Previous Day
Late Arteta and Anichebe goals see Everton through
SOCCER/Uefa Cup Group stage/Nurnberg 0 Everton
2: Southern Germany proved a fertile breeding ground for
English clubs in Europe last night as Everton secured their place
at the summit of Group A with a late victory over Nurnberg. p
Morgan quits after selection problems
GAELIC GAMES: Billy Morgan has stepped down as manager of the Cork footballers, indicating that he would not be seeking a new appointment. Citing his unhappiness at the Cork County Board decision to impose selectors on the management, Morgan brought the curtain down on an involvement with the county senior footballers that stretches back over 40 years. p
SA suspend the ban on overseas-based players
RUGBY: South Africa yesterday suspended a decision
to ban overseas-based players from appearing for the Springboks
clearing the way for John Smit to lead the world champions in a
one-off Test against Wales. p
Soccer
Brazil to return for friendly in February
The FAI have confirmed that Brazil will visit Dublin for a friendly game against the Republic of Ireland on February 6th. It will be the five times World Cup winners' fourth visit to Dublin and should yield a substantial boost to the finances of the association. pMuch at stake in Cork
With the top-two spots already decided ahead of this evening's meeting between St Patrick's Athletic and Drogheda United at Richmond Park, Bohemians travel to Cork in the weekend's closest thing to a title decider as the two clubs battle for third place and the guarantee of European football. pTense time as trapdoor awaits
Bray Wanderers manager Eddie Gormley may be right when he predicts the big winners at the bottom end of the table this evening will be the side that keeps its nerve as others lose theirs but it is Waterford United rather than Bray Wanderers who stand to gain or lose most in tonight's final round of games. pBolton work it out in Germany
Bolton rocked the unbeaten Bundesliga leaders in the Uefa Cup at the Allianz Arena yesterday. pTalk comes at right price for Vidic
Uefa Champions League: Alex Ferguson has felt sufficiently emboldened lately to predict his Manchester United side are better equipped to return the Champions League to Old Trafford than at any stage since they won the competition in 1999 and, having eased through their qualifying round, his players struck a similar chord of optimism yesterday. pSoccer Digest
Today's others stories in brief p
Croke Park capacity reduced for Six Nations
The capacity of Croke Park for next year's three Six Nations matches against Scotland, Wales and Italy will be reduced by 5,441 due to the soccer international against Brazil on February 6th ensuring Dineen/Hill 16 will be covered with temporary seating, writes Gavin Cummiskey. pLeinster's reality check awaits in the long grass
Victor Costello interview: Not much has changed since Leinster and Leicester tangled back in April 2005 at Lansdowne Road. The English champions keep on accumulating silverware while Leinster frustrate with snippets of brilliance, ultimately overshadowed by failure to deliver at decisive moments. pUlster don't do formguides
European Cup, Pool Two/Ulster v Gloucester: Hope springs eternal and all that, and a capacity crowd will ensure a customary Heineken European Cup hotbed at Ravenhill for the high-flying Premiership leaders, Gloucester, tonight. By rights, strictly on form, there should only be one outcome but history has taught us that something about Friday nights under lights in Ravenhill tend to ensure such trivia is shredded come kick-off. pRunning show in an unflustered manner
Chris Whitaker Interview: It may not be entirely coincidental the four games in which Chris Whitaker has played for Leinster this season are the four games in which they were unbeaten. More settled in his second season, the former New South Wales and Wallabies scrumhalf has become an even more influential playmaker for Leinster, running the show in his own unflustered way from the base. pPumas want in
The Six Nations committee confirmed yesterday they have received a letter from the Argentina Rugby Union requesting a place in an expanded tournament pBradley has the west awake
European Challenge Cup, Interview with Michael Bradley: Keith Duggan talks to the Connacht coach who is happy with his lot pMagne's Brive look to have the edge
Brive v Connacht: Former French and London Irish flanker Olivier Magne makes his coaching bow tonight against a Connacht side that has a habit of catching French teams cold in Europe. No matter how many times Michael Bradley's men spring a surprise, French clubs' laissez-faire attitude to their visits and this competition in general ensure there is always a chance to wreak havoc. p
