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This should be the end of it
INTERNATIONAL RULES: In the corrupted idiom of modern sports, surely the most pernicious word is a recent and annoyingly sexist coinage. Handbags. p

Records tumble as All Blacks play different game
RUGBY: The largest crowd in Twickenham's history, 82,076, witnessed England's biggest defeat in 16 games by the All Blacks here - and to be honest, the 41-20 scoreline scarcely did New Zealand any favours. p

West Ham may lose points
SOCCER: West Ham face severe sanctions from the English Football Association after a fan threw a coin at Arsenal's Robin van Persie during a bad-tempered match at Upton Park yesterday in the second such incident in the capital this weekend. Fulham's Claus Jensen was struck at Craven Cottage during the game against Everton on Saturday. p

Soccer

Ferguson able to sit back and enjoy it
FA Premiership/Man Utd 3 Portsmouth 0: Alex Ferguson has insisted he wants his 20th anniversary to be as low-key as possible and the reason is simple: the Manchester United manager has more significant events on his mind. The only date on his calendar to be circled in red this month is November 26th and the visit of Chelsea, a match that will say far more about the renaissance at Old Trafford. p
Harewood strikes a hammer blow
FA Premiership/West Ham 1 Arsenal 0: West Ham were lifted out of the bottom three as Marlon Harewood gave them a second successive victory in a match which also produced their first clean sheet of the season. But there were so many other incidents in the game that at times the football seemed almost incidental. p
Spurs end the hoodoo
FA Premiership/Tottenham 2 Chelsea 1: This was a landmark too far for Jose Mourinho. An unbeaten league record for Chelsea against Spurs stretching back to 1990 has ended on his watch. The manager is directly to blame in one respect because of the anarchic behaviour that is tolerated, if not fostered, by him. p
Liverpool know bigger test lies ahead
FA Premiership/Liverpool 2 Reading 0: Dirk Kuyt will make a phone call this week to his international team-mate turned club rival, Robin van Persie. The tone of the conversation will be more chatty than sinister but the underlying message will be clear. p
Villa back on track
FA Premiership/Aston Villa 2 Blackburn Rovers 0: Ever since the American billionaire Randy Lerner took over in the summer and Martin O'Neill was installed as manager it has felt like Christmas at Aston Villa, and there were another couple of welcome presents yesterday. p
Staring into abyss
FA Premiership/Newcastle Utd 0 Sheffield Utd 1: Where to begin? With Danny Webber's headed winner, with Scott Parker's alleged sarcastic gesture to Newcastle fans soon after, with the "Shepherd out" chants that followed, with Newcastle's decision to play the game less than 48 hours after being in Palermo, with the sponsors' public snub to Glenn Roeder? p
Chelsea boss follows script
Tottenham turned recent history on its head by defeating Chelsea, but Jose Mourinho proved last night that some things in football are even harder to change. It is common to find defeated managers turning their ire on referees and for Graham Poll to find himself at the centre of controversy, and Mourinho ensured the script was followed on both counts. p
Ruthless, relentless and usually right
On the Premiership: There was no fanfare, no pomp or pretence. The gold carriage clocks and silver platters stayed unwrapped in their boxes. There was polite applause and a cursory wave of the hand as he strolled down the touchline, but nothing more. Instead, Alex Ferguson celebrated an extraordinary landmark as the manager of Manchester United in the time-honoured way: by winning a match. p
Rangers lose more ground
Scotland: Paul Le Guen's attempts to turn Celtic's canter to successive Scottish Premier League championships into a meaningful title race appear increasingly forlorn this morning after Rangers 2-1 defeat to Dundee United at Tannadice yesterday. p
Sevilla take top spot
Spain: Sevilla knocked Barcelona off the top of the Primera Liga yesterday after goals from Frederic Kanoute and Adriano Correia gave them a 2-0 home win over Osasuna. The Uefa Cup holders have 21 points, one ahead of Barcelona who were held to a 1-1 draw at Deportivo Coruna on Saturday. p
Another defeat for AC Milan
Italy: AC Milan slumped to their third defeat in four Serie A matches when they lost 2-0 away at Atalanta yesterday. p
Planet Football
Fergie raps with Diddy You might have read during the week that rap-type popster P Diddy dropped in to Manchester United's hotel in Copenhagen, ahead of their Champions League game, to say hello to Alex Ferguson and the team. p

