Ireland’s Cricket World Cup qualifier against Afghanistan is playing away on the TV in the background as Rob Ryan sits in the Clanna Gael Fontenoy clubhouse in Dublin, gripping a hurley, and holding court on all things American football.

Tom Brady tossed four touchdown passes — including two to Rob Gronkowski — as the New England Patriots pushed through injuries and a mistake-filled game for a 35-17 victory over the sliding Miami Dolphins.

The Georgia Dome, the stadium in Atlanta that hosted 1996 Olympic events and which was the venue for two Super Bowls, has been reduced to rubble in an implosion.

Rookie kicker Younghoe Koo missed a last-gasp field goal for the second successive game as the Los Angeles Chargers lost their home opener 19-17 to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Nine people, including a suspect who was shot dead by an officer, have died after a man opened fire during a gathering to watch American football at a house in suburban Dallas, police said.

Myles Garrett was the first overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Draft, while three quarterbacks were chosen in the opening 12 selections of a first round.

It was not just the pre-game tribute to Anthony Foley that inspired Ireland to victory over the All Blacks.

Ireland captain Rory Best has warned of the dangers of dreaming of an historic first victory over the All Blacks tonight (8pm Irish time). 

The Carolina Panthers’ poor start to the season continued as they crashed to a third defeat in four matches after going down 48-33 to the Atlanta Falcons.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo did not miss a beat as he stepped in for the suspended Tom Brady in his first NFL start and led the New England Patriots to a 23-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Quarterback Cam Newton threw three touchdown passes and his Carolina Panthers pummelled the Atlanta Falcons 38-0 on Sunday to earn an NFL playoff first-round bye.

Quarterback Cam Newton threw five touchdown passes to lead the Carolina Panthers to a 10th straight NFL victory on Sunday, a 44-16 pounding of the Washington Redskins.

The IRFU has hit paydirt with the news that the national team is set to face New Zealand in Chicago’s Soldier Field next November.

Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin has been sacked in the aftermath of their Wembley loss to AFC East rivals the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon.

A bit of travel advice here for the US sports fans among you: Louisville, Kentucky.

High profile coaching casualties followed quick on the heels of the final day of the NFL’s regular season as the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets parted ways with their coaches yesterday.

If you saw the Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch plough through the Arizona Cardinals defence for a late touchdown on Sunday night, then you had the opportunity to enjoy one of the highlights of this NFL season.

The Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys booked their places in the play-offs after victories on Sunday while the New England Patriots earned a first round bye for the post-season.

There seems to be a lot of hurdling in this game.

The US has just had its Thanksgiving feast of American Football, so the lads over at Facts thought it was a good time to show some Irish lads America’s national game, American Football.

Tom Brady sparked the New England Patriots to their seventh consecutive victory in a 34-9 rout of Detroit, while Indianapolis receiver T.Y. Hilton scored a touchdown for his newborn daughter.

US federal agents conducted surprise inspections of National Football League team doctors and trainers on Sunday as part of an ongoing probe into painkiller drug abuse, the US media reported on Sunday.

Chicago Bears’ defensive end Lamarr Houston will miss the rest of the season after a freak injury while celebrating a sack.

Brian O’Driscoll’s latest book supposedly makes for an interesting read when digested in large chunks, but the extracts have fallen well short of Roy Keane’s on the Richter scale.

An embattled NFL, reeling from off-field brutality issues, received more bad news with numerous injuries to key players in the second week of an already tumultuous campaign.

Screened in over 200 countries, Super Bowl will be lapped up by well over 100 million Americans for whom it has become as symbolic of their country as Apple Pie.

The NFL play-off picture was completed on Sunday with a dramatic final series of regular season games delivering big results for the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Diego Chargers.

The NFL couldn’t have scripted it much better heading into the last week of the regular season.

The Green Bay Packers needed their biggest comeback in history on Sunday to somehow keep their play-off hopes alive ahead of the long-awaited return of Aaron Rodgers from injury.

In the small hours of Monday morning, just south of a bitterly cold Boston, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots finally overcame the Denver Broncos in an instant NFL classic that provided almost everything.

The Denver Broncos will be sweating this week on the fitness of quarterback Peyton Manning, who led them to their eighth win of the season on Sunday but saw his injury-prone ankle targeted in the process.

Just short of 100 points were scored in an incredible Texas shoot-out between the Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday which left Peyton Manning’s Broncos in control of one of the three unbeaten records in the NFL thanks to a 51-48 win.

The New England Patriots claimed their 10th consecutive NFL season-opening win when Stephen Gostkowski hit a 35-yard field goal with five seconds left to beat the Buffalo Bills 23-21.

I’m especially good at expectorating, sings Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, and the hunter’s skill with a well-aimed spit is just one more indication that he’s the villain of the piece.

Ireland’s wheelchair rugby athletes put everything on the line to reach European Championships