The Irish Times - Sport

Dial-A-Smile's numbers come up trumps

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

OVER THE years, the lads in Foley’s had a flutter on just about everything; from predicting the cut at Augusta, to the number of finishers in the Grand National; to the winning margin in the All-Ireland finals.

Time just floats by my perch on the river

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

CELEBRITY FANS - Dr TK WHITAKER, 93, Fly fishing

O'Mara's tactics spot on as Irish claim one-two

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

A SPECTACULAR Irish challenge in the inaugural Indoor World Championships was suitably embellished in Indianapolis yesterday when Frank O’Mara raced across the finish line just ahead of his team-mate Paul Donovan to claim the 3,000 metres championship in a time of eight minutes 03.32 seconds.

O'Sullivan conquers the world

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

Peter Byrne, in Indianapolis, reports on how the Corkman rose to the grand challenge at the Hoosier Stadium

Shoddy Irish pay price

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

THE AFGHANISTAN players stretched out like the cats that got the cream in the afternoon sun at the stunning Dubai International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Sports governing body funds down 7%

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

GIVEN THE ever deepening hole in the State finances few of the 59 governing bodies of sport could be too disappointed with their Government funding allocation for 2010. The overall figure of €11.85 million is down seven per cent on last year’s €12.53 million – but with the exception of Special Olympics Ireland and Horse Sport Ireland the cuts aren’t drastic.

Rite Of Passage off to Punchestown

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

DERMOT WELD plans to run Rite Of Passage over two-and-a-half miles at Punchestown next week in an attempt to establish Cheltenham plans for his exciting novice.

De Bromhead happy with Sizing Europe's progress

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

CAPTAIN CEE Bee impressed in a Cheltenham warm-up last weekend but his big Arkle Trophy rival Sizing Europe is also pleasing trainer Henry De Bromhead as he continues his festival preparations behind closed doors.

Turf Club officials plan strike for last day of February

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

RACING TURF CLUB DISPUTE:IN AN unprecedented move in Irish racing history, Turf Club officials have issued strike notice for the last day of this month when Sunday fixtures are due to be run at Leopardstown and Clonmel.

Cavan can always glory in Higgins' legacy

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

On Gaelic Games:One of the most powerful aspects of the GAA is its ability to combine the legendary and heroic with the local and familiar, which sharpens the sense of loss when great players pass on

St Gall's all that counts for now for McGourty

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

CONOR McGOURTY has an All-Ireland hurling final to attend to on Saturday night in Croke Park before switching attentions back to the bigger ball a week later when his beloved St Gall’s face Galway champions Corofin in the senior club All-Ireland semi-finals.

Reid out to put cork in Newtown

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

BEN O’CONNOR was not at the AIB provincial awards held at the RDS Showgrounds yesterday, with the Munster hurler of 2009 pulled by his club, Newtownshandrum, citing the proximity of Sunday’s collision with Ballyhale Shamrocks as the reason to lie low.

Summerhill do enough

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

CONNACHT SENIOR CUP - Summerhill College (Sligo) 8 Clifden Community School 6:CATHAL FINNERAN’S seventh-minute try laid the foundation for Summerhill’s narrow win over Clifden at Summerhill yesterday.

St Michael's make case

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

LEINSTER JUNIOR CUP - St Michael’s College 26 Kilkenny College 3:ST MICHAEL’S over-powered a well-drilled Kilkenny at Donnybrook yesterday.

Murray is the hero

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

MUNSTER SENIOR CUP:A DROP goal by Castletroy centre Peter Murray with the last act of the game gave Castletroy a dramatic win over Cork rivals CBC at Clifford Park yesterday.

Six Nations Digest

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

All the latest news from the Six Nations championship

Jones relieved as Gatland grants him a reprieve

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

WALES FORWARD Alun-Wyn Jones has avoided the humiliation of being dropped for Wales’ Six Nations game against Scotland in Cardiff on Saturday.

Paris holds no fears for confident O'Gara

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

IT’S QUESTIONABLE just how cathartic it can be on a personal level to offer the public a glimpse into a private process. Most athletes wouldn’t risk opening a passageway that might allow others to judge them. Ronan O’Gara though rarely subscribes to convention and that’s precisely what makes him such an engaging interviewee.

Soccer Shorts

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

A round-up of other soccer news in brief

Tuncay earns gritty Stoke some reward

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

Wigan Athletic 1 Stoke City 1:STOKE CITY trailed for much of this match but came back strongly at the end and were unlucky not to leave with all three points.

