DON’T expect any rash statements from Brian Cody over the next couple of weeks about Kilkenny’s date with destiny as they seek to make it four-in-a-row in the All-Ireland hurling final.

IPSWICH manager Roy Keane blasted his side’s defending as they began the Coca-Cola Championship season with a 2-1 defeat at Coventry yesterday.

ROSCOMMON cruised into the All-Ireland JFC final with an emphatic semi-final victory over London in Dr Hyde Park on Saturday.

THE ability to react to danger is an innate characteristic of a Kilkenny hurler – no matter how young.

WITH thanks to the late great Ian Dury, it is my rare pleasure today to present reasons to be cheerful (part three).

TWELVE months ago Kilkenny ousted Tipperary by eight points in the All-Ireland MHC semi-final and all the signs point to a repeat when the sides convene for another minor hurling showdown in Croke Park tomorrow at noon.

SEX and booze have been very much off the agenda for Dunmanway FC in the past few days, at least until they get over the game of their lives against Liverpool today.

DUBLIN footballers Ciarán Whelan and Denis Bastick may face disciplinary action arising out of two separate second-half incidents in Monday’s shattering All-Ireland SFC quarter-final defeat to Kerry.

THE impact sub tag has been attached to Darran O’Sullivan since his breakthrough onto the Kerry scene in 2005 but the Glenbeigh-Glencar man has made no secret of his dislike of being restricted to bench-warming duties.

DESPITE all the bad vibes emanating from Kerry’s championship campaign this summer, Jack O’Connor has consistently espoused the belief his charges were not far off tapping into their vintage form of recent seasons.

DID we witness the defiant last bite of a maligned football force yesterday at Croke Park – or the greatest rope-a-dope since Ali duped Foreman way back when?

JOHN TERRY’S week of misery showed no signs of improving as his Chelsea side dropped two vital points at struggling Hull City to blow the race for the Barclays Premier League title wide open last night.

EMMANUEL Adebayor acknowledged the heavens in remembrance after scoring for the first time since the gun attack in Angola that left him fearing for his life.

LAST week I was in England, visiting friends in a rural part of Devon.

THE scoreline points to an emphatic win for UCC, but it was a tough struggle before they progressed past Dublin IT in yesterday’s Ulster Bank Sigerson Cup first round clash at the Mardyke.

WALES star Lee Byrne and the Ospreys have been hit with misconduct complaints following last Saturday’s ‘16th player’ saga.

FRANK LAMPARD ensured his Chelsea team-mates worked their way back into Carlo Ancelotti’s good books after the weekend defeat against Aston Villa with a comfortable win that takes the club to the brink of qualification to the knock- out phase of the Champions League.

THERE came a time in Houllier’s reign when we expected nothing and the team obliged. There was a tangible slice of déjà vu after Saturday.

TAKE heart, all those of you approaching 50!

DISCIPLINARY chiefs in Tyrone have launched a probe into an alleged assault on a referee at the end of Sunday’s SFC final between Dromore and Ardboe.