Previous Day
United race into next stage
SOCCER: Uefa Champions League/Manchester Utd 4, Dynamo Kiev
0 Manchester United guaranteed qualification from
Group F like a team in a hurry and, on this form, they will be in a
rush, too, to begin the next phase of the competition. p
Endgame has that rare Feale about it
GAELIC GAMES/Kerry County football final: It's
endgame in the county-final season and fitting that Kerry has saved
the best until last. Sunday's football final features a classic
north-south rivalry and several All-Ireland medallists, and even
though the winners don't get to play in the Munster championship
there's plenty at stake, including the Kerry captaincy for
2008. p
Bowl shaped to leave room for afters
OLYMPIC GAMES: Plain but powerful, and
offering a post-Games legacy, is how the designer describes
London's flagship venue for the 2012 Olympics. p
Soccer
Arsenal ride their luck to safe passage
Uefa Champions League: Slavia Prague 0, Arsenal 0 Seldom can success have felt so flat. Arsenal garnered the point to guarantee their passage to the next stage of this competition. In doing so they extended their unbeaten sequence to 26 matches in all competitions, and victory at Sevilla on November 27th will hand them top place in Group H. pRangers are taught a blunt lesson
Uefa Champions League: Barcelona 2, Rangers 0 For Rangers the task remains the same. Victory over Lyon in their final group game on December 12th will ensure Walter Smith's team progress to the last 16 of the Champions League, as was the situation before kick-off last night, but the distinctly simplistic nature of their defeat by Barcelona will not be lost on the Rangers manager. pBenayoun can be England hero
Liverpool were not alone in seeking salvation in Yossi Benayoun's destruction of Besiktas at Anfield. For Steve McClaren, the sight of the Israel captain returning to form provided rare but rich encouragement for the England manager ahead of the contest in Tel Aviv next Saturday that may well decide his fate. pAttack-minded Grant suffers a reality Cech
Uefa Champions League: There may be a new management team at Stamford Bridge, but familiar frailties are threatening to undermine Chelsea's progress yet again. Avram Grant flew in to Gatwick early yesterday morning pondering the implications of the calf injury sustained by Petr Cech in Gelsenkirchen, the manager's gaze inevitably drawn to the crutches at the goalkeeper's side. pFifa's solution angers Wells
FAI-IFA dispute: Fifa's attempt to find what their spokesman described as "an amicable solution" to the dispute between Ireland's two football associations appeared to have failed yesterday as the officials at the Belfast-based Irish Football Association expressed surprise and anger over the federation's suggestion that players born anywhere on the island be allowed to choose which national team they played for. pJewell likely to opt for return to Wigan
The developing game of footsy between Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan and his former manager, Paul Jewell, looked increasingly likely yesterday to end with confirmation the FAI will need to look elsewhere for Steve Staunton's successor. pMegson must cope without key players
Uefa Group Cup stage: Bayern Munich v Bolton Wanderers, Allianz Arena, 6.0 When Gary Megson was serving as an unpaid coach at Stoke City this summer he can hardly have imagined November would see him leading Bolton Wanderers out at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. pRamos open to idea of offloading Berbatov
Uefa Cup Group stage: Hapoel Tel-Aviv v Tottenham, Bloomfield Stadium, 4.0 The new Tottenham manager, Juande Ramos, will not attempt to block a transfer for Dimitar Berbatov if the striker wants to leave White Hart Lane during the January transfer window. pMoyes calls for calm as fans are left short
Uefa Cup Group stage: Nurnberg v Everton, Frankenstadion, 8.05 David Moyes has appealed to ticketless Everton supporters not to jeopardise the club's European position when they descend on the Frankenstadion here tonight. pSoccerDigest
Praise for McGeady: Captain Stephen McManus insists Celtic are still alive and kicking in the Champions League after victory over Benfica, while manager Gordon Strachan hailed the goalscorer Aiden McGeady as "awesome" and "different class." p
Never mind the style, feel the strength
European Cup: The Leinster coach knows that this year a province expects, writes Gerry Thornley pPrendergast wary of statistics
Pool Two: Ulster v Gloucester Johnny Watterson hears from the Munsterman now showing fine form with the English Premiership leaders pPelous ends France career
France's most capped player, Fabien Pelous, has retired from international rugby. pSA scrap team racial quotas
South Africa will no longer have quotas for non-white players. In an attempt to stop their star players and coach from signing lucrative contracts with European teams, South African officials yesterday scrapped a long-held commitment to racial quotas for their national sports teams. pArgentina eye Seven Nations
Argentina will step up their bid to join the Six Nations by presenting their case to the International Rugby Board later this month. pRigney returns for Connacht
Colm Rigney comes back into the Connacht fold for tomorrow's opening European Challenge Cup fixture against Brive at the Parc Municipal des Sports. Rigney, in line to win his 100th cap, replaces David Gannon in the only change to the 22 from last week's 29-9 defeat to Leinster. p
Result of ballot to be known tomorrow
One of the potentially defining moments in GAA history will be known at noon tomorrow with the result of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) ballot on strike action, stemming from the ongoing impasse over the implementation of the proposed Government player welfare grant. pLoughnane cuts team
Ger Loughnane has confirmed Tony Considine will not be part of the Galway management for the 2008 season. p
Mickelson has Olympic hopes
Golf News: World number two Phil Mickelson expects to see golf on the Olympic programme in the near future, believing its inclusion would act as a spur to help the sport develop around the world. p
Darley decides to retire after Doncaster finale
News Round-Up: Veteran Staffordshire trainer Reg Hollinshead yesterday led the tributes for Kevin Darley, who will hang up his riding boots at the end of the Flat season on Saturday. p
Coe hails new stadium for 'completely new era'
Olympics 2008: The Olympic organising committee chairman, double Olympic 1,500 metres champion Sebastian Coe, described it as a "stadium for a completely new era that will be inspiring and have a lasting legacy". pFina abandons inquiry into Thorpe tests
Olympic Games: Swimming's world governing body Fina has abandoned its investigation into the results of a doping test from Ian Thorpe after the Australian was cleared of any offences. pMooney top of class in first day at school
Sports Digest/GOLF: Northern Ireland's Damian Mooney stormed to the top of the leaderboard with a seven-under-par 65 at Costa Ballena after the first round of Stage Two of the European Tour Qualifying School in Spain. pIt's coach eat coach as NFL gets interesting
America at Large: The New England Patriots stand alone atop the NFL this weekend, but they aren't the only undefeated football team in the nation. With but a few weeks remaining in the collegiate season, three major NCAA teams also boast perfect records - Ohio State, Hawaii and (gulp!) Kansas. p
