Spurs spoil Chelsea’s party
In soccer it was a huge night last night for Tottenham Hotspur as a Dele Alli brace helped them end Chelsea’s 13-game winning streak with a 2-0 victory over their London rivals.
It was a taste of sweet revenge for the White Hart Lane side after Chelsea's late comeback at Stamford Bridge last season scuppered their title hopes.
The win moves Mauricio Pochettino’s team into third place, just two points behind Liverpool and seven behind Chelsea.
In other news Hull City are targeting 39-year-old Marco Silva as the manager to take over from Mike Phelan, while Sunderland yesterday rejected a €7m bid from West Ham for Jermain Defoe.
Zebo has milestone in his sights
On to rugby and Gerry Thornley this morning reflects on the brilliance of Simon Zebo as the Munster man heads towards the milestone of becoming the first man ever to score 50 tries for the province.
With a current total of 49 the 26-year-old could make history this weekend and what a place it would be to do it as Munster take on Racing 92 this weekend in the game re-arranged following the death of Anthony Foley.
Ulster’s injury woes continue to mount
In other news Ruan Pienaar has joined Ulster's growing list of injury problems after it was revealed yesterday that he suffered a knee injury against Leinster on New Year's Eve and will be out for some time. Les Kiss's side go into their Pro12 clash with Scarlets on Friday suffering from a severely depleted squad.
Former pro Wayne Westner dies in hostage situation
On to golf and the shocking news that emerged yesterday regarding former World Cup winner Wayne Westner who apparently shot himself dead after taking his estranged wife hostage in his native South Africa.
The 55-year-old spent a decade living and teaching golf at his academy in Celbridge, Co Kildare and lost in a playoff to Nick Faldo at the 1992 Irish Open in Killarney.
Tiger commits to Farmers and Honda
Former world number one Tiger Woods last night added two more tournaments to his early 2017 schedule, confirming that he will open his year with the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines on January 26th.
Woods will also play the Honda Classic and the Genesis Open as part of his build-up to the Masters with the expectation that he will tee it up at a number of other tournaments as well, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
Women in sport
In our women in sport pages this morning Sonia O'Sullivan writes about the breathless task of high-altitude training.
“I never imagined that nearly 20 years after my first experience of altitude training, I’d still be coming back to the thin air, enjoying what the mountain top has to offer beyond the daily and trusted training routine,” she writes.
Meanwhilewhile Ian O'Riordan profiles five women sports stars to watch out for in 2017 – Ciara Mageean, Kellie Harrington, Mona McSharry, Aisling Moloney and Natalya Coyle making the list.
What to watch out for
Soccer
Sky Sports 1 from 7.30pm: (7.45) League 2: Doncaster Rovers v Portsmouth
Golf
Sky Sports 4, 11pm-3am: Hawaii Tournament of Champions
