On Monday evening just past, probably after a few of them would have seen footage of a brawl below in Kerry on their Twitter feed on their way out the door, the 2018 Clare senior county hurling champions Ballyea returned to the Local Inn, where for the second consecutive night they were welcomed by a special constituency of people.

One game at a time — if ever the old mantra applied, it’s to the tantalising situation the Irish women’s team find themselves in as they prepare for back-to-back World Cup qualifiers in Tallaght.

Aaron Rodgers threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Devante Adams with 11 seconds left to lift the Green Bay Packers to a 35-31 NFL victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Cork City continue to edge towards the Airtricity League Premier Division title but they had to work hard before finally seeing off a battling relegation-threatened Finn Harps at Finn Park last night.

Finn Harps 0 Cork City 1

There will be a familiar feel to the NFL playoffs next weekend: Every divisional-round game will be a rematch from the regular season, the first time that’s happened in six years.

Finn Harps 2 Derry City 1

Asking a player if they are out to avenge a previous defeat is normally the most futile of exercises, but Bath’s Leroy Houston is full of surprises.

The Kansas City Royals backed the superb two-hit pitching of Johnny Cueto with a relentless attack to rout the New York Mets 7-1 and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven World Series into tonight’s crucial Game Three (12.05am, live on BT Sport1).

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

Champions Cup round up: Guy Noves’ Toulouse handed Leinster a home Champions Cup quarter-final after blowing the chance to top Pool 4 by squandering a 20-9 lead yesterday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers came on strong in the fourth quarter on Sunday night for a 42-21 NFL triumph over Cincinnati that blew open the AFC North division race.

Tom Brady won the battle of the marquee quarterbacks over Peyton Manning, while the Arizona Cardinals knocked off the Dallas Cowboys to claim the NFC’s best record.

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

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.

Baltimore Ravens have released running back Ray Rice hours after a shocking video surfaced showing the NFL star punching his then-fiancee.

You can’t beat a good buzzer-beater!

Australia sent planes and ships to investigate signals detected by a Chinese ship in the hunt for a missing Malaysian jet, saying they matched black box beacons and were an “important and encouraging lead”.

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.

Houston coach Gary Kubiak collapsed at half-time and was taken by ambulance to hospital, a chilling blow for the reeling Texans after their best start to a game in months.

Unstoppable Peyton Manning continued his electric start to the NFL season by throwing four touchdown passes as the Denver Broncos moved to 4-0 with a 52-20 crushing of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Robbie Keane netted a second-half hat-trick as the Los Angeles Galaxy beat Real Salt Lake 4-2 and move within four points of the MLS Western Conference leaders.

The NFL play-offs continue tomorrow with four teams left vying for a spot in next month’s Super Bowl XLVII.

Willo Flood hailed Dundee United’s cutting edge after yet another 3-0 win over local rivals Dundee.

Last weekend saw Robbie Keane win his second MLS Championship in as many years, scoring yet again when it mattered most for LA Galaxy in a 3-1 victory over Houston.

With the focus almost exclusively surrounding David Beckham’s Major League Soccer farewell, the competition’s showpiece occasion has been comprehensively overshadowed this week.

Monaco chief executive Tor-Kristian Karlsen has confirmed his club is exploring a possible deal for David Beckham.

David Beckham has revealed he has numerous offers to continue playing after his Los Angeles Galaxy career ends this weekend, but the former England captain does not expect a return to the Barclays Premier League.

As the NFL heads into December, nearly every division race has an outright favourite.

The Los Angeles Galaxy will face the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup final for a second consecutive year after the two teams successfully navigated the second legs of their respective conference finals.

Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes on Sunday to help Pittsburgh beat the New York Giants 24-20 in an NFL game played with Hurricane Sandy’s devastation as a backdrop.

When Peyton Manning talks about his football mortality, acknowledging his physical shortcomings and scoffing at the notion that he plays as he did in his prime, it all makes perfect sense.

Late field goals kept the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals undefeated while Houston won a rout to also stay perfect four weeks into the season.

Hours after his younger brother’s death in a motorcycle accident, Torrey Smith caught six passes for 127 yards and scored two touchdowns to spark Baltimore to a last-play 31-30 NFL win over New England.

Peyton Manning made a sparkling return after a year’s injury absence from the NFL, leading Denver to a 31-19 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in his Broncos debut.

Bray Wanderers 1 Drogheda United 3