Buffalo Bills corner back Vontae Davis retired at half-time in Sunday’s defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers before admitting: “Reality hit me hard.”

When does an underdog need to stop behaving like an underdog?

There will be 100 Premier League players in action at the World Cup, spread across 25 international teams.

Brighton 1 Manchester United 0: If ever there was ever any confusion as to why Manchester United have not been able to challenge their noisy neighbours for the title this season it was cleared up and summed up in a tepid defeat against Chris Hughton’s excellent Brighton & Hove Albion.

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Tottenham 2 - Brighton 0: Tottenham, who seem to be playing the Premier League in the shadow of their own Champions League excitement, needed a fortunate goal from defender Serge Aurier and a late deflected Heung-min Son effort to beat Brighton and keep their top-four challenge alive.

An Bord Pleanála has overturned a decision to grant planning permission for a new hotel on the site of a popular Dublin nightclub.

The New England Patriots didn’t need a comeback in their Super Bowl rematch with the Atlanta Falcons.

Tom Brady conjured a last-gasp Houdini act to save the New England Patriots in a thrilling win over the Houston Texans on Sunday as the Atlanta Falcons preserved their unbeaten record.

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.

Matt Ryan claimed an early victory over Tom Brady on Super Bowl weekend by being named the NFL's MVP last night in Houston.

The Atlanta Falcons are going to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history after they thrashed the Green Bay Packers 44-21 in the NFC Championship game.

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.

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.

The Dallas Cowboys blew a 21-0 lead before rallying to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-27 and move to 10-4, one game ahead of Philadelphia at the top of the NFC East standings.

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

The Atlanta Falcons survived one of the most outstanding comebacks in recent NFL memory, ending the Seattle Seahawks’ incredible season with a 30-28 victory that sets up an NFC Championship showdown with the San Francisco 49ers.

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

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.

Atlanta remained undefeated, Tom Brady won the battle of the marquee quarterbacks and Drew Brees had a record-setting day in week five of the National Football League season.

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.

ONLY Tim Tebow could resurrect Tebowing and early yesterday morning even Dan Marino joined the growing procession of adoring fans genuflecting to the Denver Broncos quarterback.

TOM BRADY threw three touchdowns as the New England Patriots crushed the Philadelphia Eagles 38-20 and Tim Tebow led the Denver Broncos to their fourth straight win in National Football League action on Sunday.

PROGRESSIVE individuals are being sought to apply for the 2012 Irish Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust bursaries to travel and research farming and agri-food projects.

MICHAEL VICK had a rough return to Atlanta last night, suffering a concussion along with defeat as the Falcons beat the Philadelphia Eagles 35-31 in the Georgia Dome on Sunday night.

FIVE minutes from the motorway, this Tipperary farm is due for auction on October 6, and has garnered considerable interest, says Matt Ryan of Matthew Ryan and Son.

Armagh 3-15 London 3-14

London 2-12 Derry 0-15

THE €10,000 first prize in the Economic Breeding Index Discussion Group Competition, which promotes better breeding on dairy farms, was jointly won this year by two groups from the midlands and the south-west.

THE Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has called for a cull of insolvent hotels and a closure of 15,000 available rooms, before next year’s peak season, as part of a wide-ranging series of recommendations aimed at saving the industry.

DESPITE the current financial challenges, the outlook for dairy products in the medium term is positive due to improving world demand. That’s the view of Teagasc, which will hold its national dairy conferences in Mullingar and Killarney next week.

OF THE four remaining teams in tomorrow’s Tipperary SHC semi-finals, one stands out. In what many will see as the main event, champions Toomevara continue their Kerry-like run through the back door, take on Drom & Inch, the only divisional champions still standing.

Investigators were trying today to find out why a gunman killed 13 people at an immigration centre before apparently shooting himself.

Troubled singer Amy Winehouse could soon be trading the recording studio for Hollywood as she has been offered a part in a new movie, according to reports.

PEDIGREE breeding can be the route to financial benefits and easier dairy farming, according to the Irish Holstein Friesian Association.

THE early abolition of the European Union milk quota may be beneficial to the Irish dairy industry in that it would allow dairy farmers who are eager to expand to do so and possibly facilitate growth in milk production, it was suggested at the Teagasc national dairy conference in Limerick yesterday.

WELL-KNOWN showbusiness personality Mark Leen was among the protestors outside a cinema in Tralee where The Da Vinci Code was shown last night.