Some weekend, that. It even featured “loosey-goosey Ulster football entertainment”, as Malachy Clerkin tells us after he witnessed Monaghan beat Tyrone with a 76th minute goal in a thriller in Omagh.
Malachy hears from the man who scored it, championship debutant Ryan O’Toole laughing in the face of caution, going for a goal instead of a point because “you kind of have to live in the moment a wee bit”.
Which, incidentally, is what the women of Kerry did at Croke Park over the weekend, two trophies heading to the Kingdom when their work was done - their footballers won their first league title since 1991 and their camogie team collected their first ever division 2A crown. Galway, meanwhile, retained their top flight camogie title, inflicting yet more pain on Cork.
Speaking of pain: the Irish women’s rugby team endured yet more of it on Saturday when they lost again in the Six Nations, this time to Italy, Louise Lawless reporting on a defeat that leaves the team heading for the wooden spoon.
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All our rugby men did over the weekend was win, Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht all picking up URC victories, while off-the-field, the announcement that South Africa’s head coach Jacques Nienaber will replace Stuart Lancaster at Leinster after the World Cup is, writes Gerry Thornley, a “huge statement of intent”.
In soccer, Ken Early picks over the bones of Arsenal’s surrendering of a two-goal lead for the second game in a row, their title challenge suffering a severe wobble after that 2-2 draw with West Ham. In contrast, Manchester City’s form leaves Ken convinced - look away now, Gooners - that “the Treble is not just realistic - it’s likely”.
What’s even more likely is that Rhasidat Adeleke will carry on smashing records - she’s already broken five this year, becoming the first Irish woman to break 50 seconds in the 400m in Florida at the weekend. Ian O’Riordan has his work cut out finding new superlatives to describe her season.
Somewhat less speedy is “without naming him directly, Patrick Cantlay”, writes Denis Walsh in his Tipping Point column. The curse of slow play in golf is, though, far from a new problem, Denis recalling the pace of play being so funereal at the Kemper Open 40 years ago that the cameras focused on a duck with its chicks. “The exhausted CBS announcer said that the chicks had only been eggs when that day’s play had started.”
Telly watch: If you’re snooker loopy, we have good news: Eurosport and the BBC have nigh on endless coverage of the World Championships today, so fill your boots. And this evening, Sky Sports brings you the Premier League clash of Leeds United and Liverpool (kick-off 8.0).
