ireland.com - The Irish Times

Job would suit O'Leary - Keane
Soccer: With characteristic candour, Roy Keane yesterday expressed qualified sympathy for Steve Staunton in the wake of his dismissal by the FAI along with measured support for the idea of Dave O'Leary succeeding him as the Republic of Ireland manager. p

Kearney double puts Cork through
Soccer FAI Cup semi-final/ Bohemians 0 Cork City 2 : Seán Connor's assertion this week that the only thing you look for in the FAI Cup is a home draw appeared a little premature last night as his side failed to turn in anything like the sort of performance required to capitalise on the advantage. p

Ulster salvage half the spoils
Rugby/ Ulster 16 Leinster 16: For the second season in succession Ulster and Leinster fought out a draw. p

Marathon Times

Many Irish competitors but no Irish challenger
It's hard to imagine the excitement if, sometime after 11 o'clock on Monday morning, an Irish athlete is leading the Dublin marathon into the finish at Merrion Square, safe in their moment of victory, and about to collect the winner's cheque for €15,000. And then, this being Dublin, the marathon-type celebrations could begin. p
Stay cool, calm and collect it
Want to be a successful marathon veteran? John Treacy explains why planning and attitude are the vital ingredients for reaching the finish-line. p
The sole of Dublin
Marathon Challenge: The Adidas four-year deal was a major boost for the Dublin marathon, giving it international recognition and street credibility, writes Ronan McGreevy . p
They come from far and wide
Marathon Challenge: The Dublin marathon attracts thousands from overseas. Lindie Naughton finds out why. p
Stepping up to a logistical challenge
Marathon Challenge: For Dublin City Council, the marathon involves an enormous amount of organisation and co-operation. Ronan McGreevy reports on the work behind the scenes. p
Running out of time . . .
Marathon Countdown: The training may be over, but the last 48 hours before the race are crucial to your performance, writes Ian O'Riordan . p
What are you doing to your body?
Marathon Countdown: It is not just your legs that carry you through the race. Each organ has to work hard to get you to the finishing-line. Ian O'Riordan finds out how the marathon affects your body p
One thing to run the marathon, another to run the whole event
Marathon Tasks: Emmet Malone talks to the man charged with organising Monday's marathon in Dublin. p
Simply no doubting who deals better
Marathon Tasks: Sorry guys, but the girls hold all the aces when it comes to running in the pack this Monday in Dublin. Lindie Naughton explains why - while men often fold when the ante is raised late in the game - women can confidently go all in. p
Welcome to the world of wimps and weaklings
Marathon Motivation: Fintan O'Toole explains why those who are bad at sport have an advantage when it comes to running a marathon. p
Long-running one-man show a personal hit
Marathon Motivation: Brian Boyd manages to stop comedian Tommy Tiernan from moving just long enough to find out what possessed him to enter this year's Dublin marathon p
Just remember, don't act the goat
Last Lap: Be thankful the marathon doesn't finish in another city. Frank McNally explains. p
Been there, done that . . . now what?
Last Lap: You collapse over the finish-line. Your body is screaming at you for putting it through such toil. Your first thought is 'never again'. Ian O'Riordan reckons by your second thought you could well have dropped the 'never' p
And the winners are . . . not what they seem
Planet Marathon : Not that we want to be giving you any ideas, but when we read last month about the former Mexican presidential candidate Roberto Madrazo being disqualified from the Berlin marathon after taking a shortcut, en route to "winning" the men's over-55 category, we had a look through the archives for similarly quirky tales of cheating. p

Soccer

Benitez accepts home truth
English Premier League : Rafael Benitez has denied Liverpool's European predicament has created tension with the club's American owners and admitted yesterday he shares Tom Hicks's view that the Premier League title is a realistic expectation. p
Ramos on verge of completing Spurs move
English Premier League: Juande Ramos was on the verge of completing his managerial move to Tottenham last night, after Primera Liga club Sevilla announced his resignation as coach on their website. p
'Roker' celebrates its most loved son
A Year on The Wear : It felt incongruous at the time: why would they have an Arctic Monkeys tribute band on at a do like this? So it proved: this was the wrong entrance. p
Confidence flows through Wenger
English Premier League: Arsène Wenger has blown his side's cover at last. Arsenal arrive on Merseyside tomorrow top and propelled by a run of 12 consecutive victories but, for the first time, their manager has offered up the reality that should they repeat last season's successes against the other contenders they could prove uncatchable. p
City folk learning to love the big tipper
English Premier League: Sven-Goran Eriksson is winning matches and friends in England's north-west, writes Kevin McCarra . p
Leeds a brighter place to be now for Wise
English League : Anniversaries are often times for reflection and Dennis Wise has spent much of the past week in unusually contemplative mood. p
Mathews hoping for a fairytale end to a difficult season
FAI Cup semi-final : Towards the end of a season during which he has had to endure both the tightening of belts and the deduction of points, Longford Town manager Alan Mathews accepts he and his employers may have somewhat different outlooks on what the best thing about a victory over UCD in tomorrow's second FAI Cup semi-final would be. p
Fingal council plan features new club
FAI League of Ireland News : Fingal County Council yesterday unveiled details of their new football development plan, a wide-ranging document for the promotion of the sport within the local authority's area that includes a proposal for a high-quality training centre and the launch of a new League of Ireland club, Sporting Fingal. p
Waterford make important point
League of Ireland/ Waterford United 1 Drogheda United 1: From the start Waterford set about winning a hard-earned point that could yet prove vital in their battle for survival in the top division. p
Charles strikes decisive blow
League of Ireland/ Galway United 1 Derry City 0: In the search for survival every point pocketed is precious and Galway United entered Terryland Park utterly aware of this encounter's significance. p
Get Jol a pair of green speedos pronto
Sideline Cut: Having bravely defended his doomed international manager Stephen Staunton on the Late Late Show last Friday night, Robbie Keane wakes up this morning having also lost his club manager at Tottenham, Martin Jol. p

