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.

To cheer or to jeer, that is the question, writes Kieran Shannon.

He’d won over the judges but Danny O’Connor’s face and entire demeanour seemed more like a swollen tribute to some sort of courageous defeat.

THERE’S winning pretty, and there’s just plain winning – and the Los Angeles Lakers will to continue their no-nonsense winning approach as they look to outmuscle the Boston Celtics in tomorrow night’s Game Two of the NBA Finals (tomorrow 1am Irish time, Live on ESPN).

KOBE BRYANT finished with 25 points and five steals to keep the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA Finals dream alive with a 103-98 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game Five at the Staples Center on Sunday.