There’s little in sport as distasteful, as sly and scurrilous sledging, yet little as smile-inducing as a bit of witty in-game trash-talking either.

On Monday, the Boston Celtics were the surprising beneficiaries of one of the most generous systems in professional sport.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have rubbed shoulders with Brooklyn royalty when they met Jay Z and Beyonce at a New York basketball match.

Menelik Watson admits he can scarcely believe that his journey has taken him from Longsight in Manchester to one of the NFL’s most storied franchises.

Jeff Teague’s 34-point-haul, including a first career buzzer-beater, lifted the Atlanta Hawks to a 127-125 double overtime victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA.

The Atlanta Olympics brought a huge influx of Irish to that great southern city in 1996.

CARLOS BOOZER led the Chicago Bulls to victory after a superb late fightback by the Detroit Pistons took the game to overtime.

A domestic dispute erupted in gunfire at broadcast giant CNN’s headquarters, killing a woman and critically wounding the ex-boyfriend who pulled a gun on her.

A man and a woman were shot inside the building complex that houses CNN’s headquarters in what US police described as a “domestic situation.”

HEAD coach of the Irish basketball team, Gerry Fitzpatrick, has announced his squad for next week’s friendly against England and the European Championship semi-final round games against Germany, Croatia and former Macedonia (FYROM).

National team coach Gerry Fitzpatrick has named a panel of 17 for Ireland's European Men's Basketball Championship games next month.