The race will begin at Universal Studios and end downtown at the Central Library. Mayor Villaraigosa and Bill Burke said the new course should relieve some of the complaints from churches about Sunday morning traffic snarls. It also is a mostly downhill course, so they expect times to improve. Runners will still get the grand tour of in-town Los Angeles, passing by the Hollywood Bowl, Coliseum and Staples Center. Here's the map and the announcement.

At SoCal Sports Observed: The Dodgers traded for 327-game winner Greg Maddux, who they hope has a few more groundballs in his 40-year-old right arm. They gave up shortstop-turned-utility infielder Cesar Izturis. That's not all. More over there.