ol Mr. Basketball in Alabama was an immediate starter, but only played

NEW YORK -- Their given names are Amanda, Maria, Jessica and Brian Siemann, but the more attention they get and the closer they get to race day Sunday, the more theyre starting to be referred to as simply the New York Marathon Quadruplets. Their entry is believed to be a first for the five-borough race, which has set a lot of firsts and is often called New Yorks biggest block party, not just the worlds largest marathon.The Siemanns were born in Brooklyn, raised in Jersey, and sometimes admittedly lose sight themselves of how close-knit or extraordinary a story they are. They each arrived only a minute apart at birth and weighed only nine pounds combined, spent the first two months of their lives in a hospital neo-natal unit and have maintained an ineffable bond ever since.There must be some quad thing because weve gotten asked things in interviews, like whether we all answer questions at the same time, [and] we all say No in unison, Maria, second in the birth order, says with a laugh. So I guess that tells you something.From Competitor.com: How to watch the NYC MarathonFrom Competitor.com: 45 reasons we love the NYC MarathonStill, until Jessica entered a 10K road race with her sisters in Florida last November at their urging and Brian, a two-time Paralympic wheelchair racer, later asked her if she would consider trying to walk/run/jog with them in the New York Marathon, Jessica was the last of the 27-year-old siblings to try running at all, let alone dream of attempting the 26.2-mile marathon distance.By then, Amanda had already enlisted Maria to run the San Francisco and Chicago marathons with her -- It was a bucket list thing for me, Amanda says -- and Brian had an extraordinary record in racing. Hes the defending U.S. Paralympic champ in the 100 and 800 meters and competed in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games in addition to having raced in more than 25 marathons around the world.All of that could have been daunting to Jessica, except she almost immediately answered Brians text about New York by saying yes, she was in.Which has been another source of comedy for all of them.The Siemanns are believed to be the first quadruplets to compete together in the marathons 45-year history, according to New York Road Runners, the organization that stages the race. Nowadays the four of them are far-flung -- Amanda lives in Connecticut, Brian and Maria live near each other in Illinois and Jessica is in Pennsylvania -- so theyve leaned on each other throughout their past five months of training for tips and encouragement and needling about what to expect.Jessica says when she plugged a few bits of information into the racing app that she and her sisters have used to guide their training, the initial message that came back to her was: We dont suggest you run a marathon till December. She was half-amused, half-terrified. When asked for the biggest lie her siblings have told her about what the marathon experience will be like, Jessica deadpans, That the training would be fun.She pauses a beat.Ive told them, I hate you, like, every day since.Then they all break up laughing.Jessica predicts race day will be a sentimental journey for all of them. The hospital where they were born is the same place where their mother, Teresa, worked as a nurse in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and it sits just a few blocks from where the marathon course travels along Fourth Avenue. All of them played sports throughout their childhood and laughed Wednesday about how their mother would load them in the back of their Chevy Suburban that ended up with more than 350,000 miles on it from ferrying them and their older brother, John, to their various activities. They smile about how shed snap pictures of them curled up together in the back, sleeping off the ride home, or how she posed them for pictures as bald-headed little babies by leaning them against each other so they didnt topple over.Though they all played sports, it was Brian who became the star, Amanda says, after picking up wheelchair racing as a teenager. He suffered a spinal cord injury in the hospital a few days after they were born and was paralyzed from the waist down. But it wasnt until he went to Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, N.J., that he tried wheelchair racing as a freshman, at the suggestion of a coach. Not only did he enjoy it more than other sports he tried -- he was good at it. Then great at it.But a marathon -- a marathon is not just something you wake up and do, he says. So when a coach I later had suggested trying one to me, I said, Im not sure Im ready. He said, Ill make sure youre ready. My first marathon was Chicago, and I did well enough to qualify for Boston.He has never stopped racing them since, and says he cant wait for Maria, Amanda and Jessica to join him on Sunday. Amanda and Maria, veterans of past races, have assured Jessica that she can set the pace. They plan to run the whole race together. Jessica has told them she was already starting to feel the butterflies Wednesday, and theyve told her thats normal.I remember the first time I was at the start line, I thought, Oh man. Am I ready to do this? Maria says. But well be checking on her to make sure shes OK.And that shes still alive, Amanda jokes.All kidding aside, the quadruplets agree on what they expect their takeaway from Sunday to be.For the three of us to cross the finish line together and to see Brian cheering for us there, I think doing this is something incredible, Maria says. Something were going to remember the rest of our lives. ?Cheap NMD UK Outlet . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. Wholesale NMD UK Online . 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NMD UK Outlet .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.Alabama players and fans both made some noise in Avery Johnsons first season as coach.The Crimson Tide knocked off four Top 25 teams, dramatically surpassed expectations and set Coleman Coliseum attendance records.Now, Johnsons challenge is to try to improve on that promising start with a blend of newcomers and transfers and only one returning player who averaged double figures in scoring last season , forward Shannon Hale.Then again, the former NBA head coach and player is also not having to get used to coaching a college team for the first time.This second year I am much more comfortable, but my wife says I work much harder, Johnson said.The Tide must replace leading scorer Retin Obasohan, top 3-point shooter Arthur Edwards and Michael Kessens. Johnson has beefed up the roster with transfers, plus point guard Dazon Ingram is back after breaking his left foot early in his freshman season.The transfer group includes former Memphis guard/forward Nick King and point guard Avery Johnson Jr., who played for Texas A&M as a freshman before joining his fathers team. Both sat out last season after transferring. Graduate transfers Corban Collins (Morehead State) and Bola Olaniyan (Southern Illinois) also joined the team.Alabama made it to the NIT in Johnsons first season despite being picked to finish 13th in the Southeastern Conference. The 18-15 record matched Wimp Sanderson (1980-81) for the most wins in a coachs Tide debut despite replacing the Tides top three scorers.Alabama is picked to finish seventh in the SEC this season.---Some other things to know about Alabamas 2016-17 team:KEEPING `EM COMING: Johnsons hiring and subsequent courtship of fans definitely paid off. Alabama set a school recordd with an average of 13,110 fans at Coleman Coliseum and the five home sellouts represented the most since 2006-07.dddddddddddd The challenge will be keeping that excitement level high.FINDING SCORERS: Hale (10.8 points per game) is the only returning player who averaged more than eight last season. Obasohan carried the load with 17.6 points on average for a team that only scored 66.5 an outing. We dont have Retin in terms of one guy thats going to get us 17-25 (points), but we think we have eight guys that might be able to get us 15, Johnson said.INGRAMS BACK: The 6-foot-5 former high school Mr. Basketball in Alabama was an immediate starter, but only played in seven games before breaking his left foot. Ingram was leading the team in rebounding and shooting 54 percent from the floor when he was hurt.OUTSIDE SHOOTING: ArMond Davis, one of the nations top junior college recruits, could replace Edwards productivity as a perimeter threat. He averaged 17.1 points and 6.8 rebounds at College of Southern Idaho while hitting 38.5 percent from 3-point range. Every shot is a good shot for him, Johnson said. I think he took me literally when I said he could take and make shots from Southern Idaho, so he actually believes that. Maybe hell take and make some shots from western Alabama.GRABBING BOARDS: Alabama has beefed up in rebounders with the return of a big guard in Ingram and arrival of King and Olaniyan, who averaged 8.8 boards last season. The Tide ranked 242nd nationally with 9.9 offensive rebounds per game.---Online:AP College Basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '