Allianz Ireland have been confirmed as the sixth official partner for the 36th instalment of the Ryder Cup, which takes place at the K Club from September 22nd to 24th, writes Gavin Cummiskey.
Already official insurers, Allianz joins O2, Rolex, KPMG, Lucent technologies and Ryder Cup Ireland as the final partner.
"The Ryder Cup is a momentous event every time it takes place," said Allianz group chief executive Brendan Murphy.
"But this year, the event takes place in Ireland for the first time and the Europe team may again include a number of Irish players, making it a clear moment of truth for Irish golfers and sports fans."
Other Ryder Cup sponsors include AIB, Ballygowan, BMW, Bord Bia, Budweiser, Byrom, Club Car, Pfizer, Unisys and Waterford.
The preferred suppliers to the event are DHL, Marques de Riscal, Moet and Chandon, Philips, Stena Line and Toro.
McBride bout on
Inactive for nearly a year since his upset of Mike Tyson in Washington last June, Kevin McBride is set to make his return to the ring on April 1st, writes George Kimball.
He will face an as-yet-to-be-named foe in the co-featured bout underneath the Lamon Brewster-Sergei Liakhovich World Boxing Organisation heavyweight title bout in Cleveland.
The appearance by the Dorchester-based Irish heavyweight champion (33-4-1) will be McBride's first under Don King's promotional aegis, and it seems likely that a title shot for the Clones Cyclone could be in the offing down the line - possibly against the winner of Brewster's bout against the Belarus-born White Wolf.
The April 1st Showtime card will originate from the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University.
Radcliffe,Thorpe out
The Commonwealth Games lost their two biggest names within a few hours yesterday when England's world marathon champion and record holder Paula Radcliffe and the iconic Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe withdrew.
Thorpe pulled out with what he described as a mystery illness, and shortly after Radcliffe followed, citing a bruised foot that had prevented her from preparing properly. She had picked up the injury in a freak accident while training at her high-altitude camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
"Paula hit a rock when out training and developed a bruised foot and it is taking a long time to settle down," said Gary Lough, Radcliffe's husband and manager. "In particular it has been causing problems on the track, constantly flaring up, and she cannot do proper flat-out training sessions. We feel it would be stupid to compete in Melbourne."
Radcliffe won the 5,000 metres title at the last Commonwealth Games and was favourite to win the 10,000 metres in Melbourne.
O'Loughlin looks solid
Navigators Insurance professional David O'Loughlin continued his 2006 racing programme with a solid ride in the recent Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, placing 37th in the final overall standings, writes Shane Stokes.
The Mayo rider finished in the main bunch on stages one and two, which were won by Francesco Chicchi (Quick Step-Innergetic) and Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) respectively. O'Loughlin was 85th and 93rd on the stages, leaving him 83rd overall after two days of racing.
He then rode well on the tough final stage, which saw all bar 44 of the riders finishing outside the time limit. He crossed the line as part of a bunch going for 19th place, three minutes and 39 seconds after stage winner Niko Eeckhout (Chocolade Jacques-Topsport).
Overall honours went to Eeckhout ahead of McEwen, who crashed in the build-up to the final sprint. O'Loughlin was 3:52 back in 37th place, and was the only classified finisher of the Navigators Insurance riders.
