“Hope, as much as expectation, springs eternal,” writes Philip Reid with an eye on Rory McIlroy’s Masters-winning prospects this week. Can he “apply the missing piece in the jigsaw in his quest to complete the career Grand Slam”, on his 17th appearance in the tournament? “You dust yourself off and you go again,” he said of past disappointments, all set to give it another shot.
Those Augusta National disappointments pale, though, next to the one Philip experienced on Tuesday. After queuing for an age to get in to the merchandise shop he discovered that the day’s supply of Masters gnomes was sold out. “You dust yourself off and you go again,” he no doubt said to himself, hell bent on starting queuing a little earlier today.
In Gaelic games, Darragh Ó Sé pays tribute to his fellow Kerry man Mick O’Dwyer. “I’d be slow enough to be making out that I have some sort of special insight into Micko,” he writes, “but in a way, the fact that everyone thought they knew him was the beauty of the man”.
Seán Moran, meanwhile, points to the lack of competitiveness in so many football fixtures as the chief problem for the game in terms of it being a spectacle, the provincial championships once again guaranteeing mismatches.
Offaly were involved on the wrong side of a fair few mismatches themselves in recent times, but since the arrival of Mickey Harte last summer there’s been a spring in the step of their footballers. Gordon Manning talks to captain Lee Pearson ahead of the start of their championship campaign against Meath on Sunday.
In soccer, Gavin Cummiskey was in Tallaght on Tuesday evening to see the Republic of Ireland beat Greece 2-1 in their Nations League meeting, “relief” the chief emotion after “a disjointed performance”.
And earlier in the day, Gavin heard from Shelbourne boss Damien Duff who was adamant that further success with the club won’t tempt him to management across the water. “As long as I’m wanted here, I’m staying here,” he said.
In rugby, Gordon D’Arcy has been less than impressed by “the apathy displayed by some clubs” towards the Champions and Challenge Cups this season, leaving both tournaments “damaged and devalued”. “The low point for me,” he writes, “was when Leinster put 62 points on Harlequins”.
A high point, though, was Munster’s triumph over La Rochelle, that “defiant win”, says Gerry Thornley, a reminder that they “are actually not a bad side”. He talks to defence coach Denis Leamy in the build-up to the return trip to France, when they take on Bordeaux Bègles in Saturday’s quarter-final.
And Johnny Watterson hears from RG Snyman ahead of Leinster’s quarter-final against Glasgow on Friday, the South African chuffed to have signed a contrast extension last month that will keep him in Dublin for another year.
TV Watch: The Masters’ par three contest (Sky Sports Golf, from 2pm) will get you warmed up for the start of the main event tomorrow, and at 8.0 this evening we have the first leg of two more Champions League quarter-finals - PSG v Aston Villa (RTE 2, Premier Sports 1 and TNT Sports 1) and Barcelona v Borussia Dortmund (Virgin Media Two and TNT Sports 2). If any of the four can match Arsenal’s display against Real Madrid on Tuesday night, they’ll be over the moon.
