GAA: League finals
The weekend brought to an end the year's national football leagues and within four quite subdued finals one of the major talking points was the controversial sending off of Down centre back Brendan McArdle in the Division Two final defeat to Roscommon.
Maurice Deegan’s decision to dismiss the player for a second yellow was deemed harsh by Roscommon manager John Evans and full forward Senan Kilbride, the player he was adjudged to have fouled. A decision which proved costly for the division’s table-toppers.
But Down boss Jim McCorry was happy to leave the incident on the field telling the media post-match; "Listen, it happened. It's done and dusted."
Sunday's second final seen Dublin cruise to victory against Cork, securing a third Division One title in a row.
According to Jim Gavin the win reflects the consistency of his team, while for Cork boss Brian Cuthbert he's looking for "a root-and-branch examination" after a game where his team quite literally struggled to get the ball.
On Saturday Offaly were impressive in defeating Longford and winning the Division Four title as Armagh followed the script and ended their stint in the third tier with the silverware.
Soccer: PFA awards
"Boring, boring Chelsea" moved a step closer to the title with a draw against Arsenal on Sunday, with a defiant José Mourinho responding to Arsenal fans' chants by reminding them that there's nothing more boring than no titles in ten years.
In the other big Sunday kick off Manchester United's defensive weaknesses were again shown up as they lost out 3-0 to Everton, leaving themselves with work to do to secure fourth spot following back-to-back defeats. Irish international James McCarthy was among the goalscorers.
It was a decent week for the Irish players, as three were selected on the PFA Championship team of the year and one on the League One equivalent.
Out of favour for Ireland, but bang in form for Sheffield Wednesday Kieran Westwood was in goal as Richard Keogh and the division’s top goalscorer Daryl Murphy also made the cut.
On the Premier League team Harry Kane and Diego Costa led the line with Chelsea dominating the selection, Manchester City having no players named and Manchester United’s David De Gea selected in goals.
Kane was also named PFA Young Player of the Year, as Eden Hazard won the Player of the Year gong - a surprise to very few.
Rugby: Pro12
After the weekend’s Guinness Pro12 action the play-off line-up has been decided with two full rounds to go, but with just four points covering them the jostling for home advantage in the semi-finals continues.
Munster versus in-form Ulster and Ospreys versus Glasgow Warriors are both up in the next round of fixtures as Ulster will be keen on continuing their 100 percent record at Ravenhill.
Iain Henderson has been in fine form for them since his injury return and he has emphasised the importance of a home semi-final and securing a place in a "home final."
After their win over Leinster, coming back from an early 10-0 deficit, Henderson said; “So many times in the past we have come out against Leinster teams all guns blazing and then quieten off and it was kind of the other way around.”
Snooker: Crucible
There could be more trouble for Ronnie O’Sullivan after he was spoken to by the referee for a hand gesture in his second round World Championship match against Matthew Stevens.
The multiple-time World Champion avoided a fine in first round when he played without shoes and he was approached by the referee last night as he walked to the table when Stevens missed a red; telling O'Sullivan he had noticed his hand gesture, which was thought to have been self-directed.
Cycling: Irish duo
Leaders of their respective teams in Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and both well in contention approaching the hilly finale, 2013 winner Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche had races to forget thanks to a large crash which brought both down inside the final hour of the Classic event.
What to watch out for:
Against the Head is on tonight on RTE from 7pm but the two picks for today's sporting action are the Championship clash between Bournemouth and Bolton and the Snooker World Championships.
A win for Bournemouth this evening will see them three points clear of third placed Middlesbrough in the automatic promotion places, and just a point of top.
Sky Sports 1 from 7.30pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan needs just a frame to book his place in the Betfred World Championship quarter-finals, the action from Sheffield is running on the BBC and Eurosport.
BBC 2, 1pm-2pm, 3pm-6pm, 6.30pm-8pm
Eurosport, 1pm-4.45pm, 7pm-11pm
