In today's N&O, you can read World Cup picks by a host of local soccer celebrities like RailHawks coach Martin Rennie, Raleigh native/D.C. United member Darrius Barnes, CASL chief executive officer Charlie Slagel and our own Luke DeCock.

All of the World Cup games will be broadcast on either ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC.  The games are also being broadcast on the  Spanish language channel Univision. Our sports folks have compiled a list of local bars and restaurants where you can also drop in to watch.

Interested in meeting a World Cup champion today?

Head over to N.C. Central University this afternoon. The university is hosting Lilian Thuram, a former world-class soccer player and French national team stalwart who was part of France's 1998 World Cup championship squad.

Thuram retired last year and now runs a foundation aimed at eradicating racism. That will be the topic of his talk today at 4:30 p.m. in room 1050 of the BRITE building.

As a player, Thuram was a big, strong defender. He didn't score a lot of goals, but he netted two when it counted: the 1998 World Cup semifinal against Croatia.

Here's one of them.

• If you missed Josh Hamilton's appearance on the debut of "Homecoming," the new ESPN2 series hosted by Rick Reilly, be patient. The show, which featured the Texas Rangers star returning to Apex High School, first aired Friday, but it is not expected to be aired again until April 22, the network says, and no DVDs are available yet.
• Sports Illustrated's Luke Winn, writing in this week's issue about how basketball star James Harden wound up at Arizona State, takes a swipe at N.C. State fans, referring to them as "the ungratefuls." Writing in the present tense, Winn describes the familiar coach's arrival at Arizona State: "Herb Sendek heads west in April 2006, fleeing the ungratefuls as North Carolina State who cared less about his success (five straight NCAA tournament trips) than about his singular failure (not wresting Tobacco Road bragging rights from Duke and North Carolina)."
• ESPN2 will televise the World Cup qualifying soccer match between the U.S. men's team and Mexico live (and in high definition) at 7 p.m. Feb. 11 from Columbus, Ohio.
• MLB Network will televise the Caribbean World Series — 12 games — Feb. 2-6 in Mexicali, Mexico.
• Four of the next six Charlotte Bobcats games on Fox Sports Carolinas and SportSouth will be televised in HD — 2 p.m. Monday vs. San Antonio on FS Carolinas, 7 p.m. Jan. 23 on SportSouth, 10 p.m. Jan. 27 at L.A. Lakers on FS Carolinas and 9 p.m. Jan. 30 at Denver on F.S. Carolinas. Time Warner Cable subscribers can find the HD version of FS Carolinas on channel 272. DirecTV and Dish Network subscribers should check local listings.