Zamora is the key to Fulham's resurgence

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

Fulham 3 Burnley 0:IT HAS taken some weeks but Fulham have at last rediscovered their swagger. The side has been in stuttering form ever since they thrashed Manchester United 3-0 at this ground just before Christmas and with injuries mounting, some wondered if they would be able to repeat such an eye-catching trick again any time soon. Those fears can now, however, be laid to rest. Roy Hodgson’s men may have only beaten Burnley last night but the job was done in wholly impressive style.

Grant's fortune has not quite run dry

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Portsmouth 1 Sunderland 1:SUNDERLAND WILL bemoan throwing away their chances of a first league victory in almost three months, but Portsmouth were left cheering a late equaliser from Aruna Dindane which offered some respite, at least, from their season from hell.

City mix the sublime with the sloppy

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester City 2 Bolton Wanderers 0:IT SEEMED somehow appropriate that a scruffy Carlos Tevez penalty and a superlative Emmanuel Adebyaor volley sealed victory for a sometimes struggling, sometimes sublime Manchester City.

Nani finally adds maturity to obvious talent

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Aston Villa v Manchester Utd:“ALEX Ferguson is a very complicated man. He is tough. If things are all right, then they are all right, but when he thinks something is wrong, then everything is screwed. He can go from complimenting you to trashing you in a matter of minutes.”

Ancelotti pleased with Cech

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Everton v Chelsea:CARLO ANCELOTTI has welcomed the consistent form of Petr Cech ahead of this evening’s pivotal Premier League visit to Everton. Manchester United also travel to Aston Villa and, ahead of what the Italian describes as an “important day” for the destiny of the title, he pronounced himself pleased with Cech’s recent displays after the goalkeeper produced an uneven performance during the reverse fixture in December.

Wenger defends his policy

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:25 GMT

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal v Liverpool:ARSENE WENGER has insisted he will not abandon his principles in the wake of traumatic defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea which he admitted were “very painful” to endure, but called for patience and realism as Arsenal confront the prospect of a fifth successive season without silverware.

Bobsleigh team get green light

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:24 GMT

2010 WINTER OLYMPICS:IRELAND’S WOMEN’S bobsleigh team of Aoife Hoey and Claire Bergin have been cleared to compete at the Winter Olympics, which gets underway in Vancouver on Friday.

O'Neill backs Dunne for footballer of year shortlist

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:24 GMT

ASTON Villa manager Martin O’Neill has recognised the contribution of Richard Dunne ahead of tonight’s Premiership visit of Manchester United, claiming the central defender’s “immense” performances since arriving from Manchester City make him a worthy contender to be shortlisted for footballer of the year.

Ferris gets time to prove his fitness

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:16:24 GMT

DECLAN KIDNEY will give Stephen Ferris every chance to prove his fitness for Saturday’s crunch Six Nations showdown against France in Paris. Protocol decrees the team be formally named tomorrow, and with the Ulster bruser having trained fully yesterday the indications are he will be named in the starting line-up.

Short Game

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:03:29 GMT

A round-up of today's golf news

Finding it difficult to get in the groove

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:03:29 GMT

CADDIE'S ROLE:WE CAME to the end of a very pleasant, three-week visit to the desert last Sunday evening with the customary revelry at the clubhouse of the Emirates Club.

Tweaking of rules not envisaged, say GAA

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:03:29 GMT

GAELIC GAMES NEWS:THERE WON’T be any tweaking of the GAA’s experimental playing rules ahead of Congress in April, where they’ll be voted on – individually – to determine whether they’re carried forward.

McIlroy on move in more ways than one

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:25:47 GMT

THIS BOY is a fast mover, in more ways than one. Yesterday morning, Rory McIlroy’s flight from Abu Dhabi touched down in Dublin at 6.30am. Within a couple of hours, he was part of a photo-shoot – along with jockey Ruby Walsh – on the boardwalk by the river Liffey to launch the newIrish Racing Postdaily edition and, later in the afternoon, he was in Belfast to see a specialist about a back injury that afflicts him on-and-off.

Sports Digest

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

A roundup of today's other sports news in brief

Ireland dying to make it four in a row on the world stage

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

CRICKET WORLD TWENTY20 QUALIFIER:CONSIDERING IRELAND have been turning heads in the cricket world in the last few years, it was a nice touch when the players decided to turn theirs to good use yesterday as they offered up their locks for the Shave or Dye fund-raiser in aid of the Irish Cancer Society.

