Unsung heroes, Rip, Lefty and Lewis

Making an impression

Football – Some of the usual suspects caught the eye in the Premier League last weekend in the form of Fernando Torres, Ryan Giggs and Robin Van Persie. Match winners all and vitally important to their respective sides. On the other hand a few lesser lights also stole some headlines.

A Manchester derby to remember

A familiar sight

- Micah Richards: Take a look a bit closer to home Sparky; Manchester City were not “robbed” yesterday. They conceded four goals in the time allowed by the referee, and despite scoring three goals of their own, came up short. When all is said and done the record books show Man United won the match and claimed the three points. Now of course that doesn’t mean discussions about the reasons for the additional minutes aren’t valid. They’re just not overly pertinent. If Mark Hughes is really doing his job then you have to believe he’s been hard at work at the Man City training ground this morning. The bulk of that work must surely have come in the form of reminding his right back Micah Richards of the importance of keeping his concentration.

US Open in a nutshell

Grand Slam number 1 for Del Potro

Mens draw - First things first and hats off to Juan Martin Del Potro for claiming his first Grand Slam title in the most impressive way possible. Taking out Rafa Nadal for the loss of only six games in the semis, and then dethroning Roger Federer in an epic final, is a stellar achievement.

Spains Champions League contenders

Will a Spanish club win again this season?

With Ireland’s proximity to England you’d be forgiven for thinking the footballing world revolved around the Premier League. Results over the past year have proved otherwise. Spain are the current European champions following their fantastic win at Euro 2008 and Barcelona are the best club side in the world at present. La Liga is the place to be right now as the flight of Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, Kaka and Zlatan Ibrahimovic over the summer has shown. With the Champions League group stages starting tomorrow I wanted to see what shape the four Spanish entrants are in heading into another European campaign.

Who saw the Stars?

A truly great colt

Watching Sea The Stars cruise to another scintillating victory in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown last Saturday was an incredible experience. Certainly the most animated I’ve ever been on a racecourse, and that takes in days spent cheering Derby winners home at the Curragh, evenings at Ballybrit where anything was possible, and the awesome sight of Goldikova’s winning the Breeders Cup Mile at Santa Anita last year. Sea The Stars fifth Group 1 win of the season topped it all.

Transfer deadline deals of note

Big move for the big man

Richard Dunne: Was he being serious? That’s the the first question you have to ask of Richard Dunne after he said today Man City told him they needed the money offered to them by Aston Villa for his services. This is the Man City owned by Abu Dhabi, the oil rich capital of the United Arab Emirates let us not forget. Surely the six million banked following Dunne’s departure is not going to make a whole lot of difference to a club that has just splurged 40 million on a new pair of centre backs to replace the Irishman. In any event Dunne is now a Villain and a new chapter in his career is about to begin.