Previous Day
Déise like this hard to beat
GAELIC GAMES: Some games grow to fit the occasion
they are supposed to grace. Waterford and Limerick are unaccustomed
to being asked to uphold the tradition of great Munster hurling
finals, and yesterday through a dogged and tight first half it
looked as if their honest endeavour just wouldn't be enough. p
Sligo at last get title to go with deeds
GAELIC GAMES: From Hyde Park yesterday came a glorious shout that was over 30 years in the making. Sligo football teams have played more classical football in the winless years that date back to 1975 but their story has often held a dark and blackly comic edge. p
Montgomerie all sweetness and light
GOLF: Normally, the dark clouds hovering over Colin
Montgomerie's head are of the temperamental rather than the
meteorological variety. More often than not, the Scot's
unpredictable outbursts and X-ray stares contain sufficient
volatile electricity to light a small city. He can be a human
volcano. p
Gaelic Games 
Kelly's injury mars Tipperary's victory
All-Ireland SHC Qualifiers Round Two/Tipperary 1-20 Dublin 1-11: Tipperary hurling supporters have often wondered what life would be like without Eoin Kelly. Next Saturday at Semple Stadium, they will get the chance to find out. pLoughnane left to mull over role
Clare 2-10 Galway 0-14: Ten years ago in the same dressingrooms in Cusack Park, Ennis, Ger Loughnane gave a bravura performance in a wide-ranging media conference at the end of Clare's All-Ireland press night. On Saturday evening he was in a different world, trying to explain the incoherent and lacklustre efforts by his current charges, Galway. pCork inflict more damage on Leinster's tarnished reputation
Cork 1-27 Offaly 0-11: Cork inflicted more damage on Leinster's tarnished hurling reputation with this facile win at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday. Their impressive 19-point victory duly booked their quarter-final place and effectively ended Offaly's season. pAntrim do the business and now face Galway
Antrim 1-23 Laois 1-13: Antrim had 10 points to spare over 14-man Laois at Casement Park on Saturday to keep their All-Ireland senior hurling championship quarter-final hopes alive.Hat-trick man is just dandy
Big Dan, the hat-trick man, has been to the dressingroom, there to retrieve his front teeth and make himself ready for his close-up. He has re-emerged and given face to the television people. We ambush him as he finishes with the cameras and, resigned to us, he leans back and lets the thicket of microphones in front of him grow and grow until he is ready to begin unspooling his thoughts on a Munster final that he'll tell his grandchildren about. pWaterford show their true pedigree
Waterford 3-17 Limerick 1-14: Like any thoroughbreds they stayed the pace without setting records for most of yesterday's exciting Guinness Munster hurling final in Thurles. But once they sensed their opponents were tiring, Waterford accelerated clear and in the space of a few minutes at the end, emphatically added the Munster championship to the League crown they already hold, a double the county last achieved 44 years ago. pMcCarthy's men will have to do it the hard way
Life can be cruel. After proving beyond any doubt that they are now at the zenith of their powers, Waterford get stung by the most arduous of draws that will require them to overcome Tipperary, Cork and probably Kilkenny, and most likely in that order, to win the All-Ireland. pHungry Sligo end their long famine
Connacht SFC Final/Sligo 1-10 Galway 0-12: After the match and the unstoppable pitch invasion and the famous speech, a group of Sligo folks stood looking at the scoreboard as though it were a holy thing. The fact that it was one of the more ordinary looking score lines in Gaelic games made it all the more miraculous. Hundreds of Sligo football people have tried and given up on trying to figure a way to win the two or three matches in succession that would give them a provincial title. pPlayers deliver on a cold winter's promise
They started the year as nobody's favourites and that suited them fine. Sometime last winter, the footballers of Sligo sat down in a cold dressing room and made themselves some promises. pMayo's changes for the better
Mayo 1-19 Cavan 3-7: On a day when seven was a very significant number, John O'Mahony's decision to make seven changes from the side which lost to Galway proved judicious as Mayo saw off Cavan with more ease than the final scoreline suggests at sunny McHale Park on Saturday evening. pDetermined Fermanagh back on winning trail
Fermanagh 1-12 Wexford 1-8: A sharper Fermanagh deservedly advanced to the next round of the qualifiers when they overcame a somewhat out of sorts Wexford in a low-key encounter in Clones yesterday. pDown too soft up front
All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers Round One/Meath 1-10 Down 0-8: Down's interest in the championship ended as they bowed out meekly to Meath in Páirc Esler Newry on Saturday evening in this first-round qualifier. pSeptember road
