Cavan and Spurs enjoy feeling of defying the odds and ending a drought
It's not often, perhaps, that you'd link Spurs and Cavan's sporting fortunes, but in the space of four days, they both found a different way to slay a badger to bring to an end lengthy droughts. Until Wednesday night in Bilbao,
it had been 17 years since Spurs got their paws on silverware
, and on Sunday in Castlebar, it had been 77 years since Cavan beat Mayo in the championship. Yes, admittedly, the links are tenuous, but a sporting drought is a sporting drought. And there's no little joy when they end.
Not that Paul Fitzpatrick, the sports editor of the Anglo-Celt newspaper, had time to celebrate on his way home to Cavan on Sunday. '
I had reports to write of discarded pitchforks and slain badgers
and famous wins and generations of the same family, 77 years apart, in the same colours, fighting the same fight. That's the beauty of it and that's why, despite it all, we love it.'
For quite a while,
Limerick's hurlers and Dublin's footballers had no trouble slaying badgers at all
, but they'd lost their killer instinct of late. Last weekend? 'An old lion is still a lion,' writes Ciarán Murphy after seeing them prove there's life in the old dogs yet, just to add another creature to the mix. 'Watching Limerick and Dublin, with 14 All-Ireland titles between them in the last 15 years, was a case study in greatness,' he says.
Dublin's hurlers are hoping for a memorable day themselves when they play Galway on Sunday, the meeting
'effectively a playoff to meet Kilkenny in the provincial decider'
. Gordon Manning talks to Dublin's Seán Currie ahead of the game, and he also previews
this evening's Special Congress vote on the skorts issue
, detailing all you need to know about the event.
READ MORE
And after Uefa attempted to confirm
the qualification process for Euro 2028
on Wednesday, David Gorman brings you a Q&A to explain the convoluted business. Put it this way: the Republic of Ireland, co-hosts for the tournament, might automatically qualify - and, well, might not.
In cricket, Nathan Johns reports on
a mighty fine day for Ireland at Castle Avenue where they beat the West Indies
by a chunky 124 runs in the first of their three-match ODI series, Andrew Balbirnie helping himself to a century. In rugby, John O'Sullivan hails the impact of
the IRFU's much under-reported 'A' Interprovincial Championship
, which Leinster won last weekend.
And in his America at Large column, Dave Hannigan writes about
the oft beleaguered New York Knicks faithful having the 'time of their lives'
this weather. Granted, they lost the opening game of their NBA Eastern Conference best-of-seven series against The Indiana Pacers last night, but after knocking out the reigning champion Boston Celtics last Friday, 'this team has the city believing anything is possible'.
TV Watch:
Scottie Scheffler's US PGA Championship celebrations didn't last long, he's back in action at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas today (Sky Sports Golf, 5pm) - and he's aiming for his third Tour victory in a row, having won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson before his trip to Quail Hollow.
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The 42
41 minutes ago
- The 42
Carla Ward's Ireland feel the heat during Stateside slog
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We couldn't make those changes,' she told Tony O'Donoghue. Advertisement 'Then, at half time, we unfortunately had three enforced changes physically, due to fatigue, and a couple of them were unwell at half time. Even through the second half, players (were) almost begging to come off and we couldn't do anything about it.' Katie McCabe, Denise O'Sullivan, Megan Campbell, Aoife Mannion, Leanne Kiernan and Heather Payne were among the Irish absentees due to unavailability and injury. Others who travelled were on limited minutes, the overwhelming majority out of season. While Ward has talked up the merits of the trip, most will feel that it was a rather pointless endeavour. The timing was challenging, with the Championship contingent out of action since late April. The WSL finished on 10 May. Bar the NWSL and League of Ireland players, most have been holidaying and recharging the batteries in recent weeks after long, tough seasons. This was always going to be a mismatch, made more so by the loss of key Irish players, particularly star duo McCabe and O'Sullivan. The US were also down some big names, with Emma Hayes opting to rest all bar one of her European-based crew, Chelsea's million dollar defender Naomi Girma. But a young, domestic selection — all in season — made their mark, eager to impress and secure their future with the serial winners. Alyssa Thompson, Olivia Moultrie and Emma Sears were among those to dazzle across the double-header; Ireland outplayed and outmuscled twice, the gulf in class as wide as it has ever been. Albeit in very different circumstances, Ireland's pre-World Cup friendlies Stateside two years ago finished 2-0 and 1-0. Along with the same result in 2008 at Giants Stadium, a one-goal loss is as good as it has ever gotten in an abysmal record of friendlies in the US: 17 meetings, 17 defeats, 59 goals conceded, one scored. While the games themselves are tricky to assess, and won't be read into too much, it has all added to a sense of drift. 2025 has been testing: that much was inevitable after the Euros qualification heartbreak, the raft of retirements, and a change of management. Right now, it's hard to see that these friendlies, the first of Ward's mixed reign, have done more good than harm. While they will point to the opportunity of playing against one of the best teams in women's football, the Nations League promotion/relegation playoff against Belgium in October is the next big focus, and this didn't seem like appropriate preparation. Granted, when initial plans were in place, Ireland likely held aspirations of automatic promotion. Still, there must have been scope for experimentation and blooding new players, such as the U19 Euros stars of last summer, as 2027 World Cup qualifying looms large. 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RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Éamonn Fitzmaurice surprised by Jack O'Connor outburst
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Cobh Ramblers closing on new investor to replace FC32
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