Redemption for a city as Saints storm back

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

STANDING ON the podium at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium and clutching American football’s greatest prize, New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson found the appropriate words. “We’re back,” he yelled towards the black-and-gold clad horde that had descended from all over the stadium to squeeze into the front few rows. “We’re back! We’re back!”

Gillick may be added to team for World Indoors

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

ATHLETICS IRELAND have announced a provisional team of six for next month’s World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar, but the expectation is David Gillick will be added if he so desires. Gillick has yet to race 400 metres indoors and will test his form twice in the coming weeks before deciding if he wants to make the trip.

x

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

Mullins keeps options open for Quevega

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

CHELTENHAM COUNTDOWN:WILLIE MULLINS has given himself the option of allowing Quevega – one of the hottest ante-post favourites for next month’s Cheltenham Festival – a warm-up at Gowran this Saturday.

Will Jamie Run looks the pick

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

FAIRYHOUSE IS pretty much a local track for the north Dublin team of trainer Paul Stafford and jockey Conor Maxwell, so Will Jamie Run can prove a very popular winner of today’s handicap hurdle.

Turf club officials want Labour Court intervention

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

NEWS:TURF CLUB officials have renewed calls that the dispute which threatens to bring Irish racing to a halt next week should be brought to the Labour Court.

Martin hits 14 points

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

COLLEGE'S GAA:Coláiste Mhuire 0-17 Banagher College 2-8

Coláiste Eoin are in the last four

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

COLLEGES GAA:Coláiste Eoin 0-13 North Dublin 1-8

Meath secure sponsorship deal

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

THE COMER Group, Dunboyne-based international property developers, are the new sponsors of Meath football teams, it was announced at last night’s county board meeting in Navan.

Galvin likely to escape sanction over gesture towards referee in Killarney

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

KERRY’S FOOTBALLER of the Year Paul Galvin looks likely to escape sanction arising from an incident with match referee Rory Hickey at the end of Sunday’s National Football League opening defeat to Dublin in Killarney. Television footage on TG4 looked to capture Galvin raising his arm towards Hickey, who had just overturned a free in Kerry’s favour, in the first minute of injury-time.

France will have targeted this match from the start

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:20 GMT

THE FRENCH are rarely dull or predictable, and invariably make a fascinating case study, not least when they are next in line six days later. Reviewing Sunday’s win over Scotland, they won far more handily than a nine-point margin suggests.

Lievremont points finger at Owens

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 GMT

FRANCE COACH Marc Lievremont has accused Welsh referee Nigel Owens of denying his side an even bigger victory than their eventual Six Nations championship 18-9 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Soccer Shorts

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 GMT

A roundup of today's other soccer news in brief

Carragher out to push on

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 GMT

JAMIE CARRAGHER believes Liverpool can increase Arsenal’s troubles with their first win at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow night and admits Rafael Benitez’s team must not squander the initiative provided by victory in the Merseyside derby.

Mancini insists City are still on target

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 GMT

ROBERTO MANCINI’S flowing, beautifully styled locks means the word “hairdryer” has a very different connotation at Manchester City than it does at United. He laughed when asked if he had ever thrown a tea cup in a dressingroom and yet at Hull City on Saturday, Mancini was as angry as anyone can remember seeing him. He left the dressingroom early after a brief and to the point half-time team-talk and sat alone in the away dugout.

Keane move to Celtic is 'good for both'

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 GMT

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI has welcomed Robbie Keane’s deadline day move to Celtic on the basis that it will provide the 29-year-old with opportunities to play first team football but the Italian has again bemoaned the lack of opportunities that some other Irish players are getting at other clubs.

Ballack rules out Arsenal

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 GMT

MICHAEL BALLACK has said the championship is now a contest between Chelsea and Manchester United, and has told Arsene Wenger to stop making excuses for Arsenal’s inability to win crucial games against title rivals.

Trapattoni is not for changing

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 GMT

BUILDING CONFIDENCE rather than expanding choice will be uppermost in Giovanni Trapattoni’s mind when he names his squad for the March 2nd friendly against Brazil in London, most likely on Monday week.

Ireland still behind Australia in IRB rankings

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 GMT

NEWS:THE COMPLICATED IRB rankings, which are updated after every international weekend, have raised a few eyebrows.

Sexton, O'Callaghan looking good - Ferris, Trimble a worry

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 GMT

THE GOOD news from the Ireland camp is Jonny Sexton was cleared to train yesterday at the RDS Showgrounds in Dublin after recovering from what proved a troublesome dead leg.

Gaffney holds his hands up

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:39:19 GMT

RUGBY SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP:A FORMER professional rugby player informed us he had dozed off on the couch during last Saturday’s second half against Italy. He is not that old, mind, just couldn’t keep his eyes open.