Before yesterday's great victory, Sligo last claimed the Connacht senior football championship back in 1975 - strangely, the same year Richie Bennis, the current Limerick manager, inspired the Treaty men to victory over Tipperary in a replayed Munster semi-final. pWicklow manage to show their intent
Tommy Murphy Cup: Wicklow overcame Offaly by five points in Arklow on Saturday despite the absence through illness of manager Mick O'Dwyer. pStanfield sends Louth clear
Limerick 0-13 Louth 0-14: Limerick squandered a three- point lead midway through the second half and paid the price when Mark Stanfield struck the winning score for Louth after a match at Limerick in which the sides were level seven times. pWestmeath exact revenge
Westmeath 0-18 Longford 0-9: Aided by an outstanding performance from midfielder Martin Flanagan Westmeath turned in an impressive display to exact revenge on Longford, in a disappointingly one-sided clash at Cusack Park, Mullingar, on Saturday evening. pDerry bring an era to its conclusion
All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers Round One/Derry 0-10 Armagh 0-9: There are few more poignant moments in life than the end of an era, and sport is no exception. Who knows if or when Armagh will ever regain their former football glory, but surely now it won't be with the familiar faces that brought it in the first place - not after their quite seismic championship exit in Clones yesterday. pBrick prolific as Kerry take out Down
Christy Ring Cup Round-up: Kerry defeated Down at Austin Stack Park, Tralee, on Saturday afternoon with Shane Brick scoring a personal tally of 15 points to help the home side to a 2-21 to 2-11 victory. pGalway take advantage
Connacht MFC Final/Galway 2-7 Roscommon 0-9: Galway dashed Roscommon's hopes of retaining the Connacht title at Dr Hyde Park yesterday. The visiting side snatched control in the final quarter following the sending off of Roscommon captain Paul Garvey for a second bookable offence. pTimely goal puts Kildare through
Kildare 2-13 Roscommon 1-13: Pádraig O'Neill delivered a crucial goal in the 64th minute to propel Kildare forward into the second round of the All-Ireland football qualifiers at Dr Hyde Park on Saturday. pTipperary make numbers count
Munster MHC Final/Tipperary 0-18 Cork 1-11: Tipperary pulled away from 14-man Cork in the closing 10 minutes in Thurles yesterday for a deserved win after a closely fought contest. pLeitrim push Donegal to the limit
Donegal 1-16 Leitrim 1-14: Donegal were given the fright of their lives by a brave Leitrim side in Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday, but points by subs Stephen McDermott and Eamon McGee secured victory for Brian McIvor's side deep into extra time. pReal case of the Blues for Bob in Thurles
LockerRoom: Travelled to Thurles yesterday with old pal Bob in the car, wondering all the while what I could steal from him. Yeah yeah yeah, I'm a poor class of friend to have, but listen, it's dangerous to set off on the morning of a Munster final without a column written. You could be waylaid by vagabonds or drinkers and never even get a column started and then have to endure an awkward conversation with the sports editor the next day. Believe me, it's always awkward talking up to him from a kneeling position. I learned that as a freelance. p
Grant's arrival a test for Mourinho
Chelsea have appointed Avram Grant as director of football, just three days after their chief executive, Peter Kenyon, made a call for unity next season. It is believed that attempts to bring Grant to the club in January were met with resistance from the club's manager, Jose Mourinho. It even appeared the issue might hasten Mourinho's departure from Stamford Bridge but the Portuguese has since been persuaded to tolerate changes in the club's managerial structure. pBates still in pole position
Ken Bates appears to be in pole position to regain control of Leeds United after one of the leading bidders for the ailing club last night described the sale process as "utterly prejudicial". pSetanta in grab for British viewers
Owen Gibson and Richard Wray on the growing battle between sport's big two television broadcasters pAll systems go for Connor
Bohemians v Bray Wanderers: Bohemians manager Sean Connor hopes to complete a deal to bring forward Chris Turner's arrival from Sligo Rovers over the course of today. The midfielder has already signed a pre-contract agreement with the Dublin club but Rovers had insisted on receiving a fee for the player if he wished to make the move before the end of the season. pCork pay the price for not making early closure
Cork City 1 Hammarby (Sweden) 1: Cork City failed to take full advantage of their early superiority and paid a heavy price in the second round, first leg Intertoto Cup tie at Turner's Cross on Saturday. pFleming given time
The election of the FAI's vice-president for the next two years was postponed for six weeks on Saturday as a result of current holder Maurice Fleming's failure to lodge a nomination for re-election. pBrazil and Uruguay find their form
Brazil and Uruguay confounded the critics who had labelled them dull and unimaginative by combining to fire 10 goals past their opponents in reaching the Copa America semi-finals on Saturday. p
