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O'Sullivan adds Bowe to his string
RUGBY: Further evidence that Eddie O'Sullivan is giving in to pressure, be it from public, pundits or whatever, came yesterday with the relatively surprising selection of Tommy Bowe on the right wing; the surprise being Shane Horgan thus remains on the bench, now the customary scapegoat Geordan Murphy has been jettisoned yet again.

Liverpool pressure finally pays off
SOCCER/Uefa Champions League Second Round, first Leg/Liverpool 2 Inter Milan 0: The endeavour of Liverpool ultimately smashed the poised fortitude of Internazionale, who had to spend an hour with 10 men following the expulsion of Marco Materazzi. p

RTÉ get remaining TV rights
GAELIC GAMES: RTÉ were confirmed as the big winners in the final allocation of domestic broadcasting rights, announced in Croke Park yesterday. The station has secured all of the remaining television packages on offer, meaning it will show 40 of the 50 championship matches that were put out to tender. p

Soccer

Writing not yet on the wall for Benitez
The irony would not have been lost on Rafael Benitez as not only his methods but his very faith were rewarded at the most critical juncture of his Liverpool career. Dirk Kuyt was the destroyer of Internazionale and perhaps the saviour of the only man inside Anfield not to give up on the Dutch international this season. Liverpool's capacity for remarkable Champions League stories has not ceased yet. p
Chelsea's defence puts them in charge
Olympiakos 0 Chelsea 0: Roman Abramovich has the scene mapped out in his mind - May 21st, Moscow. Chelsea's Russian owner has his invited friends and peers looking down from behind executive glass on to the Champions League final. His team are there, his chest swells with pride. p
Schalke 04 grab one for 50th in 100
Schalke 04 1 FC Porto 0: Schalke 04 played like veterans in their first appearance in the knockout rounds of the Champions League to beat Porto and celebrate their 100th European match with a 50th victory. p
Real overturned as Mancini earns Roma net advantage
AS Roma 2 Real Madrid 1: David Pizarro and Mancini scored as AS Roma came from behind to take charge of their Champions League last 16 tie against Real Madrid last night with a 2-1 first-leg win. p
Arsenal refocused for the big stage
Arsenal v AC Milan (7.45pm): Arsene Wenger described it as "the ultimate test", and Cesc Fabregas admitted he hoped Arsenal would eventually be compared favourably to this evening's opponents. Yet both manager and midfielder betrayed an eagerness for the confrontation. p
Bullish Strachan points to the record
Celtic v Barcelona : If the players adopt as bullish an approach to Barcelona's visit as their manager, Gordon Strachan, then Celtic need not worry. In pointing to a record which shows only a single home defeat in 16 outings in the Champions League - albeit at the hands of tonight's opponents in 2004 - Strachan yesterday insisted his team have no cause to be in awe of their Catalan visitors. p
Giggs all set for his magic 100
Lyon v Manchester Utd: Alex Ferguson could be tracked down yesterday to an opulent hotel on the banks of the Rhone, embracing some old French acquaintances and clinking wine glasses with wife Cathy, a surprise addition to the entourage for tonight's Champions League tie against Lyon. p
Soccer Shorts
Premier problems: Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has admitted for the first time that plans for an "international round" of matches will have to be scrapped if they are opposed by Fifa and the English FA. p

Rugby

Lievremont sticks to his young guns
Rational thinking might appear to have gone out of the Marcoussis windows when France named a side to face England in Paris on Saturday without a specialist place-kicker and with an 8-9-10 axis that totals less than 100 minutes of international rugby between them, but there was method in the apparent suicidal urge as les Bleus' coach, Marc Lievremont, told it yesterday.
Building on form and self-belief
A neatly-parcelled analogy would be to suggest Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan handed Tommy Bowe an early birthday present by naming him on the right wing for Saturday's Six Nations Championship match against Scotland at Croke Park.
Hadden opts for four wingers
Facing the prospect of a third defeat in three games after last season's latest wooden spoon, Frank Hadden is a coach under pressure and it showed in his daring selection to play Ireland yesterday. The tryless Scots' hitherto prosaic backline has been infused with four wingers.