Striking changes on the way
Seán Moran looks at the three key areas in which the GAA must soon make far-reaching decisions pBig issues: Key decisions facing GAA
Key decisions which the GAA may have to look at p
Harrington playing catch-up
European tour/Shanghai: The British Open champion Padraig Harrington is confident of playing catch-up at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai after joining a host of world stars four shots adrift of the surprise early leaders at Sheshan International Golf Club. pDubai event to offer €13.7m prize fund
Professional golf is about to get even more lucrative. It emerged last night the European Tour is to stage the richest tournament in the game's history, €13.7 million at stake over four rounds in the Middle East. pSmyth looks to the positives
Des Smyth says a positive result in the final European Seniors Tour event of the season - The Kingdom of Bahrain Trophy, Seniors Tour Championship - will help redeem his 2007 campaign when he sits back at his home in Drogheda over the winter break and analyses his golfing year. p
Forget The Past jumps to it
Jumping was the name of the game as Forget The Past made a successful reappearance in the Thurles Chase yesterday. p
Pembroke regroup for Bray challenge
MEN'S HOCKEY: Pembroke are likely to be in top form following their visit to the elite European Hockey League last weekend. That it ended in disappointment should not discourage the Serpentine Avenue side come tomorrow, when they meet Bray in the Leinster senior League. Some sides can fail to ignite when faced with a mountainous task one weekend followed by a relatively less demanding call the next. pLoreto face key games
WOMEN'S HOCKEY: A week after they were drawn against each other in the third round of the Irish Senior Cup Pembroke Wanderers and Loreto will have a dress-rehearsal for the tie when they meet in the league at Serpentine Avenue tomorrow. A key game it is too, even so early in the season, with Pembroke able to open up a seven-point lead over the reigning champions should they win the encounter. pLions awarded win after appeal
BASKETBALL: The Tralee Tigers victory over the Limerick Lions on October 27th has been reversed by the Superleague management board. Tralee won the match 81-76 but citing regulation 7.6.7 regarding "procedures that will apply when a game is disrupted and subsequently abandoned for the reason of condensation on the floor of the court" the board awarded Limerick a 20-0 win. pHarnedy receives expert help
ROWING: Ger Hartmann, the Limerick-based physiotherapist who has had such a remarkable influence on top athletes such as Paula Radcliffe, could be about to become an ace in the pack in Ireland's bid to qualify a lightweight boat for the Beijing Olympics. pBeijing road-race target
CYCLING: Following the recent news Ireland have been allocated two places in the Olympic road race next August, those with an eye to competing there will be planning their 2008 seasons with a view to hitting peak form at the crucial times. pRasmussen admits he lied during Tour
CYCLING: Dane Michael Rasmussen, who was thrown out of the Tour de France this summer while leading the race, admitted yesterday he had lied about his training whereabouts before the Tour but said he never used doping. "I was not in Mexico in June. I gave wrong information to the UCI (International Cycling Union)," he said in Copenhagen. "Rabobank always knew where I was." pRenault rocked by new spying scandal
MOTOR SPORT/Formula One Championship: Formula One has become embroiled in its second spying scandal of the year after Renault were charged with possessing confidential information belonging to McLaren. pFoxall well prepared for Barcelona World challenge
SAILING: The entry list reads like a 'who's who' of trans-oceanic racing. Not surprisingly, the majority hail from France who dominate this rare breed and it its among this group of 18 sailors that Ireland's Damian Foxall sits as one of the ablest and most respected professional sailors in the world. pHaas to undergo tests for poisoning
TENNIS: Tommy Haas will undergo tests today to establish whether he was poisoned during Germany's Davis Cup semi-final tie in Moscow in September, as he has claimed. Tests on blood and hair samples are to be carried out by a toxicologist in New York, according to the German number one's agent, after the player claimed that he had been poisoned. p