Mageean steals Belfast show

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:09:02 GMT

ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS:FOR A country still without a proper indoor running facility there was a remarkable array of talent on display at this weekend’s Irish Indoor Championships – some of it emerging; some re-emerging.

Yanks getting to grips with beautiful game

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:09:02 GMT

LOCKER ROOM:It warms the heart to see the game of hurling being played by people who really love it, writesTOM HUMPHRIES

Gilesie not able to fake it and Drico can't shake it like Grable

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:00:44 GMT

TV VIEW:FAR BE it from us to make assumptions about how John Giles felt on being summoned to Montrose on a Sunday morning to watch the draw for Euro 2012, but we noted that our hosts in Warsaw, Piotr and Masha, failed to whip him in to a feverish frenzy with promises of good times to be had in Poznan and Lviv.

Kuyt carries out a Mersey killing

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:29:27 GMT

Liverpool 1 Everton 0: WITH 212 clues to work from, the 213th Merseyside derby duly confirmed Liverpool and Everton are not getting along.

Sports digest

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

Today's other stories in brief

Hamilton hat-trick

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

MEN'S HOCKEY: BANBRIDGE AND Annadale advanced to the quarter-finals of the Irish Senior Cup on Saturday after coming through their all-Ulster second-round ties, both decided by golden goal extra-time winners.

Belgium strike again

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

WOMEN’S HOCKEY:IRELAND SUFFERED their second defeat in three days to Belgium yesterday, the hosts following up Friday’s 3-0 win with a 2-1 victory in Nivelles, the deciding goal coming in the last minute.

Superstar Dunguib hogs the limelight

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

LEOPARDSTOWN REPORT:IT MAY BE called Hennessy day – and Joncol collected the big pot – but ultimately it could prove that yesterday’s Leopardstown action will be best remembered as a reference point for when “Dunguib fever” really got into overdrive.

Harrington out of Ryder Cup ranking

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

TOUR NEWS:PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON’S missed cut in the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open – his first event of the year – has led to him dropping out of an automatic spot in Europe’s Ryder Cup standings.

Gantley inspires

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

Galway 1-22 Offaly 1-16:A MAGNIFICENT display from full forward Joe Gantley inspired Galway on Saturday in this Walsh Cup semi-final in Tullamore. He struck 1-6 from play as Galway were pushed hard by Offaly.

Dublin do it with 13

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

LEINSTER HURLING Dublin 2-17 Wexford 2-13: DUBLIN overcame two second-half dismissals to see off Wexford in their Walsh Cup hurling semi-final in Gorey on Saturday.

Waterford claim Crystal

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

MUNSTER HURLING Waterford 1-9 UCC 0-11: WATERFORD WON their first official trophy under David Fitzgerald’s managerial reign at Dungarvan as they edged out UCC in a keen and sometimes feisty Waterford Crystal hurling final before an attendance of 1,500.

Ardscoil ease into final

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

Ardscoil Rís (Limerick) 0-16 St Caimin’s, Shannon 0-5:ARDSCOIL RÍS booked their place in the Harty Cup final with a convincing win over St Caimin’s of Shannon.

O'Brien inspires holders

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

HARTY CUP SEMI-FINALS:TIPPERARY MINOR Michael O’Brien was the star of the show as 14-man Thurles CBS, the holders, saw off Nenagh CBS in yesterday’s semi-final at Templemore.

O'Neill leads way

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

MacRORY CUP Omagh 0-15 St Patrick's, Maghera 0-7: EIGHT RONAN O’Neill points carried Omagh CBS into the semi-finals of the MacRory Cup at Derrytresk yesterday.

Waterford pick up at the close

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

Leitrim 0-10 Waterford 0-13:WATERFORD CAME back from a four-point deficit with 12 minutes left to defeat Leitrim at the newly-developed Ballinamore yesterday.

Gutsy Clare complete comeback

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

Clare 1-9 Wicklow 0-11: A STUNNING comeback by Clare in the second half earned them the points over Wicklow at Cusack Park yesterday.

Murphy goal seals victory

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

Carlow 1-10 Longford 0-10:CARLOW GOT their campaign off to a winning start with this hard-earned three-point win over visitors Longford at Dr Cullen Park yesterday.

Limerick ease to the finish

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:58:32 GMT

NFL DIVISION FOUR London 1-4 Limerick 0-17: LIMERICK SURVIVED the concession of an early Killian Phair goal to run out comfortable winners at Ruislip yesterday.