Banner

  • Ferguson hints at change if Bayern succeed

    Alex Ferguson has backed up Roy Keane's view that Manchester United's stars will be playing for their futures when they take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday. p

  • Larsson numbers among the greats

    A whole season, two enduring themes. Celtic remain on course for a domestic treble by dint of the two essentials that have taken them so far for so long during the course of this campaign: collective determination and one Henrik Larsson. p

  • Connacht grab NFL monopoly

    After a day of close calls and the odd resurrection, the final round of the National Football League produced its four semi-finalists - and all of them are from Connacht. Next weekend they will meet to decide who will play off for the league title, and the other three provinces can only watch in envy. p

  • Schumacher the Younger ushers in a new era for F1

    Before the start of yesterday's San Marino Grand Prix the script read: In Ferrari's back yard, Schumacher stands on the top step of Imola podium, spraying champagne in the direction of thousands upon thousands of scarlet-clad tifosi as he accepts his victor's trophy. p

  • Scotland and Rangers legend Baxter dies, 61

    Rangers and Scotland legend Jim Baxter has died of cancer at the age of 61. The former Ibrox idol, affectionately known as "Slim Jim", was diagnosed with the disease in January and spent a month in hospital before returning to his Glasgow home to spend his final days with his family. p

  • City crave `bit of luck'

    Now that Manchester United have done the decent thing and wrapped up their latest title, the Doomsday theory applied to next Saturday's derby is out of the window. So City's seasoned pessimists are grimly contemplating the second worst-case scenario: precisely when their team takes the big fall. p

  • Still playing second fiddle

    Second in the Premiership, FA Cup finalists and Champions League quarter-finalists. By any measure a successful season. So why is it that the overriding feelings about Arsenal are disappointment and under-achievement? p

  • Ferguson's Roll of Honour

    The championship is Ferguson's 14th major honour with United and makes him the most successful manager in English football. In total he has won seven championships, one European Cup, four FA Cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners' Cup. p

  • Kilkenny blow clear

    Kilkenny made their first competitive visit to Derry a winning one at Ballinascreen yesterday when they defeated the home side with a powerful second-half display. p

  • It's down to the wire for Clare

    Led by a rejuvenated Ollie Baker, Clare swept aside a poor Offaly challenge to go joint top Cusack Park in Ennis yesterday. p

  • Kildare survive late collapse

    Wicklow staged a dramatic fight-back in the final quarter of their championship game at Arklow yesterday, but it was not enough to stop opponents Kildare winning by four points and advancing to meet Meath. p

  • Waterford hit early

    A strong first half performance when playing against a stiff wind helped Waterford to an emphatic victory over a disappointing Laois in a lacklustre game at Dungarvan yesterday. Waterford led from the second minute, when impressive corner forward John Mullane goaled after he was set up by Dan Shanahan, to the final whistle. p

  • Limerick a class apart

    Struggling Dublin proved no match for impressive Limerick in a one-sided encounter at Parnell Park yesterday. Victory over Antrim in Belfast the previous week had given Kevin Fennelly's charges a badly needed confidence boost but yesterday they faced a step up in class against a fit and eager Limerick. p

  • Tyrone are the big losers

    Yesterday's final round of the National Football League was always going to be about winners and losers, but, with the foot-and-mouth disease having yet another say on the GAA fixtures, there were no greater losers that Tyrone. p

  • No winner as both lose out

    After serving up an exciting league clash in Navan, both sides found their efforts to be in vain as relegation was their reward as Clare survived by virtue of their surprise success in Sligo. p

  • McCabe forces Mayo to share

    A point from Dermot McCabe one minute into injury-time gave Cavan a deserved draw against Mayo at Breffni Park yesterday. p

  • Hit-and-miss infection dire

    Derry needed to win this game to keep their play-off hopes alive, but they were fortunate to go away with a draw from Brewster Park. p

  • O'Brien expected to make up for lost time

    Racing fans here have been waiting 50 days for this afternoon, when the sport resumes at Leopardstown and Cork despite the recent foot-and-mouth outbreaks in Northern Ireland. p
SOCCER/NATIONAL LEAGUE

