ireland.com - The Irish Times

French boycott threatens cup future
RUGBY: European Cup The Heineken European Cup is facing the greatest threat to its existence in eight years after the French Top 14 clubs voted unanimously to boycott the tournament next season. Furious behind-the-scenes negotiations will continue apace to resolve issues that are not really of the ERC's making, before the next meeting of ERC shareholders on February 6th. But the portents are not good. p

Roeder has no excuse for humiliation
SOCCER/FA Cup Third-round replays: Newcastle 1, Birmingham 5 To think this night began with some optimism locally. Humiliation felt too strong a word for what happened next, until Sebastian Larsson made it 4-1 six minute from time. DJ Campbell added a fifth in the 89th minute. p

And it's all about to begin again
GAELIC GAMES: Keith Duggan was in Ballinode, Sligo, for a match that marked the beginning of John O'Mahony's period in charge of Mayo p

Soccer

Keane spurs Tottenham on
Tottenham 4, Cardiff 0: Martin Jol had wanted a reaction after Tottenham's home defeat by Newcastle and he got one against an obliging Cardiff last night. p
Eriksson sets his sights on Chelsea
Sven-Goran Eriksson is turning down jobs in the hope of succeeding Jose Mourinho as Chelsea's manager in the close season. The former England manager believes the current intrigue at Stamford Bridge may lead to a vacancy and he has cleared his diary in case a call comes from the Premiership champions. p
Fifa loophole gives players more power
European Union law: Several of the Premiership's leading players will be in a position to walk away from their clubs this summer by exploiting a clause in Fifa-adopted European Union law. Article 17 of the regulations for the status and transfer of players allows the likes of Frank Lampard and John Terry to buy out their contracts at Chelsea and then negotiate a move elsewhere. p
Reading to table fresh bid for Bennett
Reading are expected to return with an improved offer for Cork City defender Alan Bennett after having had a bid of around €150,000 for the centre half turned down by the National League club. p
Soccer Shorts
Rovers' Dunn deal: David Dunn has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Blackburn after his former club recaptured the midfielder from Birmingham last night. p

Gaelic Games

Government's €5m offer for players still stands
The Government has reiterated its offer of making an additional €5 million available to the GAA to improve player welfare. Speaking yesterday, Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue said such funding was still available for the coming year provided the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) could agree on how it should be best used. p
Tyrone-Cavan match goes on
Tyrone's Dr McKenna Cup game against Cavan is to go ahead on Saturday after a compromise was reached between the county board and the Ulster Council. p

Rugby

Winding down to Beckham days
Trevor Brennan bids farewell to the European Cup and perhaps he's not alone in that p
O'Driscoll and Dempsey set to start
European Cup: Gloucester v Leinster Captain Brian O'Driscoll, fullback Girvan Dempsey and hooker Brian Blaney come back into an extended Leinster squad in the hope of securing a home quarter-final draw in the knock-out stages of the Heineken European Cup. p

Racing

Hi Cloy looks the one to beat
Thurles Preview: Last year's Cheltenham Gold Cup third Forget The Past has his first start of the season over fences at Thurles today but could face a big task in the two-and-a-half-mile race against Hi Cloy. p
Elements to decide Celestial's race plan
Adrian Maguire's star mare Celestial Wave is on target to run at Gowran Park next week but the trainer insists he will not be rushed into a decision on whether or not she travels to the Cheltenham festival in March. p

Other

Minorities among the big winners
Irish Sports Council Grants: For all those sports in the constant shadow of soccer, rugby and GAA - and that includes everything from horseshoe pitching to baton twirling - yesterday was payday. This came in the form of the annual Government grants to the 58 national governing bodies, distributed by the Irish Sports Council and which essentially keeps their sport running from one year to the next. p
Tigers benefit from Donaghy decision
Basketball News: Kieran Donaghy will line out for the Tralee Tigers in Sunday week's Superleague Cup final, the premier event on the home basketball calendar, after withdrawing from the GAA All Stars tour to Dubai. p
Impressive Monfils wins heart and minds
Tennis: Australian Open Championships Marcos Baghdatis, the Cypriot who took last year's Australian Open by storm, was blown away by Gael Monfils in the second round yesterday. The Frenchman captivated the hearts and minds of everybody in the Rod Laver arena with his astonishing athleticism, massive serve and forehand, and colossal exuberance in a 7-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 victory. p
Quiet Coach Bill has no place to hide
America at Large: Should the New England Patriots defeat Indianapolis in Sunday's AFC Championship game, they will return to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in six years, but a sizeable portion of this weekend's armchair audience will be pulling for the Colts. p
A break in the desert
Sports Digest: MOTOR SPORT The 11th stage of the Dakar Rally offered competitors a well-deserved break from timed action, meaning Mitsubishi's Stephane Peterhansel retains his lead at the head of the standings with just four stages left to run. p

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French boycott threatens cup future

Roeder has no excuse for humiliation

And it's all about to begin again

Keane spurs Tottenham on

Eriksson sets his sights on Chelsea

Fifa loophole gives players more power

Reading to table fresh bid for Bennett

Soccer Shorts

Government's €5m offer for players still stands

Tyrone-Cavan match goes on

Winding down to Beckham days

O'Driscoll and Dempsey set to start

Hi Cloy looks the one to beat

Elements to decide Celestial's race plan

Minorities among the big winners

Tigers benefit from Donaghy decision

Impressive Monfils wins heart and minds

Quiet Coach Bill has no place to hide

A break in the desert

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