The downfall of DJ Carey, where to begin? His jailing on Monday for five-and-a-half years is the latest, and bleakest, chapter in the life of “the GAA’s first superstar”. It was, writes Denis Walsh, his “pursuit of great riches that has led to this precipice” – one he reached by “severely wounding the lives of tens of others who he grotesquely scammed”. Malachy Clerkin was in court to see Carey sentenced and led away by gardaí. “His life in tatters, his reputation demolished, his fall from grace complete.”
In rugby, Gregor Paul brings the view from New Zealand on their win in Chicago on Saturday, their celebrations somewhat muted because of the “sneaky suspicion that they encountered an Ireland team on the wane”.
Gerry Thornley looks back on what was a largely “deflating” occasion at Soldier Field, but a memorable one for “Big Young Paddy”, aka Paddy McCarthy, who came on to make his test debut in the closing stages.
Ireland weren’t helped, of course, by Tadhg Beirne’s dismissal, Owen Doyle describing the upgrading of his yellow to a red as “wrong – plain and simple”. Beirne’s red “should be struck out” and “expunged from his record”.
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In Gaelic games, Monaghan is mourning the loss of three-time All-Star footballer Eugene ‘Nudie’ Hughes who has died at the age of 67. Gordon Manning talks to another Monaghan great, Conor McManus, about Hughes’ legacy.
In soccer, the draw for the women’s World Cup qualifiers takes place around lunchtime today, Carla Ward’s Republic of Ireland expecting a tall task seeing as they’re in League A of the process. A complicated one it is too, we make a bit of an effort to explain it.
In golf, Philip Reid has news on Rory McIlroy’s return to action in Abu Dhabi this week as he sets his sights on his seventh Race to Dubai title. Meanwhile, Tom McKibbin is celebrating his master Tom McKibbin’s Hong Kong Open success. The first Tom, now renamed Junior, is the dog the golfer adopted after he was abandoned. The moral of the story? Rescue a pooch and your reward will be great.
And in racing, Brian O’Connor previews today’s Fairyhouse programme, Henry de Bromhead’s Cheltenham Festival heroine Air Of Entitlement back in action, and he looks ahead to the Grand Sefton Handicap Chase at Aintree at the weekend, Gordon Elliott’s Riann the best hope of an Irish success.
TV Watch: There are a couple of decidedly tasty Champions League games on tonight, the only problem being that they both kick off at 8pm – PSG v Bayern Munich (Virgin Media Two and TNT Sports 2) and Liverpool v Real Madrid (Premier Sports 1). Also at 8.0 is Tottenham v Copenhagen (TNT Sports 1), and earlier at 5.45 Arsenal are away to Slavia Prague (Virgin Media Two and TNT Sports 1).
