Sport is pickled with long-running rivalries, many of which have taken on lives of their own in the fullness of time. Arkle and Millhouse, Dublin against Kerry in Gaelic football, Tiger and Phil Mickelson in golf – maybe that has now graduated to Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler. Manchester United and Liverpool or Phil Taylor... Continue Reading →
Vintage wine and clearer vision!
A curious headline, undoubtedly. Bordering on the humorous perhaps, but bare with me here. To my mind, it’s not departing too far from realty to opine that David Beckham’s football career entered a different horizon when he left Old Trafford. Undeniably he was a player of extreme skill whose ability to conjure the improbable –... Continue Reading →
Resistance often futile with a meddlesome mindset
Have you seen the TV advert featuring Paul McGinley? Turns out the current Ryder Cup captain is sponsored by the same company that back the league competitions in men’s GAA. It’s a good fit. One of the golfer’s most admirable qualities is his humility. Giving the impression he likes to keep things simple, he has... Continue Reading →
Time for a chat between Rory and Andy?
There was an air of inevitability about having to write this article. In a way it’s sad that it has come to this, but, its origin descends from how life – and sport in particular – is now minutely analysed. Which is almost certainly, in fact, a case of paralysis by analysis. No sign of... Continue Reading →
Contradictions of a fickle game
Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell being pictured with their partners acting as caddies for them in the build up to the US Masters was telling. Particularly in the case of the former. Simply because you couldn’t imagine Tiger Woods or Luke Donald or some of the other top pros engaging in such antics during the... Continue Reading →
Momentum often the biggest game changer
Does sport bring about the greatest emotion or emotion bring the greatest sport? The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Examples have been numerous over the years. Tyrone winning the All Ireland after Cormac McAnallen’s death. Kilkenny doing likewise after James McGarry lost his wife. Bob Champion returning after serious illness to win the... Continue Reading →
Sometimes a siege mentality is no harm
By Brendan Boylan,Rory McIlroy mused in the afterglow of his latest Major triumph that ‘Some people were probably pressing panic buttons’. It wasn’t hard to decode what he meant. One suspects he felt some folks thought he had his own finger trigger ready. While he could hardly adopt a ‘they’re all against me stance’, he... Continue Reading →
You’re only a number!
By Brendan Boylan, Somebody opined a few years ago that Monaghan midfielder Jason Hughes should’ve been Footballer of the Year. That he was playing football at all was nothing short of a miracle considering the ill health he had been enduring. Perhaps that was the point of the comment suggesting his selection. Naturally, picking the... Continue Reading →
One cliché worth trotting out!
By Brendan Boylan, Casey Martin is some man. Now, only the most studious of golf aficionados will know who he is, but his story is an amazing one. And one poignantly resonates with your columnist. Martin, you see, is a disabled golfer who made the cut at the US Open. That’d be a remarkable enough... Continue Reading →
Idiocy, fickleness and enigmatic genius
By Brendan Boylan, Part of what makes sport attractive is the array of characters that star therein. And the flamboyant ones always seem to have even more drawing power. Think of Owen Mulligan’s bleached head (now ponytailed!), Cristiano Ronaldo’s mesmerising, often infuriating trickery, Frankie Dettori’s flying dismounts, the list goes on. John DalyGolf has some... Continue Reading →