  • Cork snatch it but then let it go

    The result did little to help either team at Turners Cross yesterday. However, UCD probably had more to gain as a result of this exciting 2-2 draw, as they picked up a point in their fight to survive in the Premier Division. p

  • Derry not out of woods

    After this defeat against Galway, Derry City must defeat Kilkenny at the Brandywell on Wednesday night to dispel any threat of relegation from the Premier Division. p
FAI CUP/QUARTER-FINALBack to Top

  • Longford end fairytale

    The result may put an end to a fairytale in the making but this was a game for both sides to take something positive away from. Afterwards Portmarnock were entitled to leave Tolka Park proud that they had given a better side quite a fright. Ultimately, though, Longford did enough to win and move to within one game of the club's first ever Harp Lager FAI Cup final. p
SPANISH LEAGUEBack to Top

  • Santander might yet stay up

    Racing Santander improved their chances of avoiding relegation from the first division as they handed a 3-0 defeat to nine-man Celta Vigo yesterday. p
PLANET FOOTBALLBack to Top

  • McCarthy's men abroad

    Planet Football salutes Celtic's Colin Healy and Manchester United's Roy Keane and Denis Irwin who have all now picked up championship winning medals across the water. All Munster men too (three Cork natives), as if their rugby team hadn't left their heads swelled enough. Respect, too, to Matt Holland, who played his 209th consecutive league game for Ipswich on Saturday. Spooky. p

  • Boycottballs

    Last week we were mourning the loss of Kevin Keegan from football management and, more importantly, from our quotes of the week section, a lament that caught the eye of Jim Egan who, bless him, took pity on us. "Hello Planet Football, I am writing to you from Bishkek, in the Kyrgyz Republic - before you go running to your atlas, it's in Central Asia," he said in his e-mail. p

  • Chant of the week

    "There's only one Charlie Dimmock." p

  • Sore subject

    A big thank you to Niall Conway, webmaster of www.derrycityfc.com (in Planet Football's humble opinion the smartest National League website in cyberspace) for his e-mail last week. Niall alerted us to the fate of Finn Harps goalkeeper Damien Bradley, who was ruled out for the rest of the season after picking up an injury - while watching telly. Damien tore his Achilles tendon while celebrating Gary Doherty's goal for Spurs against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final. p

  • Fab Vinnie

    Australian magazine Who Weekly published its list of the world's 25 most beautiful people last week, and who should appear in the middle of a bunch of supermodels, actors and top popsters? Vinnie Jones! "What makes Vinnie so special is his masculinity," said the swoony scribble alongside VJ's photo, adding that he had "iron arms and steely eyes". Aussies, eh? p

  • Quotes of the week

    "Frightened is not the word, we will go out and see what we can do." p

  • Scoreline of the week

    WORLD Cup Oceania Zone qualifiers - Group One: Australia 31 (Archie Thompson 12, 23, 28, 30, 32, 37, 43, 45, 56, 64, 66, 88, 90; David Zrdilic 13, 21, 26, 34, 59, 67, 78, 91; Tony Popovic 18, 20; Con Boutsianis 10, 51, 86; Aurelio Vidmar 15, 82; Simon Colosimo 53, 84; Fausto De Amicis 55) American Samoa 0. p
SOCCER/ENGLISH FA PREMIERSHIPBack to Top

  • Champagne moment goes flat

    Somehow it felt appropriate: an own goal of a season decided by own goals. For Manchester United it even finished at the wrong time of day for them to receive due recognition from their fans; for everyone else it finished at the wrong time of year - Easter, five matches and six weeks before the final day. There will be no title climax, only a broad sense of disappointment and disapproval. It's no champagne moment. p
RUGBY/NEWSBack to Top

