McGuinness dismisses idea he flogged Donegal players; Ken Early on Bundesliga restart

It's to GAA where we begin this morning and an interview with Jim McGuinness looking back on his time in charge with Donegal. The All-Ireland winning manager wasSpeaking in a webinar organised by the Modern Soccer Coach and North American Irish Coaches and in it he rubbished the idea that he pushed his players too hard, questioning whether burnout was a physical thing or a psychological thing. The 2012 All-Ireland winning boss admitted he did push his players harder "than I could have imagined" when in charge between late 2010 and 2014 and revealed they once had a 16-week pre-season. Meanwhile, Galway and Corofin stalwart Kieran Fitzgerald announced his retirement last night.

On to soccer and Ken Early writes in his column this morning that a return to behind-closed-doors action in Germany could deepen some divides which already exist between club hierarchies and fan groups. The Bundesliga is set to become the first elite league in Europe to resume when it gets going on May 9th and while there are plenty who welcome any sort of action at all, there have also been protests about the supposed financial incentives involved for starting again. Serie A and La Liga are also hoping to resume at some stage in the forseeable future and last night the Italian league received word that players can start individual training next week with group training to hopefully commence on May 18th while, in Spain, no dates have yet been set.

In rugby, Brian O'Connor writes in his Tipping Point column this morning that the evidence of amateur rugby being better split on the basis of size and weight, rather than age, is overwhelming when you look at New Zealand. Indeed, actor Russell Crowe, who owns South Sydney Rugby League Club, is one of the main proponents of the idea. "The old line about rugby being the sport for all shapes and sizes is becoming more redundant every year. Shapes may be different but it's not just at professional level that they all come encased in muscle. A game of evasion has become an exercise in collision," he writes. Meanwhile, in the wake of Raelene Castle resigning as chief executive of Rugby Australia, it has emerged that increased security was needed to protect her following a death threat last year, writes Gavin Cummiskey.

On to athletics and this morning Ian O'Riordan takes a look at how US scholarships won over Irish athletics after a full list of the 700 athletes who crossed the Atlantic was compiled. The history makes for interesting reading and indeed the tale begins with RTÉ commentator Fred Cogley tracking down John Joe Barry who had been reported as dead in Ireland when he was, in fact, very much still alive.

The Pipeline: How American scholarships won over Irish athletics

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Former Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle received death threat last year

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Jim McGuinness says his Donegal players ‘bought into it 100 per cent’

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Serie A takes first steps towards resumption with phased plan

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Finally to racing and Brian O'Connor writes this morning that Irish racing is anxiously awaiting the green light for resumption as estimates say that Irish racecourses are losing €5m a month while closed.