Stunning Federer secures legendary status
Men's Singles Final: After three hours and 45 minutes, as Roger Federer fell to his knees on Centre Court, a sense of deflation that this final had drawn to a close was stirring among the crowd. Fittingly, a put-away smash at the net was what finally Federer's legendary status is secure at the age of 25. But the crowd wanted more. pWilliams is just bigger, stronger, faster and better
Women's singles final: In the third round of Wimbledon Venus Williams was going out of the tournament. She was 3-5 down in the final set to Akiko Morigami and alarm bells were ringing. Williams could barely hit a ball inside the lines and was screaming at her team up in the player's box as Morigami industriously patted balls back to feed the American's self destruction. pBopanna finds consolation
Irish Open final: India's Rohan Bopanna left Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club on Saturday as Shelbourne Irish Open champion in singles as well as doubles. pSue gets vapours as nostalgia oozes and Borg is emanated
TV View: That's the thing about BBC build-ups to big sporting events - you know yourself: those very lovely musical montage thingies and the like - more often than not they're so ludicrously brilliant it's a case of 'after the Lord Mayor's Show' when the event itself gets under way. p
Springboks counting cost
Tri-Nations Series/Australia 25 South Africa 17: South Africa's stand-in skipper Bob Skinstad is in danger of missing the World Cup after breaking a rib in his team's 25-17 Tri-Nations loss to Australia in Sydney on Saturday. p
Montgomerie plays up a storm
Destiny has a way of choosing its favoured sons; and, so, it was no surprise that Colin Montgomerie - one of the most prolific winners in the history of the European Tour, but who had fallen on lean times in terms of collecting titles in recent seasons - was yesterday returned to the fold in the rather fitting surroundings of The K Club, where his one stroke victory over Niclas Fasth in the Smurfit Kappa European Open gave the Scot his 31st tour win and fourth achieved on Irish soil. pThunderclap signals heavy weather for McDowell
John O'Sullivan hears from Ireland's leading finisher about his late slide down the order pEuropean glory as Irish overcome formidable French
EUROPEAN AMATEUR: The Ireland team returned home to Dublin Airport early yesterday morning after putting in a sterling performance to beat France in the final to secure the European Amateur Team Championships at Western Gailes Golf Club for the first time in 20 years, writes Paul Gallagher. p
Hats off to Notnowcato in Eclipse
Peter Chapple-Hyam was in philosophical mood after Authorized suffered a surprise reverse in Saturday's Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown. The Epsom Derby winner finished second to Notnowcato in the 10-furlong feature, in which Michael Stoute's winner raced alone up the stands side for much of the home straight. p
Kürten drops back in Aachen
EQUESTRIAN: Jessica Kürten had looked virtually unstoppable going into yesterday's Rolex Grand Prix in Aachen, Germany, after trouncing the opposition in Saturday's feature jump-off class, but that form deserted the Irish woman just when she needed it. pClinical KO brings Lee count to ten
BOXING: The unbeaten Irish middleweight Andy Lee celebrated the 10th win of his career after flooring Thomas Hengstberger in the second round in Germany last Saturday night. pRaikkonen too hot for home boy Hamilton
MOTOR SPORT/Formula One Championship British Grand Prix: There's a moment in every fairytale where the hero has to undergo a number of trials before emerging a stronger, wiser character. For Lewis Hamilton, the first test came in the shape of overcoming a team-mate of the stature of double world champion Fernando Alonso. That, in Canada, was achieved with a first victory that sent Alonso spiralling into a sulk the size of Spain. The second obstacle may not be so negotiable. pCampbell takes champion's scalp
ROWING/Henley Regatta: Coleraine's Alan Campbell produced the race of his life to beat world champion Mahe Drysdale in the final of the Diamond Sculls at the Henley Royal Regatta. pEngland aiming to boost flagging fortunes
CRICKET: England are considering including Marcus Trescothick in their one-day plans again to boost their flagging fortunes. pAFL's affluence comes with certain loss of soul
Letter From Australia: One of the paradoxes of Australian football is the anguish over the direction of the game despite attendances that suggest its health has never been so rude. pMillar lights up home stage
CYCLING/Tour de France: It is 21 years since a Briton pulled the red-on-white polka-dotted jersey over his shoulders, and yesterday one Millar managed to succeeded another, with the former poster boy of British cycling, David, emulating the quiet, taciturn Robert in the shadow of the great cathedral and the looming city walls. pStepney flees for safety
FORMULA ONE : Former Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney says he has left Italy fearing for his safety after being accused of passing confidential information to McLaren's chief designer. p
