SPORT ON TELEVISION: Glen Killane, executive producer of Gaelic Games for RTÉ television, has been appointed as the new Head of Sport for the network.
Killane joined RTÉ Sport in 1996 and has produced, edited and directed a wide range of sports in the past eight years. Having served as editor of rugby from 1998-2000, Killane then joined ITV's Sports Channel where he edited live soccer.
In 2001, the 32-year-old Dubliner rejoined RTÉ and last year was executive producer for their coverage of the Special Olympics. Most recently he has been executive producer of The Sunday Game.
He succeeds Niall Cogley, who left the station in recent months to join Setanta Sport.
RUGBY: Nathan Sharpe will captain Australia for the first time in Saturday's Tri-nations opener with New Zealand in Wellington.
The giant lock takes over the leadership from injured skipper George Gregan, who was ruled out of the match with a shoulder injury.
With Gregan unavailable, Chris Whitaker was promoted to start at scrumhalf while Chris Latham replaced injured full back Joe Roff in the only changes to the starting team that beat the Pacific Islanders 29-14 in Adelaide on July 3rd.
ATHLETICS: The Moroccan athletics federation said yesterday it intended to sue a local newspaper over a report accusing four-time world 1,500 metre champion Hicham El Guerrouj of using doping products.
The federation's technical manager, Aziz Daouda, said the article in Al-Mounaataf Arabic-language daily on Tuesday defamed both the federation and El Guerrouj.
A federation statement, carried by the state MAP news agency, said it contained "false and baseless allegations".
El Guerrouj has said he was contemplating missing Athens citing respiratory problems after finishing a lowly eighth in Rome on July 2nd, his first defeat in the 1,500 in four years.
The 29-year-old hit form in Lausanne last week, however, when he won and clocked his season's best time.
CRICKET: With Ireland firmly on top of their Inter-Continental Cup match against Holland in Deventer, the only thing now that can beat them is the weather, writes James Fitzgerald.
Having reduced the Dutch to 200 all out on day one, Ireland successfully built a formidable first innings lead with Andrew White at his relentless best. His 152 not out is the fourth highest total by any batsman in Irish colours and it came in relatively brisk time off just 182 balls.
With rain on the way, Ireland were keen to get the Dutch in to bat again so skipper Kyle McCallan declared. By that stage, Holland were 188 behind on the first innings with still four full sessions of the match remaining. And things did not begin well for them either when Naseer Shoukat trapped Kloppenburg lbw in his first over with the score on zero.
But that was where the joy ended for Ireland because at 3.50p.m., the rains came and washed out the remaining 36 overs of play with the eager Irish bowlers left frustrated in the dressing room.
