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Shefflin returns to bolster Kilkenny
GAELIC GAMES/National Hurling League final/Kilkenny v Waterford: Kilkenny captain Henry Shefflin returns to lead the team for the first time this season in tomorrow's Allianz National Hurling League final at Semple Stadium. There had been conflicting speculation about the role the reigning Hurler of the Year would play but manager Brian Cody has decided to start him. p

Friendless Leinster find too many obstacles
RUGBY/Ospreys 19 Leinster 17: The difficulties of obtaining an away win were graphically illustrated in the Liberty Stadium in Swansea last night when the Ospreys duly went through the season unbeaten at their new fortress to eat into Leinster's lead atop the Magners Celtic League. They now trail Leinster by two points but with a game in hand, and though they play three games on the road, they have the bit between their teeth after six league wins on the spin. p

Ferguson asks why FA don't act over Mourinho outbursts
SOCCER: Alex Ferguson wondered yesterday whether "the birds at Stamford Bridge wake up coughing" as his relationship with Jose Mourinho descended into open resentment. The Manchester United manager accused his Chelsea counterpart of bringing the game into disrepute and questioned why the Football Association in England had not taken any action against him. p

Soccer

West Ham may pursue Brown for £5.5m
West Ham United were last night exploring their legal options with a view to suing the club's former chairman, Terry Brown, for the £5.5 million fine imposed by the Premier League yesterday over the Tevez and Mascherano affair. p
No room for any slip-ups
Kevin McCarra on how the Premiership is still Manchester United's to lose but a good finish is needed to deny Chelsea's bid p
Arsenal chairman moves to reassure faithful
Arsenal sought to reassure fans about the club's direction yesterday with a letter from the chairman, Peter Hill-Wood, sent to all shareholders, saying he would shortly meet the American billionaire Stan Kroenke but effectively arguing the club had no financial need for a takeover p
Sunderland show the resilience needed for top flight
Sunderland 3 Burnley 2: Roy Keane may yet reveal the tactical prowess of 10 Dutchmen but if the formidable Irishman has one great gift for Sunderland it is the ability to transmit his unforgettable fire to these players. On a night of at times brutal excitement at the Stadium of light, in front of the Championship's largest crowd of the season, Sunderland forced their way to victory with a performance of infectious desire. One more win, perhaps even one more point, and they're are back in the Premiership. p
Billionaire considering an approach to purchase Southampton
Bookmakers reported a frenzy of activity yesterday from punters betting on Southampton returning to the Premiership by 2008 following news that Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, had made an approach to buy the club. p
St Pat's swagger back to the top
St Patrick's Athletic 2 Shamrock Rovers 1: It's been a long week for those affiliated with St Patrick's Athletic. A gruelling, but successful, trip to Sligo was followed in quick succession by a marathon Setanta Cup exit to Drogheda. But after a sluggish start here the hosts ensured that recent defeat was only a wobble, nothing more. Normal service has resumed. p
Derry's league chances fading away
Derry City 0 Bohemians 0: Derry City's chances of challenging for the league continue to slip away following this scoreless draw at the Brandywell. p
Drogheda come back from brink
Drogheda Utd 2 Cork City 2: Just when it appeared they looked down and out, Drogheda United rescued a valuable point from an entertaining encounter at United Park last night. p
Bray sunk by Murphy
Bray Wanderers 0 Galway Utd 1: Alan Murphy scored for the second week running to finally earn Galway United a deserved first win of the season as Bray finished with 10 men. p
Sammon goal earns point
UCD 2 Longford Town 2: An injury-time goal by Conor Sammon grabbed UCD a point in an entertaining encounter at Belfield Park last night. p
Irish Gunners going for European glory
Women's Uefa Cup final, second leg Arsenal (1) v Umea (0): Mary Hannigan meets the Irish contingent at the Arsenal women's club ahead of tomorrow's final leg p

Gaelic Games

Waterford aiming to stay at the top table
National Hurling League Final: Seán Moran finds a positive mood in the county as Justin McCarthy's charges prepare to face Kilkenny p
Final countdown: Meath have potential to overcome
NFL Division Two final, Meath v Roscommon, Breffni Park, 3.30, tomorrow: An outsider double has given tomorrow's divisional final the unexpected pairing of the teams that finished second in each of their groups. p