  • Munster may be without Crotty

    Munster's catalogue of injuries was further augmented in Friday night's game against the Rest of Ireland at Thomond Park. Fullback Dominic Crotty, who retired early because of a hip injury, is rated no better than 50/50 for next Saturday's Heineken European Cup semi-final against Stade Francais in Lille. p
EQUESTRIAN SPORT/WORLD CUPBack to Top

  • Whitaker grabs one-point lead

    Britain's Michael Whitaker rode like a man inspired to win the second leg of the World Cup final in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Saturday and take the slimmest of leads in the overall rankings from defending champion Rodrigo Pessoa. p
PLANET RUGBYBack to Top

  • Koen going well

    Leinster target Louis Koen became the leading points scorer in this season's Super 12 when he contributed 16 points as South Africa's Cats beat the Aukland Blues 26-23 in the Northland Stadium in Whangarei on Friday night. It marked the first time in 22 Super 12 matches that the Cats have been successful outside of South Africa. p

  • Costello blow for Pope

    St Mary's College coach Brent Pope must wonder if the fates have conspired against him to guarantee that the club do not retain their AIB League Division One title this season. Having survived the early part of the league campaign on a skeleton staff because of sundry injuries, Mary's appeared to have hauled themselves back to the fringes of the play-off scramble with victories over Cork Constitution and Shannon. p

  • The Wild Geese

    Geordan Murphy's try-scoring feats continued at the weekend as he grabbed one of Leicester's five tries in their 37-5 victory over Harlequins. His fine individual effort was overshadowed by the departure of Ireland's captain Keith Wood with a suspected rib cartilage injury. The initial prognosis was that he would be out of commission for a month, a state of affairs unlikely to inhibit his summer tour plans with the Lions. p

  • Rob is his own man

    Rob Henderson's decision to join Munster from Wasps on a three-year contract was a huge fillip for the province and the IRFU. Henderson himself will decide which club he will be attached to - although next year the contracted players will probably not see the inside of a club changing room. It would be surprising if Peter Clohessy doesn't draw on his friendship with the player to invite him down to the "yellow brick road" and a place in Tom Clifford Park. p

  • Rose-tinted glasses

    Former England international and current Sunday Telegraph rugby correspondent Paul Ackford is in no doubt about the XV players that should make up the Lions team for the first test in Australia this summer. He summed up his thesis on the Lions thus: "The first Test looks like a job for a successful side to me. England in Lions shirts." p
RUGBY/ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION ONEBack to Top

  • Disease fears put damper on victory

    Despite this pivotal league win for Ballymena, an air of pessimism shrouded Eaton Park. In the heart of rural Antrim, the news that another "hot suspect" of foot-and-mouth had been found in Cushendall (unfortunately confirmed yesterday) to add to the case in Co Tyrone, cast, amongst the locals at least, significant doubt on the viability of playing out the remainder of the All-Ireland League. p
SPORTS/DIGESTBack to Top

  • Ebdon edges out Doherty

    Snooker: Peter Ebdon collected his second major title of the season when depriving Ken Doherty of his place in snooker's record books by winning the Regal Scottish Open title in Aberdeen last night. p
VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS/SH FINALBack to Top

  • Reilly tips the balance

    It was heartbreak for a gallant Causeway Comprehensive at the Limerick Gaelic Grounds yesterday when, seconds from the end of a titanic battle, Donal Reilly sent over the match-winning point from 50 yards to give St Brigid's victory in the All-Ireland VS senior hurling final. p
NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE/DIVISION 1BBack to Top

  • Tipperary slow to settle issue

    Tipperary maintained their good run in the Allianz National Hurling League by defeating Munster champions Cork and qualifying for the semi-finals. A decent crowd of 12,004 at Thurles saw an interesting but flawed afternoon's hurling with some good, attacking play mixed with hesitant defending and poor ball control. p
CHAMPIONSHIP 2001/LEINSTER SHCBack to Top

  • Carlow earn right to play in the sunshine

    Here's the deal: a few weeks beyond daylight saving hours, winter mud still clinging to the boots, and only one chance to reach for the stars. Lose and it's the end of the championship as you know it. p
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE/DIVISION 1ABack to Top

