Golf/Clarke in wars againDarren Clarke has had another mishap playing with his children, but not bad enough this time to keep him out of the PGA Championship at Wentworth. Clarke, who missed last week's Irish Open because of a hamstring strain suffered in a football kickabout with his sons Tyrone and Conor, flipped over in an off-road buggy.
"I have two of them with cages on them - the boys have got one and I've got one," said the Ryder Cup star.
"I have two fields beside my house and I was out on Sunday messing about. The boys were having a great time and so was I. Then I flipped it and rolled it and got 9.8 for technical difficulty!
"I banged my hand against the ground and ended up hanging upside down in the buggy."
Women's Hockey/Ireland lose to Holland :Ireland lost the second of their friendly internationals 3-1 against world champions The Netherlands in Manchester yesterday, all three of the Dutch goals coming from penalty corners, with Cathy McKean scoring for the Irish, writes Mary Hannigan.
Captain Linda Caulfield missed yesterday's game after injuring her ankle in Monday's 3-0 defeat by Holland and will also miss Hermes European Trophy campaign in Swansea.
IRISH SQUAD(v The Netherlands): 1. Hannah Bowe (Armagh) 2. Eimear Cregan (Cork Harlequins) 3. Emma Clarke (Randalstown) 4. Mary Goode (Pembroke Wanderers) 5. Louisa Healy (Loreto) 6. Lisa Jacob (Hermes) 7. Jenny Mc Donough (Belfast Harlequins) 8. Shirley McKay (Randalstown) 9. Cathy McKean (Loreto) 10. Bridget McKeever (Ballymoney) 11. Rachel Mulligan (Armagh) 12. Ciara O'Brien (Chelmsford) 13. Jill Orbinson (Pegasus) 14. Clare Parkhill (Randalstown) 15. Nikki Symmons (Eintr. Braunschweig).
Cycling/Noe in the pink:Leonardo Piepoli won the second summit finish of this year's Giro d'Italia as Andrea Noe took the overall lead in the race.
Saunier Duval rider Piepoli took his third stage win in the Giro, following a double success last year, as he timed his attack on the concluding 8.8km climb to the finish at Notre-Dame de la Garde to perfection.
Noe, the oldest man in the race, finished amidst an elite bunch of riders in 10th place at 52 seconds, and took the maglia rosa after being part of the 22-man group that gained over four minutes on the race favourites in Sunday's stage.
Nicolas Roche finished in 100th place in yesterday's stage and is now 157th overall, over one hour behind race leader Noe.
Cricket/Sidebottom returns:England have called upon the experience of Ryan Sidebottom to add accuracy and control to their attack for this week's second Test against the West Indies at Leeds. The 29-year-old left-arm seamer has built a successful career with Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire on his ability to swing the ball and find a good line and length - basic attributes which were sadly missing from England's seamers during the drawn opening Test at Lord's.
Sidebottom has been included in a 13-man squad which will be captained by Michael Vaughan, who has been passed fit following a broken finger and has replaced Middlesex batsman Owais Shah. All-rounder Andrew Flintoff remains a doubt with his ankle problem.
