Kingdom a step closer to defending their title

Defending champions Kerry are through to the All Ireland football final after they edged past Tyrone in a sodden Croke Park yesterday.

Eamon Fitzmaurice's side ran out 0-18 to 1-11 winners after a riveting contest at HQ but their four point winning margin doesn't reflect how close they were pushed by Tyrone, who passed up a number of golden chances to cause a huge upset. SeánMoran reports from Croke Park.

It was a champions' performance from the Kingdom in the driving rain but they were wobbled by their Ulster nemesis, with manager Mickey Harte engineering a formula to conquer Kerry which his players lacked the precision to carry through, writes Keith Duggan.

In order to earn a place in the All-Ireland final Kerry had to find a way past the best blanket defence in the championship, and it was their half-forward line of Donnchadh Walsh, Johnny Buckley and Stephen O'Brien who made the difference, writes Malachy Clerkin.

After a quiet first half Fitzmaurice hooked his skipper Kieran Donaghy, replacing him with Paul Geaney, a decision with paid off and the type of which has been a calling card of his management, writes Keith Duggan.

Beaten boss Harte, so often the bane of Kerry in the past was pleased with the efforts of his side but left to rue a lack of clinical finishing and a baffling black card decision.

Earlier Kerry minors had reached the All-Ireland final following a 1-11 to 1-6 win over Derry.

Bolt reminds Gatlin who’s boss

Usain Bolt remains the undisputed king of sprinting after he produced a sensational performance to pip drug cheat Justin Gatlinto the gold medal in the World Championship 100m in Beijing yesterday.

It was far from the usual stroll for Bolt but a season best time of 9.79 was enough to see him cross the line first at the Bird's Nest ,a result which many are claiming has gone some way to saving the soul of the sport.

Elsewhere in Beijing it was a bad day for the Irish as Mark English and Tomas Barr were knocked out of the 800m and 400m hurdles respectively at the semi-final stage, while Alex Wright was disqualified from the 20km walk.

And another four Irish athletes bowed out this morning with Sara Treacy, Kerry O’Flaherty and Michelle Finn failing to make it out of the steeplechase semi-finals while Tori Pena is out of the pole vault.

Pedro sets up Chelsea win on debut

Pedro scored and set up another for Digeo Costa on his Chelsea debut yesterday as the champions survived a John Terry red card to run out 3-2 winners against West Brom at the Hawthorns.

The World Cup winner had been on course to join Manchester United until manager Louis van Gaal pulled the plug on a potential deal, and the 20-times champions of England have this summer failed to act in the transfer market in a manner reflective of their financial strength, writes Ken Early.

Manchester City's fine start to the season continued as second half goals from Aleksandar Kolarov and Samir Nasri saw them past Everton at Goodison Park, while Watford and Southampton played out an abysmal 0-0 draw at Vicarage Road.

Kurt McQuilkin on returning to Leinster

Kiwi Kurt McQuilkin was a part of the Leinster coaching staff which helped mastermind the conquering of Europe for the first time in 2009, and he spoke to Gavin Cummiskey about returning to the province which is ingrained into his DNA.

Woods misses out at Wyndham Championship

Tiger Woods’ quest for a first PGA Tour win in two years and a place in the Fedex play-offs is over after he stalled with a final round of level par leaving him 13 under and four shots behind eventual winner of the Wyndham Championship Davis Love III.

Roche and Martin impress in Spain

Nicholas Roche and Dan Martin both impressed on day two of the Vuelta a Espana, finishing the stage third and fourth respectively.

England regain the Ashes

England have regained the Ashes despite suffering an innings defeat in the final Test at the Oval. Alistair Cook's men took the five Test series 3-2.

What to watch out for:

Football

Arsenal welcome Liverpool to the Emirates tonight in one of the season's first heavyweight clashes and Brendan Rodgers' new man Firmino is looking forward to linking up with compatriot Philippe Coutinho. Sky Sports 1 from 7pm.

Athletics

The World Athletics Championships continue in Beijing. BBC 2, 11am-3.15pm, 7pm-8pm

Eurosport, 11.45am-2.45pm, 6pm-8pm

Cycling

Stage three of the Vuelta a Espana to Malaga. Eurosport 2, 3pm-4.45pm. TG4, 3pm-5.05pm