual sales conference.A shot at the 2016 Olympics remains a possibility. The trials will be in Los Angeles.Since I know the date, Feb. 13, 2016, I guess Im gearing for it somehow, some way, he said.Keflezighi, 39, remains motivated by how his father, Russom, escaped Eritrea by walking 225 miles to Sudan. Because he had supported Eritrean rebels in their fight against Ethiopian soldiers, Russom Keflezighi felt it was too dangerous to remain. Five years later, he was able to get his family out.Meb was 12 when the family arrived in San Diego. He and eight of his siblings have received college degrees, while Admekom is attending San Diego State.For us it was never, Are we going to go to college? It was, When are we going to college? or Which college are we going to go to? said Keflezighi, who graduated from UCLA.Their half-sister, Ruth, grew up in Italy and moved to the United States first. She is the reason we came to San Diego, so she deserves an honorary degree for that, said Merhawi Keflezighi, who has a law degree from UCLA and is Mebs agent and business manager.Its a good bet Keflezighis Boston win will always be his career highlight.In the corners of his bib, Keflezighi wrote the first names of the four people killed in the bombing and manhunt.Not that we wanted 2013 to happen. But my energy was all on that race to be able to say, What can I do positively to change Boylston Street? I see the pictures that have been taken there, from the front, from the back, from the side; people are on their feet clapping or chanting U-S-A, U-S-A. It gives me great pride to have done that for the people.___Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson Wholesale Penguins Jerseys . A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate). Penguins Jerseys 2020 . Hamelin overcame a weak start to win bronze in the 500-metre race behind winner Wu Dajing of China and American J.R. Celski on Saturday at the world short track speed skating championship. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ .com) - The NBA will be on display overseas Thursday with the New York Knicks taking on the Milwaukee Bucks at O2 Arena in London. Fake Penguins Jerseys . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract. Pittsburgh Penguins Pro Shop . Dwyane Wade took over in the fourth quarter.The Blue Jays have had an incredible month of May - no two ways about it. With two games still to play, they are 20-8 including a nine-game win streak that came to an end at the hands of the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night at the Rogers Centre in 10 innings. If they win the last two games in May against KC, they will close out the month at 22-8. A year ago only four teams had a singular month better than that, three in the American League and one in the National League. Three of the four made the post-season and the other, the Texas Rangers, made it to the knockout tie-breaker and lost out in Game 163. The Tampa Bay Rays were the best going 21-5 in June, while the Cleveland Indians were a scorching 21-6 in a pressure-packed September run. The Rangers were 20-7 in August. The Blue Jays best month in 2013 was June where they finished 17-9, including an 11-game win streak. but they quickly faded after that. The Dodgers actually put together the most incredible short-term run on the way to winning the NL West. On June 20, they were sitting 12 games below .500 and there was talk skipper Don Mattingly was on the verge of being fired. Then, almost coincidentally with the arrival of Yasiel Puig , they went 8-1 to close out June, followed by a League best 20-6 in July and 23-6 in August. That in total is a fabulous 51-13 run that led them to finish the campaign at 90-72. Im not saying one 20-win month guarantees you a playoff spot. Injuries can undermine all that momentum, but one huge month can provide a team with an incredible boost of confidence and provide a bit of a cushion for the inevitable cold spells as the season unwinds. Heres something else. I know the season is only one-third over, but I cant remember the last time the Blue Jays had contenders for four major awards. Edwin Encarnacion for MVP, Mark Buehrle for Cy Young, Melky Cabrera for Comeback Player of the Year and, possibly, Casey Janssen for Fireman of the Year ( 8-for-9 in save opportunities, so far) and, if Edwin werent my pick for MVP, Jose Bautista would be right there, too. A lot can change over the course of the final fourth months of the season, but you cant ignore all of the positives coming out of the Blue Jays camp after all those years wandering in the wilderness. - There has been plenty of talk about the Blue Jays trying to pry right hander Jeff Samardzija loose from the Chicago Cubs to shore up the rotation and possibly push the Blue Jays over the top. Well, Alex Anthopoulos made it pretty clear on Thursday, the Blue Jays wouldnt be making any trades until July at the earliest and could wait up until the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. This wont really make any difference as far as possible dealings with the Cubbies go this season, but in their entire 37-plus years history, the Blue Jays have only made six trades with the Cubs. Only one really included a significant name player from a Blue Jays standpoint. On December 10, 2001, Gord Ash, eembarking on his final season as Jays GM, dealt shortstop Alex Gonzalez to the Cubs for lefty reliever Felix Heredia and a player to be named later, who turned out to be 3B/SS prospect Jim Deschaine who never made it to the Majors.ddddddddddddHeredia only spent one season with the Jays before leaving as a free agent. Alex spent two-plus years with Chicago and even went to the playoffs with them in 2003, the year of the " Bartman" catch down the left-field line, that helped the then Florida Marlins rally to win that NLCS in seven games and ultimately go on to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. Some Blue Jays fans believe George Bell was dealt to the Cubs. Not so, as he left the Jays and signed with the Cubbies as a free agent on December 6, 1990. On March 30, 1992 Bell was swapped across town to the White Sox for reliever Ken Patterson and, yes, Sammy Sosa who would go on to become a tainted legend with the Cubs. That is to this day considered to be the worst trade in White Sox history. Outside of teams that have never won the World Series, the Cubs have the worst Fall Classic legacy. They are 2-8 all-time and, since winning their last World Series over the Detroit Tigers in 1908, they have won only one playoff series since when they edged the Atlanta Braves in a five-game NLDS in 2003. They dropped seven-straight World Series appearances between 1910 and 1945 and their all-time playoff win-loss record is 27-54. If thats not enough, they have the worst record in the Majors this season at 19-32 and are sitting in last place in the NL Central 11-and-a-half games back of the Milwaukee Brewers and the season isnt even two months old yet. - Friday night at Dodger Stadium, Josh Beckett will be the latest to try and equal a record that most feel can never possibly be broken. Beckett will have the chance to throw a second-straight no-hitter when the Dodgers host Francisco Liriano and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds made history within a four-day span in June of 1938. On June 11, the 23-year-old lefty, in his first full season in the Majors, pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Braves, then known as the Bees. It was the first no-hitter by a lefty since 1931. Four days later at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Vander Meer was the Reds starting pitcher in the first night game ever in New York in front of a sellout crowd of 48,000. "Vandy" was outstanding again. He almost lost it in the ninth when he walked the bases loaded with one out, but he got a force out at the plate for the second out and then got Leo Durocher to fly out to end the game. Though he was a four-time All-Star and was one of a handful of pitchers to lead his league in strikeouts three years in a row, he finished with a 119-121 record and a 3.44 ERA with 29 career shutouts, He also has the ever-lasting fame that goes with back-to-back no-hitters. Josh Beckett gets his shot at immortality on Friday night. ' ' '