"I'm a grown man and can take it on the chin or chinssssss. Jealousy is a horrible thing."

Defending champion Judd Trump stormed into the second round of the China Open with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Ashley Hugill in Beijing.

Investment at the landmark Silversprings Hotel in Cork by new owners Clayton/Dalata who acquired it two years ago as part of a nine-hotel €445m acquisition from the Moran Group will top €5 million by next year, while the hotel’s €3.2m reworked two-storey Events Centre, ballroom and business meeting rooms reopens from tomorrow.

Mark ‘The Jester from Leicester’ Selby is the world snooker champion. He shocked holder Ronnie O’Sullivan to win last year’s final at the Crucible. Now firmly established as the sport’s No.1 ranked player, he is confident of retaining his title when the world’s best return to the home of the green baize today.

Come back John Virgo, all is forgiven.

TODAY 

Ireland's David Morris has knocked World champion Mark Selby out of the Coral UK Championship in York.

SNOOKER: Ronnie O’Sullivan is set to begin his Coral UK Championship campaign today, despite suffering a nasty ankle injury.

Six-time World Championship finalist Jimmy White has told of his battle with crack cocaine addiction.

Naomh Conaill may appeal their defeat by Glenswilly in the RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta Donegal SFC semi-final to the Ulster Hearings Committee.

The RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta Donegal SFC was in a state of limbo last night as an appeal by Naomh Conaill into the result of Sunday’s semi-final was being discussed by the Competitions’ Control Committee.

Niall Horan is in the club, as is Barack Obama and Angelina Jolie.

Ken Doherty returned to vintage form and struck a blow for snooker’s senior citizens as he enjoyed a first Crucible win in eight years on Sunday.

Kieran McSweeny, TV3.

IF you want an insight into how Monaghan beat Donegal we could sum it up in two words: Siya Bafuna.

Two-time World Championship finalist Ali Carter is ready for the fight ahead after being diagnosed with testicular cancer.

New Manchester United manager David Moyes has confirmed the arrival of three trusted members of his Everton backroom team.

Performance psychologist Michael Finnigan insists David Moyes will be even more hungry to succeed in his new job as Manchester United boss because he has never won a major trophy as a manager.

Maths wasn’t exactly a strong suit in the old school days, but one glance around Croke Park last Sunday afternoon seemed to offer fairly definitive evidence that the numbers just didn’t add up for what proved to be two perfectly enjoyable Allianz League Division 1 semi-finals.

Ronnie O’Sullivan will begin the defence of his Betfair World Championship title against Scotland’s Marcus Campbell.

Jimmy White is one win away from the Crucible after surviving his second qualifying match for the Betfair World Championship.

It was a case of better late than never for Mark Selby tonight as he beat Shaun Murphy in the williamhill.com UK Championship final.

If, as Buggles once said, video really did kill the radio star, then TV has done something equally harmful to a whole host of sportsmen and women whose efforts habitually disappear into a black hole of general apathy.

Steve Davis arrived at the Crucible this morning on “a sad day” for snooker after seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry announced his retirement.

Mark Williams set up a mouth-watering second-round Crucible clash with Ronnie O’Sullivan after completing victory over Liu Chuang.

Jimmy White has joined Ronnie O’Sullivan in calling for snooker chiefs to mark the anniversaries of Alex Higgins’ two world title triumphs.

Ken Doherty is "over the moon" to be back in Sheffield for the Betfred.com World Championship after twice sampling the pain of missing out.

Ken Doherty survived a tense finish to edge past Anthony Hamilton and book his place in the Betfred.com World Championship draw last night.

Jimmy White booked a first-round China Open clash with Judd Trump by coming through qualifying today,

DESPITE beating a hasty retreat following his surprise 4-1 defeat by Xiao Guadong at the PTC Snooker event in Killarney yesterday, Ronnie O’Sullivan’s recent comments about feeling ‘raped’ and ‘blackmailed’ into playing a lot of the World Snooker events at moment were a hot topic of conversation at the INEC.

A FORMER top-flight inter-county referee has sprung to the defence of Ulster officiating standards this year.

GLENSWILLY became Donegal senior champions for the second time in their history when Michael Murphy scored all but a point in yesterday’s final win.

IT WAS a mixed week for still impressionable thirtysomethings. In front of a Bologna police station and inside a hall in Dundalk, two 90s heroes made a little news.

The Scottish Crown Counsel have found insufficient evidence to justify a criminal prosecution following an investigation into the 2008 UK Championship match between Stephen Maguire and Jamie Burnett, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association have confirmed in a statement.

Judd Trump brought power snooker to the Betfred.com World Championship as he blasted out into an overnight lead in his semi-final against Ding Junhui.

John Higgins knows the crowd will be on Ronnie O’Sullivan’s side when their Betfred.com World Championship quarter-final resumes today.

John Higgins admits his Crucible clash with Ronnie O'Sullivan has the feeling of a final.

Ronnie O'Sullivan's miserable run continued today as he was eliminated from the Bank of Beijing China Open at the first-round stage.

John Higgins admitted he was "all over the place" after returning to action for the first time since his father's death with a workmanlike 4-3 win over youngster Jack Lisowski today.

ITV is lining up a triple whammy of big-hitters as it aims to dominate TV ratings with the launch of the new series of 'I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!'

The six year old great niece of Alex ’Hurricane’ Higgins will tomorrow release the song she sang at his funeral as a tribute to the late snooker legend.

Ronnie O’Sullivan produced a golden hour of snooker to destroy Glasgow’s Stephen Maguire’s hopes of home town glory at the 12bet.com World Open.

Ronnie O’Sullivan sent Stephen Hendry tumbling out of the 12bet.com World Open but admitted he might not have the hunger to last the distance in Glasgow.

Ronnie O’Sullivan won the battle of snooker’s great entertainers as he knocked out veteran Jimmy White to reach the 12bet.com World Open last 16.

BARRY HEARN yesterday claimed snooker would lead the way in tackling corruption in sport as he promised a “zero tolerance” approach at the launch of a new integrity unit.

DAVID COLDRICK is the surprise appointment to referee the All-Ireland senior football decider between Cork and Down in Croke Park on September 19.

FAME and fortune led Alex “Hurricane” Higgins down a destructive path of alcohol abuse, which ultimately caused his death.

Snooker legend Alex ’Hurricane’ Higgins struggled to cope with the fame and fortune thrust upon him at a young age, a memorial service heard today.

Friends, family and sports stars are expected to attend a thanksgiving service today for snooker star Alex Higgins.