Rugby

Brilliant Contepomi bales out Leinster
Celtic League/Leinster 35 Dragons 13: Felipe Contepomi beat the Newport Gwent Dragons at Donnybrook. It's only a slight exaggeration. Quite apart from his 25 points that included two tries and another masterful place-kicking display, his uncanny knack of baling out his team-mates was priceless on a night where Leinster's aptitude to perform the basics was borderline negligent. p
Munster's title hopes go up in smoke
Celtic League/Llanelli 25 Munster 12: Last night was Bonfire Night in Wales, and the game at Stradey Park was played before the backdrop of an 80-minute firework display, yet there was precious little spark on the field as Munster crashed to a third successive defeat of the campaign. p
Difference spelt out in black and white
England 20 New Zealand 41: There have been some epic all-white-versus-all-black collisions at this ever expanding monolith to English rugby, but this wasn't one of them. Twickenham has surely never witnessed such an untroubled and utterly predictable outcome, and this, despite the All Blacks looking well short of their vintage best. Indeed, you were left with the distinct impression England had actually escaped lightly. p
Australia smarten up ideas in offensive strategy
Wales 29 Australia 29: The Australia skills coach, Scott Johnson, predicted an afternoon for voyeurs, an orgy of attractive rugby, and, if the enthralling six-try draw offered a peek at what is in store at next year's World Cup, a tournament customarily decided by the team with the best defence, the sport stands to regain its core values, having resembled rugby league for far too long. p
Mason faces charge for striking
Tri-Nations: Australian second rower Willie Mason faces an anxious wait after being charged with striking Britain prop Stuart Fielden in the opening minutes of the Tri-Nations clash in Sydney. p
Shannon's frailties exposed
AIL League Round-up: Shannon are eventually going to hand over the AIB League crown. Considering a raft of players bid adieu after the three-in-a-row celebrations last May and with a depleted Munster playing on Sunday their famed strength in depth is being tested like seldom before. p
London Irish fight back
English Premiership: Two late tries ended a five-match losing run for London Irish, who snatched a 21-17 victory away to Bath in the English Premiership on Saturday despite having three players sinbinned. p
Ireland rally to claim vital point
World Cup Qualifier: Ireland came from 10-0 down at half-time to force a draw with Lebanon at Tolka Park, Dublin, in their second qualifying match for the 2008 World Cup. The result, which followed victory for both teams over Russia, means they are locked on three points with the reverse fixtures to come in 2007. p
Planet Rugby
Leinster beware: Any lingering doubt about the difficulty of the task facing Leinster when the Heineken European Cup resumes in December should be removed after the weekend's French championship action. p

Gaelic Games

Game looks beyond Rules
International Rules: In the words of one leading GAA official: "This was far worse than last year." He was referring to the comparative impact of last year's violence in Melbourne and that of the scenes that disfigured the first quarter of yesterday's second Test in Croke Park. p
Rules not okay after shambles
International Rules: What began as a marketing triumph and the stage for an exciting denouement to this year's Coca-Cola International Rules series became a state funeral before 82,127 at Croke Park yesterday, and Australia retained the Cormac McAnallen trophy by a distant 30 points. p
Incensed Boylan casts doubt on series over targeting tactics
International Rules: "My first reaction? To congratulate the Australians on winning the thing." p
Both sides must share the blame
International Rules: From what we saw in the first 10 minutes of this game I think it's fairly obvious that hard questions have to be asked about where the series goes from here, and whether this will kill it off. p
Things looka bit different to Aussie eyes
International Rules: For a minute, when Australian coach Kevin Sheedy is asked to explain why Graham Geraghty is the only player to end up in hospital, why Seán Boylan is truly fuming for the first time in 23 years, why we all feel the International Rules series is in doubt, there was a real danger the violence of yesterday's first quarter would spill over into the press conference room. p
Old format still throws up some tasty fare
Championship 2007 Provincial draws: The GAA threw the championship contenders in the proverbial hat on Saturday evening and, with much rolling of drums and opening of capsules, they managed to come up with an All-Ireland championship programme that should keep calls for an open draw at bay for another year. p
Shefflin crowns perfect season
Kilkenny SHC Final/Ballyhale 1-22 O'Loughlin Gaels 2-11: A prolific Henry Shefflin orchestrated victory from his favourite centre half forward position as Ballyhale Shamrocks claimed the title in the 110th Kilkenny SHC final before a huge crowd at Nowlan Park yesterday. p
McDonald calls tune for Crossmolina
Mayo SFC Final replay/Crossmolina 1-13 Ballaghaderreen 2-7: Crossmolina returned to McHale Park, Castlebar, yesterday with their homework done for this high-quality Mayo senior football final replay against Ballaghaderreen. The champions got out of jail with a late goal last Sunday but this time they were the dominant force. p
Dungiven look to McGonigle
Ulster SHC Final/Cushendall 1-13 Dungiven 2-10: After a dramatic finish to the Ulster club hurling final Cushendall (Antrim) and Dungiven (Derry) must return to Casement Park next Sunday. The hero for outsiders Dungiven was veteran Geoffrey McGonigle, who rifled over the levelling point from a 65 deep into injury time. p
Wolfe Tones in control
Munster SHC Round One/Wolfe Tones 1-14 Bruree 0-5: Clare champions Wolfe Tones run out easy winners over Bruree in a poor first round clash at Cusack Park, Ennis, yesterday. p
Toomevara take charge
Munster SHC Round One/Toomevara 3-16 Ballyduff 3-7: Tipperary champions Toomevara put Kerry counterparts Ballyduff to the sword in the opening half of this contest played in glorious weather yesterday afternoon. p
Westmeath side do enough
Leinster SFC Round One/Tyrrellspass 1-10 Abbeylara 1-6: Tyrrellspass of Westmeath overcame a spirited second-half fightback by Abbeylara of Longford in Cusack Park, Mullingar yesterday before advancing to a showdown with Laois' Arles-Killeen. p
Horeswood dig deep for replay
Leinster SFC Round One/Moorefield 0-10 Horeswood 1-7: Wexford champions Horeswood staged a spirited recovery to earn a replay to reach the Leinster semi-final, at Newbridge. p
Referee felled as Rhode prevail
Leinster SFC Round One/Rhode 1-11 Palatine 2-7: There was a violent end to this tie at Dr Cullen Park, Carlow when Westmeath referee Peter Fox was struck by a spectator and knocked to the ground. p
Gutsy Rossa book final place
Camogie/All-Ireland club semi-finals: Rossa of Antrim are through to their first All-Ireland club championship final on November 19th at O'Moore Park following a most exciting semi-final 3-11 to 2-11 victory over Galway champions Athenry. p
Score doesn't tell the whole story
Women's Rules/Ireland 39 Australia 18: Despite having a 42-point lead wiped out at the end of the third quarter, Ireland's women were still able to achieve victory in the second Test of the International Rules series played at Parnell Park on Saturday night. p

