In his column this morning Darragh Ó Sé has reflected on last weekend's All-Ireland semi-finals, which saw Kerry and Dublin set up a final for the ages on September 1st. And he suggests that Tyrone - beaten 1-18 to 0-18 by the Kingdom on Sunday - should perhaps concentrate more on their football than the 'dark arts.' He writes: "There was one stage where a substitution was being made and one of their players came over to the sideline pretending to be the one coming off the pitch, before doubling back on himself in the confusion to show for a free. I was watching this thinking, 'Christ, if they put as much thought and brain-power into the actual football as they do into all the other stuff, they'd be some team.'" And he also laments the end of a great Mayo side - but has little sympathy that Sam Maguire has eluded them once again: "It's a sad way for the decade to end for Mayo, after they gave so much to it. You don't get any more out of sport than you earn so I don't ever give a lot of time to anyone saying they deserve to have won an All-Ireland."
Dundalk's European journey is over, after the League of Ireland champions were beaten 3-1 at home to Slovan Bratislava last night - the Slovakian side progressing 4-1 on aggregate. Vinny Perth's side were facing an uphill battle after the visitors took a 12th-minute lead in Tallaght, before doubling their lead in the 33rd, effectively ending the tie as a contest. Michael Duffy pulled one back for the Lilywhites in the 70th minute but it was too little, too late. Elsewhere, Celtic won't be featuring in the Champions League after they were beaten 4-3 by CFR Cluj at Parkhead last night - the Scottish champions crashing out 5-4 on aggregate. Neil Lennon's side had led 3-2 on a rollercoaster evening but two late goals were enough to send the Romanian visitors through and condemn Celtic to the Europa League qualifiers.
The All-Ireland SHC final between Tipperary and Kilkenny is creeping ever closer, and Liam Sheedy has appeared in a philosophical mood ahead of Sunday's showpiece. The Tipperary boss steered the county to back-to-back finals in 2009 and 2010 during his first spell as manager, before returning to the helm last year after an eight-year hiatus. The 49-year-old was close to being appointed as Páraic Duffy's successor as director-general of the GAA - but instead finds himself set for Croke Park on Sunday. He said: "I spend my life looking out through the front window of the car most of the time. There is a path laid out for us all. That path wasn't for me. I certainly gave it everything, but my outlook on life all the time is, what is for you won't pass you by."
Tonight Chelsea will be looking to bounce back from Sunday's 4-0 defeat to Manchester United, as they take on Liverpool in the Uefa Super Cup in Istanbul (kick-off 8.0pm). And Frank Lampard is well aware his side will need to tighten up at the back if he wants to start his Stamford Bridge tenure with silverware, after they were left heavily exposed on the break at Old Trafford: "We need to be much better at not committing errors which lead to chances on the counterattack," he said, "because all good teams will make it difficult if you do that."
And the second Ashes Test gets underway at Lord's today (11am), with hosts England looking to bounce back from their crushing opening defeat to Australia at Edgbaston. Joe Root is without the injured James Anderson but all eyes will be on World Cup hero Jofra Archer, with the exciting 24-year-old quick in line to make his Test match debut.
