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Jol makes way for Ramos
SOCCER Uefa Cup Group stage/Tottenham Hotspur 1 Getafe 2: Martin Jol and Tottenham Hotspur's torturous divorce was finally confirmed last night with the Dutchman agreeing a severance package at the club. He is to be replaced by the man courted by the Spurs board so brazenly in August, Sevilla's Juande Ramos, with the Premiership club hopeful the Sevilla coach can be unveiled here as early as next week. p

New body designed to avoid recourse to court
SPORT AND THE LAW: All facets of Irish sport are expected to benefit from the establishment of a new, independent dispute resolution service, launched yesterday. Just Sport Ireland (JSI) is intended, over time, to change the landscape of the dispute and resolution process of Irish sport: ie, essentially, to keep it out of the courts. p

Murphy gives himself a chance
GOLF/Mallorca Classic: Ireland's Gary Murphy made the perfect start in his bid to gain a place in next week's Volvo Masters in Valderrama. p

Soccer

Pressure on Benitez to deliver increases
Uefa Champions League: Liverpool's manager, Rafael Benitez, will have to guide his team to the Premier League title to justify the €57 million the club invested in new players in the summer, according to the club's co-owner Tom Hicks.
Irish players accept some of the blame
Two members of the Republic of Ireland squad accepted yesterday the players contributed to manager Steve Staunton's downfall, with Lee Carsley describing their performances as "unprofessional at times" and Stephen Hunt admitting he and others had failed to perform against the Cypriots last week. Emmet Malone , Soccer Correspondent, reports. p
Murray looks for cup win to give timely boost
FAI Cup Semi-final preview/Bohemians v Cork City: Cork City skipper Dan Murray believes if his side beat Bohemians at Dalymount Park tonight and then go on to lift the Ford-sponsored FAI Cup at the start of December the victory could pave the way for bigger and better things next season. p
Ballack expects to return this year
Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack has said he is almost pain-free and looking forward to returning to action. p
Cahill scores on comeback
Soccer Digest: Everton won their Uefa Cup Group A match against Larissa of Greece 3-1 at Goodison Park last night. p

Rugby

Now we see Contepomi, now we don't
Celtic League/Ulster v Leinster At Ravenhill. ON TV: (Setanta Sports, 7.30): Leinster coach Michael Cheika appears to be an advocate of a cloak-and-dagger selection policy. In announcing his squad earlier in the week for tonight's Magners Celtic League clash, he included Felipe Contepomi and omitted Brian Blaney. Yesterday the Argentinian outhalf was nowhere to be found in the match squad while Blaney was named as the replacement hooker. p
Kidney has internationals back as season gets serious
Glasgow v Munster, At Firhill Arena, 7.30pm: All of the Irish provinces will want to think about putting some points opposite their name on the league table. With the Welsh sides quick out of the blocks and occupying the top four places, this week is as good as any for Munster to start making their mark in the Magners Celtic League. p
Connacht face tough task as Edinburgh name big guns
Connacht v Edinburgh, At the Sportsground, 6.30pm: Five points from four games is not where Connacht wanted to be. But no need to panic yet and with Ulster below them on the table, Michael Bradley's team have at least some slim bragging rights. p
Cal's NZ Lionz make a killing Rugby
The Irish Times/Wolf Blass fantasy competition: It's in the genes, the bloodline of rugby knowledge that allowed Robert Roughan to prevail in The Irish Times /Wolf Blass fantasy rugby competition, which ran during the recent World Cup. p

Gaelic Games

Minister sees sports council role in resolving grants issue
A breakthrough in the dispute concerning players' grants moved closer yesterday with the announcement by Séamus Brennan, Minster for Arts, Sport and Tourism that he has arranged talks between his department, the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association and that he also sees a possible role for the Irish Sports Council in resolving the issue. p
Blue and white flags fly again as double beckons
Tonight in Parnell Park the Dublin hurling title will be sorted out between St Vincent's and Ballyboden St Enda's, the clubs that have lost the last two county finals. But there's more to it than that. p

Golf

Browne, Moriarty keep leaders in sight
Challenge Tour: Colm Moriarty and Stephen Browne stayed in touch with the leaders at the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final yesterday, with second round scores of 72 and 69 leaving the Irish pair hopeful of sneaking into the top 20 of the end-of-season rankings tomorrow afternoon. p

Racing

Irish duo get the ball rolling
Ireland has two bullets to fire in tonight's opening salvoes of the 2007 Breeders' Cup at Monmouth Park in New Jersey where Aidan O'Brien's Achill Island and Dermot Weld's Domestic Fund are among the favourites for the $1 million juvenile turf event. p

Other

Australia A brush Ireland aside
WOMEN'S HOCKEY: With Ireland playing their final two matches against Australia A at Belfield tomorrow and Sunday (both games are at 3pm) there is a reduced Leinster first division programme this weekend, with just three matches scheduled. p
Charlesworth set for IHA event
MEN'S HOCKEY: The Irish Hockey Association has spiced up its annual hockey conference "Hooked" by signing up legendary Australian hockey and cricket player Ric Charlesworth. The conference, where large segments will be devoted to coaching, takes place on January 5th and 6th in UCD, Dublin. p
Organisers aim for more open, clean race
CYCLING/Tour of France: The organisers of the Tour de France have unveiled the route of the 2008 edition, modifying the traditional format in order to boost the chances of a more aggressive, unpredictable race. p
Extended season the way forward
SAILING: White sails, filled and stretched across the bay in glorious sunshine and steady breeze. Nearby, a large cruising yacht at anchor off the picturesque cove paints a classic picture of summer sailing in Ireland. Except this was the scene earlier this week as our climate somersaults following a season where wind was generally notable for its absence and blue skies were equally as fickle. p
Top-class athletes head to Corrib
ROWING: Those who feel top-class athletes put nothing back into their sport should have a look at Alan Martin. Just weeks ago the 26-year-old Galwayman stroked the heavyweight four that landed Ireland a place at the Olympic Games, but in recent days his mind has not been on Beijing but on laying buoys on the Corrib for tomorrow's NUIG Head of the River. p

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Jol makes way for Ramos

New body designed to avoid recourse to court

Murphy gives himself a chance

Pressure on Benitez to deliver increases

Irish players accept some of the blame

Murray looks for cup win to give timely boost

Ballack expects to return this year

Cahill scores on comeback

Now we see Contepomi, now we don't

Kidney has internationals back as season gets serious

Connacht face tough task as Edinburgh name big guns

Cal's NZ Lionz make a killing Rugby

Minister sees sports council role in resolving grants issue

Blue and white flags fly again as double beckons

Browne, Moriarty keep leaders in sight

Irish duo get the ball rolling

Australia A brush Ireland aside

Charlesworth set for IHA event

Organisers aim for more open, clean race

Extended season the way forward

Top-class athletes head to Corrib

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