Kerry golf course welcomes retired two-time NBA Championship winner to town
The now 45-year-old Spaniard is regarded as one of the best power forwards to play the game and is highly regarded as one of the best European basketball players of all time.
His younger brother Marc Gasol also played in the NBA and won an NBA Championship in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors back in 2019.
He happily posed for photos at Tralee Golf Links during his visit with the club describing him as 'a class act.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
John Cleary expected to remain in charge of Cork senior footballers for 2026
John Cleary is expected to remain in charge of the Cork senior footballers for a fourth full season in 2026. The Cork County Board meet on Tuesday night where further light could be shed on the Castlehaven man's future in the position. There has been suggestions that there may be changes in Cleary's management team but there are strong indications he will be at the helm having initially taken over from Keith Ricken on a temporary basis in 2022. Cleary's management team for the past three seasons has comprised coach Kevin Walsh, selectors Micheál Ó Croinín, James Loughrey and Barry Corkery and performance coach Rob Heffernan. For the second year in a row, Cork bowed out in at the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final stages when they lost to Dublin. They defeated Roscommon to make the knock-out stages having beaten Donegal in the 2024 group phase before exiting the championship at the hands of Louth. Speaking to the Irish Examiner last month, Cork chairman Pat Horgan said they hoped to confirm their senior management team this week. 'We hope to be in a position by August 5, at our next county board meeting, to have sorted the senior football. We will be speaking to John and hopefully we will have that sorted by then.' Cork will avoid a third consecutive Munster semi-final meeting against Kerry in 2026 following the provincial council's decision on Thursday to seed their top two league finishers in 2024 in separate semi-finals. Horgan has placed a strong emphasis on Cork returning to Division 1. This year, they were one win short of making the top two in Division 2. They had four home games and could have the same again in 2026 as it is the start of a new two-year cycle. Like Cleary, Pat Ryan's initial three-year term as senior hurling manager has concluded but there are hopes he too will agree to remain at the helm. Despite a successive All-Ireland final defeat, Cork claimed this year's Division 1 and Munster honours. Meanwhile, Davy Fitzgerald is set to remain on for a second season in charge of Antrim. The Saffrons retained their Division 1B status in 2025 but were relegated from the Leinster championship and will contest the Joe McDonagh Cup. It is also anticipated in Galway that Pádraic Joyce will stay in charge for a seventh season. The two-time All-Ireland SFC winner's recent three-year stint concluded with the All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Meath.
RTÉ News
8 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Celtic will be ready for crucial Champions League qualifier
Luke McCowan delivered a big moment in Celtic's time of need on Sunday then declared he and his team-mates would rise to the pressure of their Champions League play-off. Celtic will be heading to Kazakhstan or Slovakia in their bid to reach the league stage after being paired with either Kairat Almaty or Slovan Bratislava. The first leg, which is due to take place at Celtic Park, will come four games into the season with Brendan Rodgers' side facing Aberdeen next weekend and then Falkirk in the Premier Sports Cup. Winning the play-off will be worth tens of millions of pounds for the club and ensure Celtic have a chance to build on last season's impressive European campaign rather than taking a step back into the Europa League. But McCowan, who netted a late winner against St Mirren on Sunday (below), is sure they will embrace the challenge. "These players play under massive pressure all the time," the 27-year-old said. "It's what playing at this club takes. "You need to be ready for that pressure, you need to have your chest out, your head high and go and show that you're a Celtic player. "That's what it demands and that's what the manager wants. Pressure in a game hopefully brings out your best qualities. "I'm sure we will be (ready). I mean if you were to ask us if we played it this midweek, I'm sure we'd all be ready. "When those games come around, it's about embracing it and knowing what the challenge is going to be." Celtic reached the knockout phase for the first time in 12 years last season before bowing out to a last-gasp goal against Bayern Munich in Germany. When asked if he felt they belong in the league stage, McCowan said: "I think we showed that last year, but it's about proving it again. There's always a demand for more at this club." The former Dundee midfielder proved the hero on Sunday as Celtic opened their William Hill Premiership title defence with a 1-0 win over St Mirren. The champions hit the frame of the goal three times and had a Callum McGregor strike disallowed for handball as the Buddies looked set to frustrate the title favourites. But substitute McCowan found the bottom corner of the net with a deflected strike in the 87th minute to send Celtic two points ahead of Rangers after the opening weekend of the season. "It's what you're here to do," he said. "You're here to score goals and help the team win games. "You want to create energy, you want to create positivity when you're coming off the bench and I think, at the point we made the changes, they probably needed some fresh legs. That's what the squad's there for. "We had enough chances to go and win probably two football matches, really unlucky with a few hitting the post, obviously a goal chopped off as well. "On another day, you probably come away scoring two or three, maybe more."
