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Unlikely lads steal Oakmont's thunder
GOLF/US Open: The fear, each year, is that the USGA will unleash a beast to inflict pain and misery on the world's best golfers. At least, that is the intention. Yesterday, though, the revered and feared Oakmont course was like a lion without teeth, deprived of its fearsome bite for the first round of the 107th US Open by Mother Nature's thunderstorm on Wednesday night that had the effect of softening the fairways and making the greens more receptive, writes Philip Reid at Oakmont p

Farrell returns to Meath line-up
GAELIC GAMES: Brian Farrell returns from suspension to the Meath team for Sunday's Leinster quarter-final replay against Dublin at Croke Park. He replaces Peter Curran in the selection that still has no place for Cian Ward whose flawless five points from placed balls in the closing 20 minutes of the drawn match were instrumental in giving the team a second chance, writes Seán Moran, GAA Correspondent p

Wenger meets on Henry bid
SOCCER: Arsene Wenger has met a Barcelona emissary at a leading hotel in the west of Paris, according to a report on L'Equipe's internet site yesterday. The French sports newspaper's website claimed the focus of the meeting was Thierry Henry's prospective transfer to Camp Nou this summer. p

Limerick big winners even without win
Mostly Hurling: So it's Wexford against Kilkenny again this year; the pretenders challenging the aristocrats. The Slaneysiders just about did enough to get the better of Dublin. They stuttered and stumbled and made hard work of winning. It's difficult to see them matching the Cats on last weekend's form. They just don't have a strong enough squad, I think, and squads win championships, writes John Allen. p
Appeals body set to meet tonight
The Central Appeals Committee of the GAA is expected to meet tonight to consider the suspensions imposed on players involved in the fracas before last month's Cork-Clare match in Thurles. p

Champions get Reading
Hardly, it seems, has the Premier League trophy left west London to take up residence in a trophy cabinet in Manchester, than the fixtures for the 2007-08 season have been released, signifying it's a mere eight weeks before Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Co start all over again. p
Keane eyes stand outs
He is, he insisted, looking forward "to every single game" in the new Premier League season but Roy Keane, manager of newly-promoted Sunderland, conceded there are "a few games that stand out" in the list of fixtures published yesterday. p
Hughes settles the nerves
FAI Cup/Dundalk 3 Athlone Town 0: Dundalk's Philip Hughes was the toast of Oriel Park last night as his second-half brace helped the home side overcome Athlone and advance to the next round of the Ford FAI Cup. p
Byrne has burning desire to bag this one
As Drogheda United manager Paul Doolin contemplates this evening's Ford FAI Cup clash with Bohemians at United Park, he mentions more than once the competition has been good to him over the years. That's more than his midfielder Stuart Byrne can say, with the former Shelbourne star, who has quite a few success stories in recent years, having only tales of bitter disappointment to recount when it comes to the cup. p
FAI cup second round
Friday's previews p

Laporte makes the hard calls
World Cup: French coach Bernard Laporte has confirmed some high-profile omissions in announcing his 30-man squad for the forthcoming Rugby World Cup which will see them compete at the pool stage alongside Ireland and Argentina among others. Notable absentees include Oliver Magne, Pascal Pape, Dimitri Yachvili and Thomas Castaignede. John O'Sullivan reports p
Cockbainis dropped by Wales
Wales head coach Gareth Jenkins has dropped Brent Cockbain from his World Cup plans - and given a surprise call-up to uncapped Gloucester lock Will James. Cockbain started the first Test on the recent tour of Australia but has been axed from Jenkins' 41-man World Cup training squad. p
Aussies opt for their big guns
Tri-Nations: Australia have named a full-strength side for Saturday's opening Tri-Nations clash with South Africa in Cape Town. As expected, coach John Connolly abandoned Australia's brief experiment to find the next generation of Wallabies, opting for the safety of experience over youth. p

It's wasn't pretty but there's no harm done
Philip Reid reflects on a frustrating day for Padraig Harrington who, nevertheless, is still very much in contention p
Oakmont Diary
Compiled by Philp Reid p
Higgins off to perfect start
European Tour: David Higgins carded a flawless 65 to share the lead after the first round of the St Omer Open yesterday. Higgins recorded four birdies and an eagle to finish six under par, alongside Australian David Bransdon. p

Arch is back in the swing
John Oxx is banking on Arch Swing to maintain his outstanding Royal Ascot record in next week's Coronation Stakes. p

Passmore sees positives
HOCKEY/Setanta Cup: "This is a pleasing victory as we were clinical with our penalty corners," said Ireland's head coach Dave Passmore. "However, there is still much to work on." p
Light four skip Amsterdam
ROWING: Ireland will have a big team of 25 athletes at next weekend's second World Cup in Amsterdam, but a major talking point will be about the men who will not be there, the lightweight men's four. p
More teams sign up Tour of Ireland
CYCLING: Three more teams have been confirmed this week for the Tour of Ireland, which will begin in Kilkenny in just over two months' time. CSC won the ProTour teams classification in 2005 and 2006 and have some of the world's strongest riders riding in their colours. p
Conneely living his childhood dream with world's elite
SAILING: Nestling just behind the rows of tall palm trees that line Alicante's promenade, a forest of 23 carbon masts are neatly aligned with the bows of 23 Transpac 52-footers all pointed seawards. p
Irish teams face stiff tasks
ATHLETICS: David Gillick and Derval O'Rourke are both included in the Irish teams announced yesterday for the European Cup in Vaasa, Finland, which takes place the weekend after next, June 23rd and 24th. Gillick, the two-time European Indoor champion, will be expected to take full points in the 400 metres, as will O'Rourke in the 100 metres hurdles. p

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