  • Galway late burst proves decisive

    They thronged the narrow streets of Tuam for this spring version of what will hopefully become the enduring gaelic football rivalry of these times. Midway through the second half this tie seemed to take on a life-force of its own, running someway deeper than a cursory league fixture. p

  • Roscommon just nick it

    Burly Roscommon full forward Stephen Lohan scored a goal in injury-time to secure an improbable, albeit deserved, victory for visitors Roscommon at Ballybofey yesterday. p
CYCLINGBack to Top

  • Evans fares best with fourth in Ardennes

    With just one stage remaining in the Tour of the Ardennes, Tommy Evans is faring best of the Irish team. The former national champion finished a fine fourth on yesterday's 106 km stage and retains the lead in the intermediate sprints competition which he seized on Saturday. p
CLUB FINALS/PREVIEWSBack to TopNATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE/DIVISION 2ABack to Top

  • Cork progress with easy win

    A runaway victory over Leitrim at a sparsely attended Pairc Ui Chaoimh yesterday ensured Cork of a Division Two semi-final meeting with Kildare. p

  • Stack proves the home hero

    Substitute Tommy Stack emerged as the hero for basement county Limerick when he struck with a 66th-minute goal to give them victory over Wicklow in the football league at the Gaelic Grounds yesterday. p
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE/DIVISION 2BBack to Top

  • Carlow show no mercy at home

    Carlow emerged victorious from this meeting of two of Gaelic football's "weaker" counties, defeating the visitors Waterford by a massive 14point margin at Dr Cullen Park, Carlow yesterday afternoon. p

  • Monaghan keep their distance

    The academic nature of this fixture was reflected in a very low-key encounter in Scotstown yesterday, with the home side always in control, although poor finishing didn't help Tipperary's cause. p

  • Late Fennin goal lifts the siege

    Kildare just about qualified for a place in the Division Two semi-finals at the end of a tense encounter with Longford at Newbridge. p
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE/DIVISION 1BBack to Top

  • Sligo's inept performance is well punished

    The burden of expectation lay heavily on Sligo's shoulders at Markievicz Park yesterday, resulting in a nervy, inept performance which was criticised by their manager, Peter Forde. p
LOCKERROOMBack to Top

  • How a snitch becomes an oracle

    He thought he was doing them a favour but they rode him out of town on a rail. Friends had worried about him. They'd whispered stuff into his ear about messengers always ending up getting shot. In the end, though, he thought everyone would be grateful. It would wrap up nicely. Australia would be grateful and Werner Reiterer could look his kids in the eye. p
GOLF/WEST OF IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIPBack to Top

  • McLaughlin bags Fox

    It's not easy to intimidate someone who stands 6 ft 4 in, even if they happen to be only in their teens. Walker Cup aspirant Noel Fox discovered this to his cost when losing to Ballyliffin's Philip McLaughlin in the second round of the Standard Life West of Ireland Championship at a typically windswept Rosses Point yesterday. p
MOROCCAN OPEN/FINAL ROUNDBack to TopSPORT ON TELEVISIONBack to Top

  • True revolutionaries riding the waves

    There is a tendency to dismiss surfing as little more than a lifestyle statement, the frivolous pursuit of a sect no less frothy than the waves through which they glide. From the cult film Point Break to the aged saxaphoned Guinness adverts, surfing folk have been depicted as enviably tanned curiosities with a hippy-ish loyalty to the camper van and a heavy reliance on the phrase, `dude.' p
Weekly Index
MHealth
Computimes
WProperty
TScience
Property
SObituaries
Weekend
Archive
Click a date to view the paper on that day
PreviousNext
MTWTFSS
Advertisement
Crosswords and Sudoku
PuzzlesSudoku and interactive Irish Times crosswords
What does this mean?
What is Premium ContentIndicates Premium Content, which is available to subscribers.
PDF downloads
PDF downloads Download today's front page or TV listings page as they appear in The Irish Times
Article Index
Mon | Wed | Thu | Sat