For some, the very fact that Irish professional players may need dedicated programmes on respectful relationships, the meaning of consent, etc, will be seen to reflect badly on Irish sport, writes Jack Anderson

Former Australia spinner Shane Warne has hit out at the "disgraceful" treatment of Steve Smith by the media, stressing that the sacked captain "isn't Pablo Escobar".

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presented all sorts of conundrums for opponents, writes Brendan O’Brien

Darren Lehmann will leave his post as Australia's head coach after the fourth Test against South Africa, which begins on Friday.

Smith broke down as he tried to put into words the impact his actions had had on his parents.

There has only been one topic of conversation in Australian sport this week — the ball tampering antics of the Australian cricket team in their Test series against South

Steve Smith’s future as Australian cricket captain remains in jeopardy despite standing down as skipper of Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals as the furore surrounding cricket’s latest ball-tampering row deepens.

AS Ireland’s Grand Slam celebrations began at Twickenham on St Patrick’s Day, Na Piarsaigh and Cuala played out a thrilling draw in the All-Ireland Club hurling final at Croke Park.

Last week, with Australia having scored 138 runs for the loss of two wickets on the first day of the second Ashes test at the Adelaide Oval, four of the game’s most respected minds and former practitioners stood on the pitch and debated what hope, if any, there was for the future of Test cricket.

Lorraine Kelly tells Gabrielle Fagan how her health regime is helping her beat back the years and kick middle-age into touch and how she plans to never retire

When Cricket South Africa announced last November that they had invited Ireland to play two one-day internationals in Benoni ahead of their series against Australia in September 2016, there was some quiet jubilation in Irish cricketing circles.

England’s Moeen Ali believes Australia are falling into the same trap as India by under-estimating his bowling.

The Australian Cricket team won the World Cup yesterday - at home, no less - as they took a seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Sky Sports 3 show their first Sunday championship game this summer with the simulcast of the Kilkenny-Limerick All-Ireland SHC semi-final.

Well before last Saturday Jamesie O’Connor was a Sky Sports man.

The dress rehearsal is complete and the cameras are ready to roll for the satellite broadcaster’s historic venture into Gaelic games coverage

The roofless Old Stand in Nowlan Park won’t be seen in Sky Sports’ GAA debut next month.

The man overseeing Sky Sports’ championship coverage has ensured GAA supporters its production will be of the highest quality.

RTÉ has explained why it had no issue airing rival station Sky Sports’ new championship advertisement last night.

THIS column has neglected New Zealand a little in recent months and given how much we love their wines in Ireland it is time to make amends.

England bowler Tim Bresnan admits patience will be key as his side attempt to break down Australia’s new-found resilience at Old Trafford today.

Ian Bell’s third hundred in successive Ashes Tests underpinned England’s partial recovery from their false start on an eventful first day at Lord’s.

This morning’s game against the Western Force in Perth will offer the British and Irish Lions management a far greater barometer of what to expect over the next few weeks than the testing but ultimately one-sided game against the Barbarians in Hong Kong last Saturday.

Over 100 crews will tackle tomorrow’s Gleneagle Hotel Killarney Historic Rally that doubles as the opening round of the 2013 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and final round of this season’s Southern 4 Historic Rally Championship.

Usain Bolt was upstaged by training partner Yohan Blake at the Athletissima Diamond League meeting in Lausanne last night.

Hurricane Fly is hot favourite to retain his crown in the Stan James Champion Hurdle, but how good is the Willie Mullins-trained eight-year-old, and can he hang on to his title?

Arizona has launched a website where people can make donations to pay for fencing along the US state’s border with Mexico.

FOR months, Stanley Neace had shown increasing hostility to his neighbours in rural eastern Kentucky, to the point his landlord started eviction proceedings.

Kris Boyd will definitely leave Rangers this summer, manager Walter Smith has conceded.

SUPER Bowl champions The New York Giants shrugged off the latest publicity surrounding absent receiver Plaxico Burress to defeat Washington 23-7 on Sunday.

DEFENDING champions New York struggled to score on Sunday but they managed a touchdown when it mattered most to defeat Pittsburgh 21-14 in a showdown of division leaders.

Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld will meet in the quarter-finals of the Blue Square UK Open for a third successive year on Sunday.

AMIDST talk of crisis and gloom in the Ireland camp and speculation surrounding the future of Eddie O’Sullivan, Ronan O’Gara’s side is on the cusp of equalling a record set by Irish teams in the ‘70s, who defeated England for five successive seasons in the then Five Nations Championship.

ROY KEANE has admitted consulting England’s sports psychologist Bill Beswick, but insists he has no intention of making a similar appointment at Sunderland.

Ex-England captain Fran Cotton has joined the board of directors at his former club club Sale Sharks.

Phil Taylor will meet Mark Dudbridge in the pick of the first round matches at the Las Vegas Desert Classic VI, while John Part begins his title defence against Steve Maish at Mandalay Bay.

Racing driver Jacques Villeneuve launched his first rock album on Monday, and the former Formula One ace is hoping it will speed to pole position in the charts.

Former world boxing champion Naseem Hamed is facing the possibility of a prison sentence after he today admitted dangerous driving following a crash in his £300,000 sports car.

PITTSBURGH completed an improbable road sweep of top seeds and Seattle achieved a dream 30 years in the making. Each side won lopsided playoff triumphs on Sunday to book a Super Bowl 40 showdown.

NFL win leader Indianapolis saw a Super Bowl dream end in misery while road triumphs on Sunday allowed bottom-seeds Pittsburgh and Carolina to sustain their title hopes.

PITTSBURGH’S ‘Big Ben’ tolled doom for Cincinnati’s first NFL play-off game in 15 years, while the Carolina Panthers advanced on Sunday with a defensive effort unseen in 25 years.

JAMES FANSHAWE is better associated with saddling high-class winners on the Flat at places like Newmarket and Ascot.

A photographer was shot in the leg with a pellet gun outside a home where he believed Britney Spears was attending a bridal shower yesterday evening, authorities said.