DOLORES Ruth’s team have been in the driving seat in the ladbrokes.com Derby so far, with litter brothers Razldazl George and Razldazl Jayfkay dominating most betting lists.

BARCELONA led Real Madrid 3-2 on Wednesday night in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup final. The teams had drawn 2-2 in the first leg. Both were thrillers.

THIS is the week of which European Tour chief executive George O’Grady dare not dream, even as recently as two months ago.

RELIEF for Sarsfields in advancing to the quarter-final of the Cork SHC but frustration for Na Piarsaigh over their failure to get their noses in front when they had the momentum to erase a narrow deficit in the closing stages in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last evening.

MILFORD ended Fermoy’s IHC title ambitions on Saturday night after they edged the north Cork side in a tough, stuttering 60-minute encounter at Kildorrery.

THE whistle-blower who exposed Tallaght Hospital’s x-ray scandal has claimed delays in making key management changes called for by reviews into the crisis are continuing to damage the facility.

HAVEN’T they got wings, our men who have been able to climb up to heights where even eagles don’t fly? … Oh Sappey, Oh Laffrey, Oh Col Bayard, Oh Tourmalet! I shall not fail in my duty to proclaim to the world that you are like an insignificant and common beer compared to the Galibier: all one can do before this giant is doff one’s hat and bow.” — French newspaper July 11, 1911.

AFTER obliterating their opponents in a Munster senior hurling final, it was difficult for Declan Ryan to find cause for complaint in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday afternoon.

IT WAS a bad weekend for the 2010 county finalists as both O’Loughlin Gaels and Carrickshock suffered defeat in the fourth round of the Kilkenny senior hurling league.

THE Sky Sports cameras were at Ruislip on Saturday but they didn’t get the result they were hoping for. In what they described ‘Gaelic football’s version of the FA Cup’, this was one giantkilling act too many for London.

THE Blue army may not have been on hand in their droves to witness it but a new era of Dublin dominance may just have been ushered in at Croke Park.

THE oft-battered cult of the outside manager got a fillip, not a flake, in the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday. You only had to see what victory meant to Limerick football boss Maurice Horan, a Mayo native, at the final whistle.

Eoin Cadogan may not be the most popular figure to ever pull on a Cork jersey but the Douglas dual-star is keen to prove that there’s a big difference between the perception and the reality.

IT’S next stop Kazakhstan for St Pat’s after two first-half goals and a disciplined second-half performance saw Pete Mahon’s men deservedly turn around their Europa League tie against Iceland’s IBV at Richmond Park last night, winning 2-1 on aggregate.

A NEW whistle-blowers hotline received complaints and allegations about the health service, solicitors and malpractice by employers in its first month.

FORGET Pat Gilroy’s claims Bernard Brogan had deserved the free by the law of averages.

THEY provided one of the most uplifting tales of the summer in Portlaoise a fortnight ago but there was no repeat of that romance for the Carlow footballers in Croke Park yesterday.

RARELY in the long and storied history of this age-old rivalry has the result been so important at such a relatively early stage in the season.

THE sense of relief all around MacHale Park was palpable when referee Rory Hickey blew the final whistle.

BEARA cruised into the Cork U21 FC semi-final after comprehensively dismantling Glanworth at Kilmurry on Saturday.