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Limerick's Colin Ryan regains All-Ireland Poc Fada title
Limerick's Colin Ryan hailed a sweet win after regaining the M. Donnelly All-Ireland Poc Fada title after three seasons of near misses. The 2021 winner braved high winds - which rendered almost half of the traditional 5km course unplayable - to make off with the silverware having finished second in each of the last three seasons. Two of the four sections on the Annaverna Mountain course were bypassed as a result of gale force gusting winds. But 2018 All-Ireland SHC medallist Ryan, who also lined out in the 2017 All-Ireland U-21 final win with Limerick, held his nerve for a sweet win. He shoved Offaly star Cillian Kiely into second place, defeating the 2018 and 2019 winner by just 13 metres overall. Colin Ryan of Limerick with his son Fionn. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile Kerry man and Kilkenny hurler Fionan Mackessy, chasing a three-in-a-row of titles after his 2023 and 2024 wins, could only finish third in County Louth. Ryan's win was all the more impressive as he played at centre-back for his club Pallasgreen in the Limerick IHC on Sunday afternoon. Asked where the win ranks in his career achievements, Ryan said it's close to the top. "It's right up there for me," he said. "You're on your own, compared to playing with the club or in a team. So it's that bit tougher mentally. You're striking by yourself and there's no-one to help you with that strike, or to dig you out of a hole. "So I put this win right up there in my career. The 2021 win was special but I'd say this was even more special having come second the last three years. "To get over the line was great because you'd wonder at times would it happen again." It was Ryan's first win with his young son, Fionn. His partner, Grace, along with family members and friends, were on hand for support. Ryan completed the course in 25 pucks, the same as Kiely and Mackessy. But the 60 metres he added on from the ball going beyond the first turning point, and the finish line, won it for him. Powerhouse Kiely could only add on 47 metres and Kerry native Mackessy 35 metres. Ryan's last puck helpfully hit a rock after crossing the finish line and bounced on several metres, a stroke of good fortune. "Every bit counts when it comes down to metres," said Ryan. "I knew coming up for my last shot, we'd heard that Cillian was going well so we knew that if we hit a good one, we could win it. Thankfully I hit a rock! It took a nice little bounce and, look, it's a game of inches. It was great to get that bit of luck." Cillian Kiely of Offaly competing in the Senior Hurling competition during the M. Donnelly GAA Poc Fada All-Ireland Finals at Annaverna Mountain in the Cooley Peninsula, Ravensdale, Louth. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile Tipperary great and 2025 All-Ireland U-20 winning manager Brendan Cummins came up short in his bid for a record 10th title, finishing seventh. But there was a huge ovation for Cork's Molly Lynch who completed a five-in-a-row of senior camogie wins. The goalkeeper required just 27 pucks, four ahead of the next competitor, to complete what was a full camogie course. Former champion Killian Phelan of Kilkenny won the Paul Ward Cup, awarded for the longest single puck on the day. Westmeath's Conor Raleigh won the U-16 boys title, narrowly edging out Galway's Oran Stratford while Offaly's Siofra Ginty was the outstanding U-16 camogie participant, taking the title with two pucks to spare.
