AFTER being written off by Arsene Wenger last November as a player who, “doesn’t do much”, Didier Drogba looked rather surprised to find himself accepting a congratulatory handshake from the Frenchman on the final whistle.

THE Irish women’s bobsleigh team could be sensationally stripped of their place at next week’s Winter Olympics following a legal challenge by Australian officials.

Richard Collins investigates the ‘see-ip’ call of this visiting songbird.

IN the last recession during the 1980s the cream of a generation were forced to emigrate. It was an eminently forgettable period, except in the area of sport.

THE middleweight champion of France, Affif Belghecham, breezed into Limerick yesterday confident of playing his part in a French sporting double against the Irish tomorrow night.

BRIAN O’DRISCOLL is set to play his 100th Test match when Ireland face Australia at Croke Park on Sunday.

IT had been a sharp learning curve for Mick McCarthy in his first campaign as Irish manager.

TOMMY WALSH left the scene of his latest outstanding performance happy in the knowledge that his beloved Kerins O’Rahillys are on track to win their first ever AIB Munster Club SFC title.

FRANCE’S first-choice front man André-Pierre Gignac suffered an injury scare during Toulouse’s 3-2 win against Rennes in Ligue 1 yesterday.

SAM ALLARDYCE is not one of those managers who needs an excuse to celebrate his own talents, but even the biggest critics of the self-styled ‘Big Sam’ would not begrudge him a sense of satisfaction on Saturday evening.

PERHAPS it’s just as well that only a third of Sunday’s likely starting line-up were in the Munster team that lost 23-8 to Perpignan in the Heineken Cup in 2003.

CHELSEA could be without 18-goal striker Didier Drogba for tonight’s clash with Portsmouth after the Ivory Coast international hurt his back in a training ground incident yesterday.

WITHIN seconds of the final whistle at Thomond Park on Friday, I received a text from one of Munster’s keenest supporters now living in Atlanta, Georgia.

A new year is looming and, given the events of the last 12 months, nobody will be celebrating with more gusto when the clock strikes midnight on December 31 than Kevin Doyle.

TOTTENHAM full-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto is facing an investigation into his clash with a fan after the defeat by Wolves, police have confirmed.

IT was honours even in this meeting of the touring All Star teams of 2008 and 2009 in Hurlingham on Saturday, a fitting result to what was an entertaining affair.

REFEREE Diarmuid Kirwan last night insisted he was ‘delighted’ with his handling of September’s All-Ireland SHC final.

FIVE points, four tries scored, none conceded. What’s not to like?

IT WAS interesting to learn this week that the Army v Navy American football game played on December 7, 1963 was the occasion for the first use of action replay in televised sport.

CARLO ANCELOTTI described this dramatic but fortunate victory over Fulham as one of the most important results of his Chelsea tenure after his team shrugged off an alarming dip in form to re-ignite their title challenge.