Good morning,
And it was a very, very good early morning for Europe over at Marco Simone Golf Club where the scoreboard was awash with blue as they took the lead in each of the foursomes on the opening day of the Ryder Cup.
Philip Reid is in Rome to keep us up to date on all the happenings, although possibly not dressed as a gladiator as some of this morning’s spectators were. You can read Philip’s preview here, Europe, he reminds us, hell-bent on erasing the memory of that 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits two years ago.
Over in Paris, meanwhile, Johnny Watterson has been following the blue dot on his Google Maps in search of a street named Allée Samuel Beckett, but there’s more chance of Godot turning up on time than Johnny actually finding it. “The question is,” he was left pondering, “has it ever existed?”
Your complete guide to all the festive sporting action including TV details
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Pub staff struggled to keep up with giddy Shamrock Rovers fans who enjoyed every moment of Chelsea trip
All he could be sure of in the end was that if he was alive today, rugby man Beckett would have been well impressed with Ireland’s progress thus far at the World Cup, and heartened to hear that Jack Conan is hale and hearty again and ready for action against Scotland on Saturday week.
Conor McKenna is primed for action too, the Tyrone native aiming to become just the second Irish man, after Tadhg Kennelly, to win both a Sam Maguire and an AFL Premiership when he plays for Brisbane Lions in Saturday’s Grand Final. Gordon Manning brings us his story.
And Gordon also brings news of the All Star nominations and the contenders for the title of Footballer of the Year, Dublin captain James McCarthy’s omission from the latter list prompting many a furrowed brow from his admirers.
In athletics, Sonia O’Sullivan’s brow is a bit furrowed too after the rash of broken records in women’s distance running in particular. “Have we ever seen such a sudden shift in the markers of greatness that we once knew,” she asks.
Aoife Cleary has zero interest in obsessing over times, the winner of last weekend’s Dublin Half-Marathon telling Ian O’Riordan that for her running is solely about pleasure, those who check their watch every minute “miss the blue sky, the warm breeze, that connection with nature”.
TV watch: You can follow all the Ryder Cup action on Sky Sports Golf today, their coverage continuing until 7.30. And if you miss it, you can catch up on the highlights this evening (BBC 2, 8.30-10.0). Shamrock Rovers are edging ever closer to their fourth Premier Division title in a row, RTÉ2 bringing their meeting with Shelbourne (kick-off 7,45), and in the Rugby World Cup, New Zealand and Italy square up at 8.0 (Virgin Media One and UTV).