Golf

Scott holds on to win from the front
Australian Adam Scott put behind him a frustrating year of several close calls on the PGA Tour with a three-shot victory at the season-ending Tour Championship yesterday. p
Pernice takes a shot at Woods
US TOUR: Tom Pernice Jr has spoken out strongly on Tiger Woods' absence from the season-ending Tour Championship, describing his decision to snub the event as a "disgrace". p

Racing

O'Brien gets rough reminder of dirt demands as George fades
Breeders' Cup: George Washington will have to begin his stud career without that priceless Breeders' Cup Classic victory next to his name after Saturday night's foray into the heart of America proved several bridges too far for the Aidan O'Brien-trained star. p
Favourable draw increases Fallon's confidence
Melbourne Cup: Kieren Fallon has had almost three weeks to acclimatise to Australia but the controversial Irish jockey will still be venturing into unknown territory during the early hours of tomorrow morning when Yeats flies the Irish flag in the $5 million Emirates Melbourne Cup. p
Battling Smullen ends with a double
Pat Smullen surrendered his jockeys title to Declan McDonogh on the final day of the Flat season at Leopardstown yesterday but the former triple champion still finished his 2006 campaign with a pair of winners that included a battling success by Lounaos in the November Handicap. p
Beef battles to victory
Beef Or Salmon proved he is still one of the best in the business when lowering the colours of War Of Attrition in a thrilling renewal of the James Nicholson Wine Merchant Champion Chase at Down Royal. p

Other

Convincing Australia get Ashes boost
Cricket/Champions Trophy final: Australia claimed their first ICC Champions Trophy title after stealing West Indies' crown in a convincing, rain-affected victory at the Brabourne Stadium. p
Lynch leaves door open
Rowing: Sam Lynch left the door open for a return to the international set-up on Saturday when he competed at the Leinster regional time trial at Blessington. p
Davydenko has it all his own way
Tennis: Russian Nikolay Davydenko destroyed Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to take his first Masters Series title yesterday. Fourth seed Davydenko, the highest-ranked player in the Paris Masters field after a string of no-shows, needed just an hour and 38 minutes to tame Hrbaty. p
Scotland win at Croke Park
Hurling/Shinty: Scotland defeated Ireland 2-13 to 2-5 in an highly entertaining international clash at Croke Park yesterday. p
New York belongs to Prokopcuka
Athletics: Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia won the New York City Marathon and its $130,000 top prize yesterday in commanding fashion, becoming the first woman to repeat as champion in 11 years. p
Kurten finishes down the field
Equestrian: There was no joy for Jessica Kurten in yesterday's feature Grand Prix at the French fixture in Lyon, but 18-year-old Frank Curran kept the Irish to the fore when scoring in a junior speed class with Nallinimo over in Liege, Belgium, on Saturday, writes Grania Willis . p
The No Rules series lives up to its promise as a thug-fest
TV View: Marty Morrissey could hardly look. "We have a serious battle going on here! There could well be blood spilt!" And that was before the ball was thrown in. p
From such a local row was Iliad made
Locker Room: The flags are hanging from the poles in Marino, the mini-leagues and the juvenile sections are being marshalled and the priests are giving bulletins from the altar. The Dublin county senior football final takes place tonight and, perfectly, it has sent a reviving buzz of excitement around our little patch of the northside. As Hillary C once wrote, it takes a village. p

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