Gaelic Games

Cork forfeit league points
Cork have forfeited the points from the county's first two National League matches. Yesterday's meeting of the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) decided to apply Rule 136 of the Official Guide and award the points to Meath and Dublin in the Football League and to Kilkenny and Waterford in the Hurling League in respect of the fixtures that Cork couldn't play because of the dispute between players and officials. p
Cork avoid a marriage made in hell
On Gaelic Games: Phew! Just as it looked as if the whole Cork business was going to become an endless loop of fraught encounters between desperate county officials and the pugnaciously aggrieved management team they had once appointed and were now unable to persuade to go away, it's finally time to write the last word on the whole dismal episode. p
Aussie clubs to continue recruiting in Ireland
The AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has indicated that Australian Rules clubs will continue to plunder Irish talent in the future. p

Racing

Thyne could seal Arkle spot
Thyne Again could yet earn his ticket to the Cheltenham festival at Naas on Sunday where the highly rated novice has a choice of options, including a possible clash with the star mare J'y Vole. p
Impudent looks up to landing novice hurdle
Punchestown Preview: Impudent enjoyed a prolific summer last year and can make her winter mark at Punchestown today where Colm Murphy's mare looks up to landing the novice hurdle. p

Golf

Kelly ready for kill or be killed in the desert
USPGA Tour News: Goaded by a fan to pick up a bobcat that slinked across his path on the Gallery Golf Club's opening hole, Jerry Kelly took a pass. "Back in Wisconsin, we just pick up bears," the 44-year-old said with a huge grin. p

Other

Bangladesh are serious obstacle to Irish hopes
CRICKET/Under-19 World Cup: Brían O'Rourke stopped short of using the cliche "one match at a time", but that was the gist of his message as he looked forward to encounters with Bangladesh and Bermuda over the next two days that will shape Ireland's destiny in the Under-19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur. p
Joyce and top order hit form as Ireland get back on right track
CRICKET/Women's World Cup qualifier: Some big hitting from Ireland's top-order helped them get their quest for a World Cup spot back on track yesterday as they hammered Scotland by nine wickets in Stellenbosch. p
Coe warns athletics is on brink
Drugs in Sport: Athletics is in danger of being destroyed by drugs cheats, Britain's double Olympic middle-distance champion Sebastian Coe said in Melbourne yesterday. He said the sport was reeling from a series of high-profile doping busts and would struggle to cope with any more scandals. p
Still on board after first circuit
Against the Odds: As Padraig Harrington, complete with bright red shirt, sized up his approach to the 18th hole at the Riviera Club in Los Angeles on Sunday night, Vinny Fitzpatrick was thinking what a fine role-model the Dubliner was, on and off the course. p
Calzaghe keeps cool
BOXING: Undefeated British boxer Joe Calzaghe kept his cool and smiled when American Bernard Hopkins warned him yesterday he should be "willing to die" when they meet in a light-heavyweight world title bout in April. p

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O'Sullivan adds Bowe to his string

Liverpool pressure finally pays off

RTÉ get remaining TV rights

Writing not yet on the wall for Benitez

Chelsea's defence puts them in charge

Schalke 04 grab one for 50th in 100

Real overturned as Mancini earns Roma net advantage

Arsenal refocused for the big stage

Bullish Strachan points to the record

Giggs all set for his magic 100

Soccer Shorts

Lievremont sticks to his young guns

Building on form and self-belief

Hadden opts for four wingers

Cork forfeit league points

Cork avoid a marriage made in hell

Aussie clubs to continue recruiting in Ireland

Thyne could seal Arkle spot

Impudent looks up to landing novice hurdle

Kelly ready for kill or be killed in the desert

Bangladesh are serious obstacle to Irish hopes

Joyce and top order hit form as Ireland get back on right track

Coe warns athletics is on brink

Still on board after first circuit

Calzaghe keeps cool

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