Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes on Sunday to help Pittsburgh beat the New York Giants 24-20 in an NFL game played with Hurricane Sandy’s devastation as a backdrop.

IRELAND has a rich tradition in cross-country running stretching back to the 1930s and Tim Smyth’s world dominance, through John Treacy’s back-to-back world titles in 1978 an 1979, Catherina McKiernan’s European title in 1994 and then Sonia O’Sullivan’s two world titles on successive days in Marrakech in 1998.

FIONNUALA BRITTON will line up as one of the medal favourites alongside Turkey’s Binniz Uslu and Portugal’s Ana Dulce Félix for the European cross-country championships in Velenje, Slovenia tomorrow.

Haile Gebrselassie today confirmed he has reversed his decision to quit athletics.

The Chilean miner who jogged in the tunnels while trapped underground not only will attend Sunday’s New York City Marathon – he wants to run it.

A RISING star of ocean racing will skipper the Irish entry in a round-the-world yacht race as it crosses the Atlantic to Ireland this summer.

IT’S hell out there.

Defending marathon champion Paula Radcliffe has been selected by UK Athletics for the World Championships in Berlin in August.

Victoria Beckham reportedly set to follow in her best pal Katie Holmes' footsteps and run the New York Marathon.

Katie Holmes came close to quitting the New York Marathon last year when she spotted husband Tom Cruise and daughter Suri in the crowd after 29 kilometres.

Tadhg Kennelly and his Sydney Swans team-mate Jared Crouch are to run the New York Marathon in November to help raise awareness about heart disease.

Dejene Berhanu is a late replacement for world marathon record holder Paul Tergat in Sunday’s BUPA Great North Run in the UK.

Billionaire businessman Donald Trump launched New York’s Tartan Week celebrations today.

THE absence of the likes of reigning champion Gary Murray (injured) has thrown today’s national senior inter-club cross-country championships at Santry Demesne wide open. And it could be just the race for Vinny Mulvey.

GERARD HARTMANN will anxiously watch tonight’s final of the women’s 10,000m at a Sports Bar in Limerick along with the double Olympic champion, Kelly Holmes.

Applications for this year’s ING New York City Marathon are to go online next Monday, January 31, at 5pm Irish time.

SEAMUS POWER has indicated that he will defend his title at the Loughrea 5-mile road race on Sunday.

Injury will prevent former European Indoor 3,000 metres champion Mark Carroll from competing in this summer’s World Championships.

MARK CARROLL has been forced to withdraw from next month’s Boston Marathon with a hip injury.

WITH Catherina McKiernan set to compete in the Reebok Challenge in Belfast on Saturday week the prospects of having herself and Sonia O'Sullivan lining up together for the world cross-country championships in Lausanne next March are getting more exciting.

New York Marathon positions

SONIA O’SULLIVAN is wise not to set any targets in advance of the New York Marathon, according to Olympic medallist, John Treacy.

SONIA O’SULLIVAN will be the star attraction in Loughrea tomorrow when the Great Ireland Run - a five mile road race - will be sponsored by Bord Fáilte’s International Sports Tourism Initiative and will attract 1,000 runners, joggers and fun runners from Ireland and overseas.

SONIA O'SULLIVAN intended yesterday's BUPA Great North Run to be a dress rehearsal for the New York Marathon. And if yesterday's results are anything to go by, her visit to Central Park on November 3 could hold promise beyond belief.

Sonia O'Sullivan has won the Great North Run for the second time.

Tyneside

Irish athletics star Sonia O’Sullivan has confirmed that she will use the Great Ireland Run later this month as a warm-up for the New York Marathon in November.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN will miss the 20th IAAF World Cup for racewalking in Turin in two weeks time on account of injury. The Togher athlete is nursing a knee injury.

SONIA O'SULLIVAN is ready for New York and New York just can't wait.

Sonia O’Sullivan has dismissed suggestions that she is giving up track competition, insisting next year and in 2004 she will be challenging for more honours at the world championships and then the Olympic Games in Athens.

Sonia O’Sullivan’s superb world 10 miles record in this morning’s BUPA Great South Run may have proved another decisive step towards the gifted Olympic 5,000 metres silver medallist running in November’s New York Marathon.

Haile Gebrselassie believes he can break the world marathon record on Sunday when he makes his debut over 26 miles at the Flora London Marathon.

Thousands of runners today set off on the New York City Marathon, pledging to ‘‘strike a blow to terrorism’’.