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Clarke ready to let fly
GOLF: Darren Clarke has been through the mill but his game is as good as it has been for ages, he tells Philip Reid p

Cork's Miskella gets first start in championship
GAA: Cork football manager Billy Morgan has made two changes from the Munster final defeat to Kerry for Sunday's second ever championship meeting between Cork and Louth (the first instalment was the 1957 All-Ireland final, which Louth won 1-9 to 1-7. It was the Wee County's third and most recent All-Ireland title). p

Tevez deal suffers another setback
SOCCER: Carlos Tevez' move to Manchester United suffered a fresh setback last night when West Ham blocked the Argentinian's proposed medical on the day that he arrived in Manchester from Venezuela. p

Gaelic Games

Dublin defence now faces bigger test
Jack O'Connor's column: The worry for Dublin is they may have perfected their physical style a year too late p
Kilkenny secretary criticises Loughnane's comments
Kilkenny secretary Pat Dunphy has accused Ger Loughnane of "speaking out of turn" and asked the Galway manager to back up his claims of Kilkenny "savagery" with specific examples. p
High stakes no excuse for low standards
On Gaelic Games: Poor old Dublin. On Sunday they reeled off a first three-in-a-row for over a decade. In doing so they emphasised that their dominion in Leinster is impressively comprehensive by dusting off the county that has almost monopolised under-age success in the province over the same period. p
Dublin to play on Saturday
In order to satisfy the demand for tickets, the GAA have confirmed Dublin will play their All-Ireland football quarter-final at Croke Park on Saturday, August 11th. The Nicky Rackard Cup final will precede it. p
End of the goad nowhere in sight
Showboating and baiting are par for the course and in the emotion of battle are unlikely to be stamped out, two Dublin stalwarts tell Ian O'Riordan p
Masters and Cork primed to strike
Ian O'Riordan talks to Cork forward James Masters, who is acutely aware of the danger of taking Louth for granted in next Saturday's third-round qualifier p
Dublin poised for final delivery
Leinster U-21 H Final/Dublin v Offaly: Given their respective passages to this evening's Leinster final it's difficult to know who should qualify as favourites - Dublin, for their impressive semi-final win over Wexford, or Offaly, for their narrow win over All-Ireland holders Kilkenny. p

Soccer

Patient Wenger bides his time
Arsène Wenger has decided to wait until at least the end of August before appointing a director of football at Arsenal. The position was thought to be a priority after the April departure of the vice-chairman, David Dein, who played a key role in negotiating transfers and contracts. p
Beckham debut against Chelsea in doubt
The Los Angeles Galaxy's plans to hand David Beckham a prestigious debut against Chelsea on Saturday are set to be dashed with the former England captain still struggling to shrug off the ankle ligament injury suffered towards the end of his final season at Real Madrid. p
Robertson unfazed by tough test
Uefa Champions League First qualifying round, first leg: Having overseen Hearts' moderately successful Uefa Cup campaign three seasons ago, John Robertson is no stranger to the international side of the club game. p
O'Donovan sets Cork up for win
League of Ireland Premier Division/Cork City 2 Waterford United 0: The remarkable Roy O'Donovan brought his season's harvest of goals to 20 from all competitions with Cork City's opening goal at Turner's Cross last night. p
Keane continues to spend
Soccer Digest Sunderland manager Roy Keane yesterday continued his spending spree when he paid €2.2 million for Norwich City midfielder Dickson Etuhu. p

Racing

Fallon gets the all-clear
Kieren Fallon could be in line for a weekend comeback after extensive tests indicated the former champion jockey escaped serious injury in a fall in France last Saturday. p
Downtown should have the stamina
Today's Meetings: Conditions are sure to be ultra-testing at Leopardstown this evening and a test of stamina could be just the trick for the regally bred Downtown in the Listed Challenge Stakes. p

Rugby

Wallabies rush Latham comeback
Australia have rushed Chris Latham back into their Test squad for Saturday's Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup decider against a full-strength New Zealand side. p

Golf

Woods in creative mode
Who'd bet against him? The new arrival into the Woods household - a little bundle of joy called Sam - may be his new obsession, and yesterday the merest mention of his daughter and of his status as a father brought an instant Colgate smile to light up the media interview room, but the world's number one has an older passion pulling at his heartstrings here at Carnoustie, on Scotland's east coast. p
Els ready for the 'toughest of the whole lot'
In his first British Open, as an amateur, Ernie Els missed the cut. It was to be his one and only time to suffer such a fate; and, in his professional days, very few players - with the exception of Tiger Woods - have played as consistently well in this major as the South African with the languid swing. p
Harrington hopes the odds are right
Carnoustie Diary: The bookmakers can get it wrong, as illustrated by Zach Johnson's odds of 175 to 1 when he won the green jacket at Augusta in April . . . but even Padraig Harrington - who has won two Dunhill Links Championships, part of which is played at Carnoustie, in the past four years - was surprised to hear his odds were as low as 22 to 1 with some bookmakers for this week's British Open. p

Other

Vinokourov runs out of steam and hope
Cycling/Tour de France: Gradually but inexorably the list of possible winners of this Tour is shortening. Barring a dramatic turn of events, yesterday's short, intense Alpine stage saw the end of Alexandr Vinokourov's slim hopes. p
Fun the rally cry in battle for tyros
On Tennis: It does not always have to be fire and brimstone in tennis. It is not always about elite players doggedly wearing a trail around the most exotic corners of the world in an effort to gain ranking points, to win Federation and Davis Cup matches, or to make it into the main draw of one of the four Grand Slam events. p
Sports Digest
Doctor put on notice/DRUGS IN SPORT: The doctor at the centre of an Italian doping investigation has been summoned to appear before the country's Olympic committee. p

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Clarke ready to let fly

Cork's Miskella gets first start in championship

Tevez deal suffers another setback

Dublin defence now faces bigger test

Kilkenny secretary criticises Loughnane's comments

High stakes no excuse for low standards

Dublin to play on Saturday

End of the goad nowhere in sight

Masters and Cork primed to strike

Dublin poised for final delivery

Patient Wenger bides his time

Beckham debut against Chelsea in doubt

Robertson unfazed by tough test

O'Donovan sets Cork up for win

Keane continues to spend

Fallon gets the all-clear

Downtown should have the stamina

Wallabies rush Latham comeback

Woods in creative mode

Els ready for the 'toughest of the whole lot'

Harrington hopes the odds are right

Vinokourov runs out of steam and hope

Fun the rally cry in battle for tyros

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