Hurling Balls* and Wayward Drives

A stunning stadium

- It’s been one of my busier sporting weeks, I guess anytime you end up at the Aviva Stadium and Croke Park in the space of a few days has to be categorised as such. As it turned out I was fortunate enough to get a ticket from a fellow blogger for the opening soccer match in the Aviva, where an Airtricity XI was no match for a Man United squad going through the motions. To say I learned anything from the encounter would be a stretch, but it did further emphasise the gulf in class between the haves and the have nots – even if the have nots are in the middle of their league season and still proved to be no match for a half baked United side that won 7-1. The highlight for me was marvelling at the scale and beauty of the Aviva itself. It truly is a wonderful stadium, fit for any sporting occasion no matter the scale, and let’s hope it plays host to many memorable matches in both rugby and soccer in the years ahead.

The Hot List

Suits you Sir

What a weekend of sport just passed, something for everyone no matter what your chosen game. Of course for those of us who follow just about everything it was a dream come true – from golf to rugby, soccer to horse racing, hardly an hour slipped by from the time the Masters began at Augusta last Thursday when you didn’t have long to wait for the next special occasion. So to mark a sporting weekend that will have meant so much to so many people here’s a list of who’s hot and who’s not.

Who’s Hot & Who’s Not

Unstoppable at present

No I haven’t started writing for FHM, I’m just trialling a new format which I have to fess up straight away and admit I’ve “borrowed” from Sports Illustrated’s golf scribe Alan Shipnuck. The Hot List is a weekly feature he writes  and I like the punchy, entertaining way in which the column’s delivered. So without further ado here’s this week’s Hot or Not list…and don’t worry –  I’ll be covering a lot more than golf.

When the halo slips

Not smiling anymore

If we are to presume that the floodgates of infidelity are a long way from closing then it is very likely that by the weekend Tiger Woods will have as many confirmed mistresses as he has major titles. The score currently lies 14-11 in favour of his golfing achievements. How quickly things change when you think that just over two weeks ago Tiger Woods appeared as the man who had it all. Now it remains to be seen just what he’s left with when this incredible episode reaches a definitive conclusion.