During his visit to Dublin on Wednesday, James McClean expressed his dissatisfaction with the FAI’s process of searching for a new manager for the men’s international team. He used the term ‘absolute shambles’ to describe his opinion, as reported by Gavin Cummiskey. McClean also criticised his previous manager, Stephen Kenny, and hinted at potentially coming out of international retirement if recruited by the new team’s manager.
In regards to the upcoming Munster hurling championship, Ciarán Murphy optimistically anticipates an exciting season. Waterford is set to open their campaign against Cork at Walsh Park, according to Gordon Manning’s conversation with Davy Fitzgerald. Manning also gained insights from Wexford’s Lee Chin, who openly addressed his experience with racist abuse during a game last April.
In rugby, Leinster is juggling URC commitments whilst keeping their focus on the upcoming encounter with Northampton in the Champions Cup at Croke Park. Jamison Gibson-Park eagerly awaits his time on the pitch, and expressed his thrill in an interview with Johnny Watterson. The appointment of new attack coach, Tyler Bleyendaal from New Zealand, has also piqued the interest of the team.
As for Ireland’s performance in the forthcoming Olympic Games, Ian O’Riordan shared that Gracenote Virtual Medal Table has predicted a record-breaking win of seven medals, including two gold, three silver, and two bronze.
Brian O’Connor is also eyeing Willie Mullins for Saturday’s Scottish Grand National. O’Connor believes Mullins has a high chance of winning, given he has multiple entries in the field. If one of Mullins’ horses does win, it will mark the first Irish-trained horse to achieve this victory in Scotland’s biggest race in 155 years.
Dave Hannigan, in his column titled ‘America at Large’, recounts an unusual event from 50 years ago where Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, New York Yankees pitchers, ended up swapping their wives, children, and pets, an occurrence that is far from normal.
In sports television, Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow are competing in the Chevron Championship – the opening major of the women’s season (broadcast on Sky Sports Mix from 3pm-7pm and then 11pm-1am). Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler, the Masters champion, will return to the golf course at the RBC Heritage (live on Sky Sports Golf from 12.15pm until 11pm). In addition to this, the quarter-finals of both the Europa League and Conference League are set to take place this evening. Liverpool, meanwhile, is seeking a comeback against Atalanta at an away game, after losing the first leg 3-0 at Anfield (this match is aired on TNT Sports 1 and Virgin Media Two at 8pm).
And if you fancy more, there’re several other options for you: Lille (1) versus Aston Villa (2) (on TNT Sports 3 and Virgin Media Two, at 5.45), Roma (1) against AC Milan (0) (on TNT Sports 4, at 8.0) and West Ham (0) taking on Bayer 04 Leverkusen (2) (on TNT Sports 2 & Virgin Media More, at 8.0).