ALAN SHEARER flexed his muscles in uncompromising style yesterday to effectively signal the end of Joey Barton’s Newcastle career.

MICKEY HARTE admitted to be highly relieved in the aftermath of yesterday’s gripping All-Ireland quarter-final and Tyrone captain Brian Dooher had no hesitation in singing from the same hymn sheet in the post match interviews.

HALF an hour after the final whistle and Ross Carr was still there under the main stand in Enniskillen, oblivious to the pouring rain and trying to explain just where it had all gone wrong.

I HAVE noticed that the following is a sentence I never used write, but it has become more frequent over the past 18 months: thank goodness for this international break.

BIRMINGHAM gained revenge for their weekend FA Cup exit against Portsmouth after sending the Premier League’s bottom club closer to relegation with a 2-1 triumph at Fratton Park.

MADONNA kicked off the MTV Europe Music Awards last night with the first live televised performance of her new single Hung Up, emerging from a giant glitterball wearing purple leather boots and a matching leotard.

Georgia 1Ireland 1

JOHN O’MAHONY could be forgiven for gloating, except that it would be totally alien to his nature!

Limerick 4-24 Kerry 0-2

GAC officials will conclude their investigations into the ill-tempered NFL tie between Kerry and Cork tomorrow night.

IRELAND’S beleaguered taxpayers will shed no tears because wealthy horse-breeders are finally to lose their lucrative tax exemptions on stud fees.

PETER CANAVAN yesterday dismissed suggestions that Tyrone ‘over celebrated’ their All-Ireland semi-final defeat of Armagh three weeks ago, insisting they never lost sight of Kerry and the final.

AS the supporters flood out from Clones to drown the bile of their rivalry in the local bars, the scene on the pitch is a tale of two Micheals.

OUTSTANDING captain Colin Corkery accepted last night that Cork got out of jail in Sunday's Bank of Ireland, Munster SFC final clash with Tipperary at Semple Stadium.

RAFAEL BENITEZ was left cursing the officials after Liverpool lost in unfortunate circumstances to Sao Paulo in the Club World Championship final in Yokohama.

THIERRY HENRY has vowed to continue scoring the goals which will finally prove to Real Madrid that he has no intention of swapping Highbury, where he is the “happiest man in the world”, for the Bernabeu.

WHEN you take the hype out of the responses to the NIB report it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the Irish banking sector has been the spawning ground for an ethos in this country that regards tax evasion and contempt for the law as totally acceptable behaviour.