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O'Sullivan does not fix what's not broken
RUGBY/Six Nations: As selection meetings go, Eddie O'Sullivan and co wouldn't have had time to burn a match, much less the midnight oil, given the starting XV had emerged unscathed and been well rested after perhaps the most complete all-round performance of O'Sullivan's reign and in the most memorable of pressure-cooker occasions. "Same again? Okay. Pass the sugar," was probably the gist of it. p

Liverpool eliminate Barca
SOCCER Liverpool 0 Barcelona 1 (Agg 2-2)/Liverpool win on away goals rule: This was a fixture of such stature that it was perhaps natural that nerves should have shrieked all around Anfield. p

Sherlock back in for Dublin
GAA: Ciarán Whelan and Jason Sherlock are both back in the Dublin team for Saturday's crunch National Football League tie against Cork. With only one win from the previous three games, Dublin need the victory to keep alive any hopes of reaching the play-offs and manager Paul Caffrey has reacted accordingly with some sweeping changes. p

Rugby

O'Driscoll is not taking Scots lightly
Six Nations: Landmarks barely raise a flicker of consciousness in a professional sportsperson still plying their trade, for to dwell on them suggests a slight negativity in philosophy. Few would countenance a career apex while still in their 20s. p
Leamy fronting up for onslaught
Six Nations: Denis Leamy, fans like to love. Fetching the high balls Gaelic football style, pacing around the park with intent, sticking his head in where he knows it is not wanted and always "fronting up" is a mark of his game. Leamy is a "front-up" player. p
Dewey savours shot at centres of excellence
Six Nations: Scotland's Rob Dewey admits his defensive strength must match the threat he carries with ball in hand when he faces the Ireland centre partnership he holds in such high regard. p
Emergency cord yanked by Ashton
Six Nations: Desperate times call for desperate measures and, in the wake of a record Six Nations defeat in Ireland, Brian Ashton has yanked the emergency cord. England's head coach believes his team have plummeted into the second division of world rugby and, in an effort to halt the decline, has made a staggering 11 changes, three of them positional, to the side for Sunday's encounter with France at Twickenham. p
Ruthless Michael's take stepcloser
Leinster Schools' Senior Cup/St Michael's College 22 Kilkenny College 0: The long wait is nearly over. In the 32 years since St Michael's became a fully fledged secondary school they have failed to annex the Leinster Senior Cup. p
Milloud not about to write off England
Rugby Digest/Six Nations: Olivier Milloud is expecting a tough battle up front if he replaces the injured Sylvain Marconnet for France's Six Nations Championship clash against England on Sunday. p

Soccer

Mourinho may make his exit in style
Chelsea 2 FC Porto1/Chelsea win 3-2 on aggregate: Jose Mourinho escaped the Champions League defeat that would have hastened his departure as Chelsea's manager. p
Wenger may gamble all on Henry to keep season alive
Arsenal v PSV Eindhoven: Arsene Wenger is not known as a gambler but, with Arsenal attempting to salvage a season which threatens to be their most disappointing for a decade, he is considering a roll of the dice. p
War of words heats up again
Manchester Utd v Lille: Any possibility tonight might be an opportunity for reconciliation between Lille and Manchester United after the explosive first leg in Lens a fortnight ago vanished in the preliminaries yesterday when the Lille manager, Claude Puel, and Alex Ferguson exchanged words that could not be considered pleasantries. p
Strachan bullish about Celtic's chances
AC Milan v Celtic: Celtic manager Gordon Strachan believes the Scottish champions retain a realistic chance of progressing to the quarter-finals against AC Milan at the San Siro this evening despite being held to a scoreless draw at Parkhead a fortnight ago. p
Roma surprise nervous Lyon
Olympique Lyon 0 AS Roma 2/Roma win 2-0 on aggregate: AS Roma denied Lyon a fourth consecutive quarter-final when they beat the five-time French champions 2-0 in the second leg of their last 16 tie at Gerland last night. p
Bayern's confidence justified
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid: Bayern Munich go into tonight's tie against Real Madrid with justified confidence. Bayern responded to a 3-2 defeat at the Bernabeu in the first leg by claiming two victories in the Bundesliga, results that have revived their hopes of a third successive title. p
Valencia draw Inter's sting
Valencia 0 Inter Milan 0/(Agg: 2-2) Valencia win on away goals rule: Valencia clinched a place in the quarter-finals with a classic catenaccio performance at the Mestalla last night. Having drawn 2-2 in the first leg at the San Siro, the result was enough to put the Spaniards, who reached back-to-back finals in 2000 and 2001, through on the away goals rule. p
End of era as Moores goes out with a bang
The changing of the guard went almost unnoticed amid the thunderous din which greeted progress last night, though those who will shape this club's immediate future could not avoid being swept along by the raw ferocity of this occasion. Up in the directors' box, George Gillett and Tom Hicks sat entranced by the football phenomenon. Their first taste of a game in the flesh as owners of the "Liverpool Reds" could not have been more enthralling. p
Hunt keen to deliver for Dalymount fans
League of Ireland countdown: Emmet Malone talks to a player who has played a key role at Bohemians p

Gaelic Games

Sheehan news cheers O'Shea
Kerry football manager Pat O'Shea is hopeful team captain and free-taker Bryan Sheehan could still make an appearance in Sunday's fourth-round Allianz National League clash against Limerick. p
What league form tells us is - what?
On Gaelic Games: This being spring, the evidence of new life is all around, from the stirrings of nature to the lengthening of the afternoons. For better or for worse, such hope of rebirth translates to the world of competitive hurling as the stirrings of other counties and the lengthening of the odds on Kilkenny. p
IT hosts to make the most
Fitzgibbon Cup: Carlow Institute of Technology have announced a number of additional events surrounding this weekend's Fitzgibbon Cup, the hurling competition for third-level colleges. It's the first time for the Carlow college to stage the event and they intend to make the most of it, starting with a seminar tomorrow evening entitled "Hurling - A Vision for the Future". p

Racing

Celestial Wave is out of this World
Cheltenham Festival update: Celestial Wave will not travel to next weeks' Cheltenham Festival to tackle the Ladbrokes World Hurdle after suffering a late setback. Adrian Maguire's improving mare had been quietly fancied to play a major role in the staying hurdlers' championship after landing her last three starts in Graded company. p
Racing Digest
McCoy opts for Exotic Dancer Tony McCoy has opted to partner Exotic Dancer in next week's Cheltenham Gold Cup. p

Other

Sports Digest
BOXING/Lee awaits new foe: Unbeaten Irish middleweight Andy Lee is on standby ahead of his appearance at Madison Square Garden on March 16th. p

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O'Sullivan does not fix what's not broken

Liverpool eliminate Barca

Sherlock back in for Dublin

O'Driscoll is not taking Scots lightly

Leamy fronting up for onslaught

Dewey savours shot at centres of excellence

Emergency cord yanked by Ashton

Ruthless Michael's take stepcloser

Milloud not about to write off England

Mourinho may make his exit in style

Wenger may gamble all on Henry to keep season alive

War of words heats up again

Strachan bullish about Celtic's chances

Roma surprise nervous Lyon

Bayern's confidence justified

Valencia draw Inter's sting

End of era as Moores goes out with a bang

Hunt keen to deliver for Dalymount fans

Sheehan news cheers O'Shea

What league form tells us is - what?

IT hosts to make the most

Celestial Wave is out of this World

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