LIONEL MESSI was last night awarded the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the third successive year.

IRELAND are hoping to have a new team manager in place before the start of the RBS 6 Nations Championship next month but are still assessing the candidates to succeed Paul McNaughton.

UNBEATEN in 14 games, nine points clear in the RaboDirect Pro12, six ahead of their nearest rival in Pool 3 of the Heineken Cup.

A minister has said it was “not practical in the foreseeable future” to ban sports sponsorship by the alcohol industry.

Former New Zealand skipper Sean Fitzpatrick has challenged Ireland to turn provincial form into Test match success as Brian O’Driscoll’s side embark on a three-match series against the world champions over the coming month.

It shouldn’t even be close.

Eden Hazard last night finally ended speculation about his future by announcing he had decided to join Chelsea next season.

Typically they feature dawn raids and search warrants; obscure provincial prosecutors with snappy wardrobes and an eye for publicity; pictures of sheepish young men emerging from police stations; extracts from mobile phone taps selectively leaked to the papers; condemnation and summary convictions; and then a five-year appeal process during which it emerges that everyone was doing it but the accused had the misfortune or the stupidity to be caught.

Camelot heads just 12 remaining entries for the Investec Derby at Epsom on Saturday.

So, I’m back at the keyboard and looking forward to another Championship season both on and off the field.

Barcelona forward Pedro has been rewarded for his two goals in the Copa del Rey final on Friday by being included in Spain’s 23-man squad for the European Championships.

A ppropriately enough fora game which took place onthe eve of the flight to Italy and onwards via Hungary to the Euros, this farewell friendly was all about Ireland’s winged wonders, as James McClean in the first half and Aiden McGeady in the second, reached for the sky.

FAI Intermediate Cup winners Avondale United progressed to the third round proper of the FAI Cup thanks to a 3-1 win over Kildrum Tigers in Donegal yesterday.

After the heroics of Twickenham last weekend, Leinster returned to base camp at the RDS yesterday for the coronation.

Another act in a great summer of sport has begun and if Giovanni Trapattoni’s team can capture our affections like Jack Charleton’s panel did all of those years ago, then the mood of the nation will surely lift.

Ticketless Irish fans intent on travelling to Poland next month have been given a boost by the prediction that tickets for some games could flood back onto the market.

Cirrus Des Aigles has another opportunity to demonstrate his remarkable versatility in tomorrow’s Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp.

Power might be capable of giving Aidan O’Brien an eighth win in today’s Abu Dhabi Irish 2,000 Guineas.

Trying to find the hidden messages behind today’s clash at the Aviva Stadium.

Declan Ryan faces a big summer and needs to show he has learned from past errors if Tipp are to prosper.