Rugby

Cheika angry over officials
Apparently, the IRFU and the Welsh RFU are pushing to introduce meritocracy in the appointement of referees for the Magners League, writes Gerry Thornley. On last night's evidence, it can't come soon enough; and likewise the belated introduction of neutral touchjudges. Michael Cheika could scarcely conceal the seething sense of anger from the away dressing-room in the aftermath of their 19-17 defeat in a potential league decider at Swansea's Liberty Stadium. p
Coaches pose remedies for ailing AIL
All-Ireland League Division One semi-finals: Today's media focus will be a rare tonic for the ailing club game, but coaches claim a little intensive care could revive the patient. Gavin Cummiskey reports p
Cullen due warm farewell
Celtic League/Munster v Dragons: There is little room for sentiment in professional sport but it's fair to assume the Munster supporters will take the opportunity to warmly acclaim the contributions of Christian Cullen and Trevor Halstead in the red jersey before, as seems likely, they return home at the end of the season. p
Ulster fall apart again
Ulster 10 Glasgow 24: Ulster's season continued to unravel in an alarming fashion as Mark McCall's side crashed to a humiliating defeat at Ravenhill last night, the province's second successive home reverse and an eighth defeat from their last 11 games in all competitions. p
Previews
The weekend's matches previewed p

Racing

Thomas to regain winning thread
Dylan Thomas is likely to start a hot favourite to regain the Group One-winning thread when he travels to France for tomorrow's Prix Ganay at Longchamp. p
Yeats should get off to a flyer
Navan Preview: Yeats gets his fifth season of racing under way at Navan tomorrow when the double Group One winner has to concede weight all round in the Listed Vintage Crop Stakes. p
Silent Oscar produces big upset
Punchestown report: The Grand National winning jockey, Robbie Power, sprang another big race shock when powering the 20 to 1 outsider Silent Oscar to a dramatic defeat of Macs Joy in yesterday's ACC Bank Champion Hurdle at Punchestown. p

Golf

Delayed Little grabs chance
Madrid Open: Three days after sitting at home thinking there was no tournament for him this week England's Stuart Little led the Spanish Open in Madrid. p
Double ace a million-to-one shot
GOLF/DIGEST : Two amateur women golfers hit consecutive holes-in-one at a course in England, defying odds of a million to one, their club said yesterday. p

Other

Game demands the mother of all games
CRICKET/World Cup Final : Richard Gillis wants seven weeks of carnival cricket to finish on a high as the all-conquering Aussies face Sri Lanka in today's final in Barbados p
McGrath prepares to go out at the top
CRICKET: Glenn McGrath will warm-up for his final international match today happy he has once again confounded expectations to finish as one of the leading bowlers in the World Cup. p
Ahern bowled over by one-day odyssey
CRICKET: This week the politicians sought to bask in the reflected glory of the Ireland cricket team. First it was Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue, who on Tuesday promised to fund a new ground for cricket. Twenty four hours later An Taoiseach was working the room at the Shelbourne Hotel, schmoozing Trent Johnston's men in front of the cameras. p
Ryan keeps going on right course
ROWING: Caroline Ryan nailed her colours to the mast when she won the women's singles scull finals on the first day of the final national selection regatta at Farran Wood in Cork. p
Murphy gives Parrott the blues
SNOOKER/World Championship: Shaun Murphy left John Parrott feeling blue after pressure potting kept the adopted Yorkshireman on track for a second World Championship title in three years. p
O'Loughlin finishes in bunch again
CYCLING: David O'Loughlin finished 90th in the bunch sprint that decided the third stage of the Niedersachsen Rundfahrt in Germany yesterday, reports Shane Stokes . p
Below-par Nadal into semi-finals
TENNIS: Rafael Nadal was tested for the first time this week as he beat the Italian Potito Starace 6-2 7-5 yesterday to reach the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open and extend his record claycourt winning streak to 70 matches. p

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