Rugby

Union must try harder to entertain
Rugby World Cup - The need for change: John O'Sullivan on moves to make the game less defensive and reward flair and invention. p
Munster scrape a draw
Celtic League/ Glasgow 11 Munster 11 : Professional rugby took a step backwards last night as Glasgow Warriors and Munster ground out a draw in a game of little creativity. p
Connacht dig deep to earn a deserved share of the spoils
Celtic League: Connacht 14 Edinburgh 14 : Connacht produced a determined second half comeback to force a draw with Edinburgh for the second successive year at the Galway Sportsground. p
Bedrock stuck in a hard place
All-Ireland League : Yesterday the Division-Three champions, Bruff, stepped on to the team bus and started off on their journey to Derry. Connemara will be making a comparable odyssey later in the campaign when they leave Monastery Field bound for Ards. p
England players tell of crisis meetings
News : A number of leading players in the England team that reached last weekend's World Cup final said yesterday only some hard-hitting crisis meetings saved their tournament. p

Gaelic Games

Talk-show host ready to walk the walk
Galway SFC Final: Keith Duggan talks to radio sports presenter and Milltown player Ciarán Murphy p
Long wait by Ballyboden St Enda's finally over
Ballyboden St Enda's 2-13 St Vincent's 1-5: It was hard to deny the sense of history surrounding last night's Dublin hurling final, with Ballyboden St Enda's looking to make it, and St Vincent's looking to recreate it. In the end, it felt more like destiny than history as Ballyboden easily won their first senior title after many years of trying and several near misses. p
GAA previews
A look at this weekend's GAA fixtures p
Morgan has ban reduced
Gaelic Games: Cork football manager Billy Morgan has had his six-month ban for verbal abuse of a linesman during the All-Ireland final reduced to eight weeks, to run from October 4th, writes Seán Moran. p

Golf

Lawrie in with a fighting chance
Mallorca Classic: Robert-Jan Derksen of The Netherlands and France's Jean-Francois Lucquin shared the clubhouse lead in the weather-hit Mallorca Classic at Pula Golf Club, with 54 players unable to complete their second rounds because of the knock-on effect of Thursday's thunderstorm. p
Gillen produces best form to retain tour card
Golf Digest/LET QUALIFYING: Ireland's Martina Gillen earned her Ladies European Tour card for the 2008 season with an impressive, four-under-par 68 in her final round at the Final Qualifying School at Le Fonti Golf Club, Italy. p

Racing

Is industry about to shoot itself in foot?
Racing: Increased pandering to TV and off-course bookies is a worrying development. Brian O'Connor reports p
Dylan Thomas can deliver
Breeders' Cup Preview: Putting the label "world championships" on a Breeders' Cup that has just nine runners from outside North America seems even more presumptuous than usual for America's most valuable race day but there will be little arguing with a world-champion tag if Dylan Thomas successfully brings the curtain down on his career at Monmouth Park tonight. p
Time looks ripe for Curtain Call
Weekend Previews: Curtain Call will attempt to secure a first Group One success for both trainer Jessica Harrington and jockey Fran Berry when he lines up in today's Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster. p

Other

Longing to share the same sweet loneliness
On Athletics: Only twice in my life have I sat on a plane alongside a complete stranger and ended up in an argument. On taking off from Boston one time, the man next to me said he was a pilot, and to relax, that even a monkey could fly a plane, such was the excellence of computer technology involved. p
Lindberg out in Chicago
Boxing: Irish bantamweight Ryan Lindberg, from the Immaculata club in Belfast, bowed out of the World Championships and Olympic qualifiers after he was stopped on the 20-point rule in the third by Puerto Rican McJoe Arroyo in Chicago yesterday. p
Irish winner in Belfast
Equestrian: Cheshire-based Corkman Billy Twomey got Ireland off the mark at the Northern Ireland International Horse Show in the Odyssey arena, Belfast, on Thursday night by landing the Navigator Blue Stakes on Sue Davis's Belgian warmblood stallion Pikap. p
Series moves to Denver
Baseball: The World Series shifts to Colorado for Game Three tonight, a move the Rockies hope will also bring a shift in momentum as they trail the Boston Red Sox 2-0 in the best-of-seven Major League Baseball championship. p
McLaren appeal set
Formula One: McLaren's hopes of Lewis Hamilton being awarded the Formula One world championship will be put to the test on November 15th. p

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