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Harrington refuses to be blown off course
GOLF: As yer man King Lear might have put it, "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks; rage! blow!" Yesterday's second round of the Irish Open was bedevilled by strong winds. p

Chelsea's desire open to question
SOCCER/Manchester Utd v Chelsea: While the rest of the world waits to discover what sort of chant Manchester United's terrace choirmasters can devise to celebrate Jose Mourinho's misadventures with a Yorkshire terrier called Gullit, the members of the Chelsea squad will be reminding each other that the FA Cup is the one major trophy in English football that only one of them - Ashley Cole, formerly of Arsenal - has won. p

O'Mahony factor gives Mayo slightest of edges
GAELIC GAMES: The mood settles on these matches and a consensus emerges. Mayo are the marginal favourites for tomorrow's first big match of the Bank of Ireland provincial football championships. In a way it's hard to figure out exactly why this should be. p

Soccer

Mourinho fears he may be arrested before final
Jose Mourinho has admitted he may be arrested before today's FA Cup final against Manchester United after refusing to reveal the whereabouts of his dog. p
Player with a special vision
Daniel Taylor talks to Manchester United's Paul Scholes about an eye problem that nearly ended his career and his dramatic return p
A man's striking set of priorities
English FA Cup final: Andrew Fifield listens to Chelsea's Didier Drogba about what drives him in life outside of football p
Injuries hamper Ireland's hopes
European U-19 Championship Elite Phase/Rep of Ireland v Hungary: A list of injury concerns has added to the loss of striker Anthony Stokes, who flew to New York with the senior squad yesterday, as the Republic of Ireland look for a favour in their hopes of qualifying for the finals in Austria in July ahead of their meeting with Hungary at United Park this evening. p
Cunningham let go by Keane
Sunderland manager Roy Keane has released his former Republic of Ireland team-mate Kenny Cunningham as he prepares for life in the English Premiership. p
Robson refuses to comment
Bryan Robson has refused to comment on reports he is set to return to football management by being named as the successor to Neil Warnock at Sheffield United. p
Staunton wishes you were here
Republic of Ireland tour to the United States: Emmet Malone reports on a tour that has gone pear-shaped for Steve Staunton as he heads Stateside with a reserve national side at best p
Five players to watch
Ireland under-21 coach Don Givens casts an eye over five of next week's likely senior debutants p
Murphy and Bennett called up
Ireland coach Kevin MacDonald has admitted Steve Staunton would have drafted in a number of League of Ireland players ahead of yesterday's flight to New York but for the fact it would almost certainly have resulted in disruption to the domestic season due to games being postponed. p
Deserved victory for Bray
Bray Wanderers 2 Sligo Rovers 0: Goals in each half from skipper Clive Delaney and striker Andrei Georgescu enabled Bray Wanderers to record a much-needed and deserved first victory in seven Premier Division games at the Carlisle Grounds last night. p
Home win still eludes Galway
Galway Utd 0 UCD 0: Galway United and a resilient UCD shared the spoils last night. The home side's penchant for delivering neat displays at Terryland Park has still to result in a win at their ground this season. p
Cork stop visitors in tracks
Cork City 2 Bohemians 1: Cork City brought Bohemians' unbeaten run to a shuddering halt at Turner's Cross when two goals in a three-minute spell helped them dominate this Eircom League tie. p
Match at Tolka Park abandoned
Shamrock Rovers 1 Warterford Utd 1: Last night's Premier Division game between Shamrock Rovers and Waterford United was abandoned after 52 minutes after a floodlight pylon became unearthed in high winds. p

Gaelic Games

Losers nourished and winners drained
Leinster SFC First round/Kildare v Meath: Tom Humphries relives the 1997 Leinster semi-final marathon between Kildare and Meath with key players p
Setting the tone for a change of championship fortunes
Wicklow v Louth: Mick O'Dwyer faces perhaps his greatest challenge as he takes his Wicklow side to Croke Park, writes Ian O'Riordan p
Nallen has unfinished business
Connacht SFC First Round: James Nallen insists Mayo have no need of headshrinking, hypnosis or witchcraft. Keith Duggan reports p
Weekend previews
It's as if the past year had never happened. Twelve months on and Tyrone are wondering how they'll manage without Brian McGuigan and anxious about Stephen O'Neill's hamstring and Owen Mulligan's form. With Peter Canavan retired, only two of the attack - Brian Dooher and Ryan Mellon - that won the All-Ireland two years ago will line out. Both teams had disappointing NFL campaigns and bring in newcomers to this level - four for Tyrone and three for Fermanagh. p
Pocketing one's pride an All-Ireland perk
Sideline Cut: If we are to believe what we hear, then most GAA All-Ireland winners like to carry their medals about their persons in alarmingly cavalier fashion. "Sure that man is happy: he has an All-Ireland medal in his back pocket," is a comment we have all heard a hundred times. p

Rugby

Leicester hoping to avoid sting in the tail
European Cup Final/Leicester v Wasps: Leicester coach Pat Howard has recalled centre Daryl Gibson for tomorrow's final at Twickenham after the former All Black recovered from a knee injury. p
Heaslip used to being singled out for some special attention
Ireland Tour of Argentina: John O'Sullivan on a singular young number eight with the talent to back up his eschewing of orthodoxy p

Golf

Local knowledge goes a long way
John O'Sullivan on the exploits of amateur Pat Murray p
Matteson and Imada set the early target
US TOUR: Troy Matteson shot an eight-under-par 64 to join Japan's Ryuji Imada at the top of the leaderboard in the AT&T Classic at the TPC Sugarloaf, Georgia. The pair are tied on 10-under-par 134, one ahead of DJ Brigman. p

Racing

Marcus should be spot on
Marcus Andronicus might not be in the Hawk Wing class but Aidan O'Brien will be hoping that today's Group One Juddmonte Lockinge Stakes provides the four-year-old with a first success since his very first start. p
Beau's class can carry day
The most valuable pot on a busy Sunday in Ireland is the handicap hurdle at Navan where punters will have to decide if Sher Beau's class can overcome a big weight. p

Other

Irish players back in familiar surroundings
CRICKET: Today sees Ireland's cricketer's make a rare appearance in club colours for the first round of the renamed Bob Kerr Irish Senior Cup p
England seize complete control
CRICKET: England cracked on in the Lord's sunshine yesterday, blistering past 500 and putting the first Test beyond the reach of a West Indies side as undercooked as a fairground burger. p
Independent man still riding waves
MOTOR SPORT/Interview with Eddie Jordan: Johnny Watterson on the former Grand Prix maverick whose story is appearing in book form p
Contract scheme
HOCKEY: The IHA have taken a first step toward their goal of making their senior international squads semi-professional by unveiling their Aspire programme yesterday, writes Mary Hannigan . p
Roche struggles
CYCLING: Nicolas Roche had a long day in the saddle on yesterday's sixth stage of the Tour of Italy, wheeling across the line in a large group of riders 17 minutes and 41 seconds behind the day's winner, Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Ceramica Panaria- Navigare), writes Shane Stokes. p
Burkeis best
EQUESTRIAN: Jessica Burke was back to her winning ways at the Belgian pony international in Moorsele yesterday, claiming the opening speed class by more than a second from her team-mate Shane Connell, writes Grania Willis . p

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