In his column this morning Gerry Thornley reflects on last weekend's Champions Cup final between Leinster and Saracens in Newcastle, which saw the English Premiership side lift the trophy for a third time in four years after a 20-10 victory at St James' Park. Between them the two sides have won seven of the last 11 Heineken Cups, as the tournament becomes increasingly dominated by a small number of sides. He writes: "These are changing times at the elite end of European rugby, which has become more established than ever. In the first six years years of what is now the Heineken Champions Cup, there were six different winners. In the first 11 there were eight. In the last dozen years, there have been just five different champions (and in the last nine years just three)." However he believes that while Leinster were ultimately outplayed and outgunned on the day, they have a good chance of turning the tables on Saracens next time they meet: "No one's saying it's going to be easy. Not with the Saracens juggernaut top dogs again. But they're not invincible."

As the summer slowly starts to pick up so too do the provincial football championships, and last weekend saw Roscommon thrash Leitrim 3-17 to 0-12 and progress to the Connacht semi-finals. But in his column this morning, Kevin McStay suggests the provincial championships are losing much of their lustre and could be reaching the end of the line as they lose their lifeblood - great rivalries and the potential for an upset. He writes: "That was the power of the local rivalry, the potential for this unexpected shock. It's probably the elemental thrill of the football championship: the possibility that one county will defy form and tradition and use the energy of that rivalry to take their neighbour out." And he writes that the days of the great provincial shock could be over: "But I think the idea of the All-Ireland champions being taken down in provincial games is becoming increasingly remote. . . Rivalries are disappearing. Dublin-Meath is over - at least for now. Kerry and Cork is not a rivalry, at least for the present time. Mayo and Galway has never been more alive. But Tyrone and Armagh is nothing like the contest it was a decade ago."

Elsewhere the US PGA Championship gets underway at Bethpage Black this week, with Tiger Woods the man to beat after his remarkable victory in the US Masters in April. Victory at Augusta represented the 15th Major of Woods' career, and he's got his sights set on eclipsing Jack Nicklaus' record of 18. From New York, Philip Reid writes: "Woods hasn't played a competitive round since that final round at Augusta National, but he is again on everyone's radar as he bids for a 16th career Major title. That pursuit of Nicklaus's record is very much on again, that Masters success - his first Major since the 2008 US Open - reopening the possibility."

And Brighton & Hove Albion are looking for a new manager, after they fired Chris Hugton yesterday following their 17th place finish in the Premier League. The former Ireland international took over on the south coast in December 2014 but has been sacked after the Seagulls finished two points above the relegation zone and with supporters restless over the style of football being played at the AMEX Stadium. Tonight, Aston Villa travel to play West Bromwich Albion in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final - Villa head to the Hawthorns 2-1 up on aggregate.