All-Ireland-winning goalkeeper Paul Durcan could be on the verge of a return to the Donegal senior football side.

Dressage rider Judy Reynolds made her first appearance in this year’s FEI World Cup qualifying series in Mechelen, Belgium at the weekend with Vancouver K where she finished in fifth place, but yesterday the Germany-based Kildare rider maintained that her focus for the year ahead is aimed beyond the annual championship and fixed on getting to Tokyo 2020.

The prevalence of doping in sport has been once again to the fore in recent weeks, writes Jack Anderson.

The Manhattan skyline provides the backdrop to this week’s showpiece event on the North American circuit as the fourth staging of the the Rolex Central Park Horse Show gets underway at the Wollman Rink today.

Former World champion Michael Conlan and Olympic silver medallist Ken Egan are backing their ex-Irish team-mate Joe Ward to reach back-to-back World Elite light-heavy finals in Hamburg, Germany, tonight.

Nations cups dominated last week’s show jumping headlines, but the international limelight over the next few days switches to the relatively new, mixed-nationality format that is the Global Champions League (GCL), writes Mike Dunne.

Cian O’Connor is hoping the celebrations that greeted the arrival on Wednesday of a second child, Cara Louise, to him and his wife Ruth will continue this weekend at the Global Champions Tour (GCT) final in Doha, Qatar.

Oil markets will probably balance by the end of next year, prices rising in the medium term, according to Sultan Al Jaber, new head of Abu Dhabi National Oil.

World Elite champion Michael Conlan has withdrawn from the Irish squad for the Gee Bee multi-nations in Finland because of injury.

Former European Elite and AIBA World Youth champion Ray Moylette believes he has a point to prove against Wexford’s Dean Walsh at the National Elite Championships at the National Stadium, Dublin.

Donegal goalkeeper Paul Durcan has given the biggest indication yet he may have played his last game for the county. Fresh from winning a Dublin senior title with Ballyboden St Enda’s on Sunday, the All Star nominee is in the process of moving to Qatar with his wife Edel who has secured a job there as a teacher.

NEWLY elected Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) President Pat Ryan believes that Ireland should aim for the top of the tree in world boxing.

After two intense European Elite tournaments this summer, the final count for Irish male boxing is three gold, one silver and two bronze medals and seven places secured for October’s World Elite Men’s Championships and Olympic qualifiers in Doha, Qatar.

Irish head coach Billy Walsh hailed Adam “The Guard” Nolan after he dumped No. 1 seed Radzhab Butaev out of the European Elite Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria yesterday.

ENGLAND: Covered entirely in crystals, it may not be to everybody’s taste — but a £420,000 (€582,430) piano is possibly the most bling musical instrument in the world.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has ruled out revisiting the vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups after the world governing body’s executive committee agreed unanimously that an "appropriate" form of the Garcia report should be published.

The FIA’s recently-formed Accident Panel has drawn up a list of recommendations in light of the incident that almost cost Jules Bianchi his life.

“There’s definitely going to be a run of games played abroad in 12 months or two years.”

A man arrested after a suspected bomb hoax on a UK-bound flight has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, police said.

A man arrested after a suspected bomb hoax on a UK-bound flight has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, police said.

Police in the UK say a plane has been escorted into Manchester Airport after information "about a possible device on board".

Israel has widened its air assault against the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers, hitting a mosque it said was hiding rockets, as Palestinians said the death toll from the five-day offensive had risen above 125.

Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas in Gaza have hit a mosque as the Palestinian death toll topped 120 in an offensive that shows no signs of slowing down.

Drawings of mammoths, human footprints and other art carved on cave walls in southern France about 30,000 years ago have been added to Unesco’s World Heritage list.

Boeing is talking to Emirates, the world’s biggest operator of the Airbus A380 superjumbo, about a potential purchase of the 747-8, as the airline seeks more fuel-efficient carriage of large passenger numbers.

The European Tour has announced a comprehensive review into the Final Series after Ernie Els strongly criticised the demands on players.

A new match-play event between Europe and Asia, the EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM, will be part of the 2014 European Tour schedule.

The Afghan Taliban has said it is ready to hand over a US soldier held captive since 2009 in exchange for five of its senior operatives being held at Guantanamo Bay.

More than 100 countries have recognised a new Syrian opposition coalition, opening the way for greater humanitarian assistance - and possibly military aid - for the forces battling president Bashar Assad.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan was heckled during the budget speeches — even though he was thousands of miles away at the time.

Paul McCartney is kicking up a stink with top politicians at the international climate talks to save the environment by controlling animal wind.

Extreme weather events such as superstorm Sandy and this summer’s drought in the US will become more frequent as the climate changes.

A man is being treated in Britain after contracting a potentially fatal Sars-like virus, health experts have said.

The Arab League’s secretary general has offered Syrian president Bashar Assad a “safe exit” for him and his family if he steps down.

The body of former Palestinian president Yasser Arafat may be exhumed after the discovery of traces of a radioactive agent on clothing he reportedly wore in his final days reignited a cauldron of conspiracy theories.

The UN's top human rights official said today that there should be no amnesty for serious crimes committed in Syria, even if the threat of prosecution might motivate members of the regime to cling to power at all costs.

Denis Lynch has Lantinus and All Inclusive to choose from in the first round of tomorrow’s Global Champions Tour in Doha, Qatar, though yesterday he had yet to decide which horse to use.

Next year’s European Tour will again include just one event Ireland, two in England, one in Wales and three in Scotland.

Next year’s European Tour has been confirmed with the Irish Open switching from late July to the end of June, but with a venue yet to be announced.

Maria Sharapova stands out in the Wimbledon semi-final crowd as the only woman with a grand slam title but she has no doubts about the credentials of her remaining rivals.

HORSE SPORT IRELAND is again putting up a prizefund of €75,500 for its Irish Sport Horse Studbook Show Jumping Series.