Nike are to close their Oregon Project less than two weeks after head coach Alberto Salazar was banned for four years for doping violations.

It may be just coincidental that as parts of the country were battered by Lorenzo yesterday Ireland’s rugby players made unexpectedly heavy weather of beating Russia in the tremendous heat and draining humidity in Kobe’s sweatbox to keep the World Cup dream alive.

This wasn’t an easy assignment for Ciara Mageean, for reasons that run far deeper than performance alone. Either way, it was one she passed with flying colours here at the World Championships in Doha.

For several years, it was not so much smoke but thick clouds of cynicism that hung over Salazar’s work as head coach at the Nike Oregon Project.

The United States is seeking to extradite a young Irish man accused of being part of a hacking group known as “The Community” involved in alleged financial fraud and identity theft.

Sir Mo Farah has criticised the degree of attention given to his relationship with controversial coach Alberto Salazar and claims some critics are "trying to destroy" his legacy.

The killer burst of speed down the home straight, the arms outstretched in victory as he crossed the line, eyes so wide they looked in imminent danger of popping out of their sockets, a mixture of joy and pain etched across his face - the scenes were nothing new.

Here are the top three films you don’t want to miss this week, writes Declan Burke.

Mo Farah put a summer of speculation behind him to make it half a dozen global titles as he again proved unbeatable over 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Beijing.

Back at the scene of his 2008 Olympic triumphs, Usain Bolt will square off against controversial American Justin Gatlin in the 100m at the world championships.

UK Athletics has found no evidence of wrongdoing by Mo Farah in the initial findings of its investigation into allegations of doping against his coach Alberto Salazar.

Double Olympic champion Mo Farah claims doping allegations against coach Alberto Salazar are “killing” him personally but admits he would sever all ties with the American should he be found guilty.

Athletics coach Alberto Salazar has again strenuously denied doping allegations made against him, saying he believes in clean sport and hard work.

Double Olympic champion Mo Farah missed two drugs tests in the build up to the 2012 Games, it has been reported.

Mo Farah’s coach Alberto Salazar has denied “all allegations of doping” and is determined to prove his innocence following allegations he had overseen Galen Rupp’s use of banned substances.

Mo Farah’s coach Alberto Salazar has denied “all allegations of doping” in a statement released to The Guardian.

A TV broadcaster in Mexico has become an internet hit with his composure under stress from an earthquake that hit the capital yesterday.

A man convicted of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend, her young son and her mother 13 years ago has been executed by Texas prison officials.

Mo Farah’s coach Alberto Salazar has staunchly defended his athlete against doping accusations — which he views as opponents making excuses.

The locally trained Starkie, in the care of Henry de Bromhead, won the Waterford and Tramore Racecourse Novice Hurdle at the seaside track yesterday.

COLOMBIA’S second-largest city inaugurated a giant, outdoor escalator for residents of one of its poorest neighbourhoods.

Colombia’s second-largest city inaugurated a giant, outdoor escalator for residents of one of its poorest neighbourhoods.

CIARAN Ó LIONÁIRD flew to Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday to continue his build-up to next year’s Olympic Games under legendary marathon runner Alberto Salazar, who heads up the Nike Oregon Project.

AUTHOR of cerebral soccer books like Football Against The Enemy and Why England Lose, Simon Kuper is one of those rare sportswriters whose work never fails to fascinate.

THE Obama administration is backing away from a plan to make millions of acres of undeveloped land in the west of the US eligible for federal wilderness protection.

I TAKE issue with points made on this page last week by fellow columnist Stephen King.

Oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico for much of the day yesterday before engineers reattached a cap being used to contain the gusher and direct some of the crude to a surface ship.

OIL giant BP faced mounting pressure yesterday to control a massive oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico after the US government threatened to take over the response to the month-old disaster.

THE US government will independently verify how much oil has leaked into the Gulf of Mexico from a BP-owned undersea well.

BP reported further progress yesterday in stemming the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but new evidence showed part of the slick could be swept to Florida’s beaches and sensitive coral reefs.

A FORMER state employee responsible for some of Texas’s most vulnerable residents has been convicted of injuring them during orchestrated fights at a state facility for the developmentally disabled.

Showers of incandescent rock and lava from a volcanic eruption in Ecuador’s Andes mountains destroyed nearby villages, killing at least one resident and sending thousands fleeing.

A VOLCANIC eruption in Ecuador’s Andes mountains destroyed three villages, killed at least one man and left more than 60 others missing, the mayor of a village on the volcano’s slope said yesterday.

A US man convicted of beating his girlfriend’s two-year-old daughter to death in 1997 is set to be executed by lethal injection in Houston, Texas, tomorrow night.

Air quality tests in a section of a Mexican coal mine where as many as 26 miners could have been working have shown there is not enough oxygen to sustain life, it was announced early today.

A stampede broke out early today outside a stadium near Manila where thousands had lined up to watch a popular game show, killing at least 88 people and injuring 280 others, officials said.

Hurricane Stan knocked down trees, ripped roofs off homes and washed out bridges in south-eastern Mexico – but the storms it helped spawn proved far more destructive, killing more than 65 people in Central America.

BERTIE AHERN’S address to the United Nations this week attracted little international attention, which was hardly surprising.

YOUNGER viewers will no doubt find the TV series on Charles J Haughey interesting, and it will evoke memories for older people who can still remember the events.

Gathering beneath a brilliant sky, thousands of pilgrims converged on St Peter’s Square today as cardinals held a Mass before shutting themselves inside the Sistine Chapel to begin their election of a new Pope.

Sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad withdrew a request today that might have allowed him to introduce mental health evidence at sentencing to persuade a jury to spare his life.

Chelsea are chasing PSV Eindhoven’s Dutch international midfielder Mark van Bommel according to the player.

AN 11-year-old girl, who was raped and beaten with a hammer after being snatched from her bedroom, was in critical condition yesterday following nine hours of surgery.

PSV Eindhoven today denied negotiations over an Atlantic League were dead in the water despite the Celtic and Rangers’ links with the Nationwide League in England.