Northern Ireland come for a kickabout
Ireland play England in Dublin for the first time in 20 years on Sunday but first up they face another old foe in the form of Northern Ireland in a training match behind closed doors later today.
While the fixture will be a world away from the fiercely competitive encounters of years gone by, it should help a number of Martin O’Neill’s players, many of whom haven’t played since the Championship season ended at the start of May, gain some vital match fitness ahead of the key Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland on Saturday week.
Among O'Neill's squad is Stoke City's Marc Wilson, a man of few words but determined to pick up a priceless three points against Gordon Strachan's side on June 13th.
Meanwhile the crisis at Fifa has deepened with the publication of the testimony of whistleblower Chuck Blazer by the United States Department of Justice.
In it Blazer, the former Concacaf general secretary and a Fifa executive committee member, says that both he and others accepted bribes over the 1998 and 2010 World Cups, as well as a number of other Fifa tournaments.
Djokovic dethrones Nadal
Novak Djokovic became just the second man to beat Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros yesterday after he destroyed the reigning champion 7-5 6-3 6-1 in their French Open quarter-final clash.
World number one Djokovic will play Andy Murray in the second round, after the Scot survived a third set wobble to beat Spain's David Ferrer 7-6 6-2 5-7 6-1.
Hoping to emulate the likes of Djokovic and Murray is 15-year-old Simon Carr, the son of former Dublin footballer Tommy, who is about to give up education and concentrate full-time on trying to make it in the cut throat, lonely world of tennis.
Waterford a Mahony short
Waterford take on Cork this Sunday and must do so a Mahony light after Pauric's broken shin bone sustained in a club match left brother Philip to fly the family flag, but while he has lamented the loss of his sibling he says there are no room for excuses this weekend.
Dublin's Leinster Hurling quarter-final replay against Galway in Tullamore on Saturday will now be televised by RTE, and Dublin's Neil Corcoran believes there is plenty of room for improvement from both sides.
In this week's GAA statistics column, Eamon Donoghue looks at Galway hurler's form on the road and their travel sickness away from their Salthill fortress.
Lowry: I deserved to miss cut
Shane Lowry endured a frustrating week at the Irish Open, which included a spell putting with a wedge after damaging his putter, and he feels he probably deserved to miss the cut at Royal County Down because of the incident.
Ireland in ascendancy at Malahide
Ireland remain firmly in control of their Inter Continental Cup tie against the UAE at Malahide, with the tourists still 136 short of the follow-on mark.
Having piled the runs on on day one Ireland suffered an early collapse but still posted an imposing first innings total of 492, before John Mooney took 3-36 as the UAE limped to 207-8 at stumps despite favourable batting conditions.
What to watch out for:
Tennis
The French Open continues today with the women’s semi-finals. ITV4 11am-9pm, Eurosport 11am-8.05pm, Setanta 11am-9pm
Golf
The Nordea Masters gets underway in Malmo. Sky Sports 4 10am-12pm 2pm-5pm.
