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The late-season surge of Roger Federer culminated this week with another stellar showing at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, winning the title by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 6-7 6-4 in Sunday’s final . Having lost the mantle as the world’s best player, he remains unquestionably the most durable of Tennis’ elite.
Yet another few [...]
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The movie adaptation of Michael Lewis’ Moneyball comes out in Ireland later this week. That makes it a perfectly good time for Emmet Ryan to examine how the principles of Moneyball can be applied by minority sports to boost interest.
It’s about being smart
The film and book Moneyball chart how the Oakland As overcame a massive [...]
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A dramatic tactical adjustment at half-time won the day for St Brigid’s as the Roscommon champions emerged victorious over Corofin in the Connacht club final.
Small pitch, big impact
Unusually for a final this game was played in St Brigid’s own club ground in Kiltoom. While a decent set-up, this was a particularly small playing area for [...]
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We may all get a good laugh at his expense but Henry Bridge says Sepp Blatter’s gaffes distract from some serious problems within Football.
As a writer, it’s not always easy to write these articles every couple of weeks. The search for inspiration, for fresh topics and new perspectives, is often fruitless, even for sports writers [...]
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The breakdown in negotiations in the dispute between the NBA players and owners has all but doomed the 2011/12 season but it’s effects won’t stop there. Emmet Ryan looks at the impact the lockout is likely to have on the Men’s Basketball tournament at the 2012 Olympics in London next summer.
What happens to LeBron/Melo/D-Will?
Despite the [...]
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After blitzing Ballinderry Shamrocks in the first half, Crossmaglen Rangers were forced to fight off a second half comeback by the Derry champions to remain on course for a fifth Ulster title in six years.
The attacking swarm
This column has discussed the swarm at length since this column began in June 2010 but today a different [...]
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As the UFC prepares for its biggest step into the mainstream, Emmet Ryan looks at the role social media played in building the undisputed champion of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotions.
This Saturday’s UFC Heavyweight title fight between champion Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos will be beamed into every home with a television in the [...]
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St Brigid’s claimed their second Dublin Senior Football championship title with a 0-10 to 0-8 win over St Oliver Plunkett’s Eoghan Ruadh. Emmet Ryan breaks down the key factors in deciding the outcome.
Easy for defenders in first half
With this the fourth game is an many weeks for the combatants, it came as little surprise that [...]
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Cóilín Duffy was on the mic with Emmet Ryan for the decider in Dublin between St Brigid’s and St Oliver Plunketts. Listen to full audio commentary from the second half of this tight battle.#
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Has Monty Burns got a stake in the English Premier League (EPL)? Henry Bridge looks at the evolving role of financial backers in the game.
Like most of my generation, what David McWilliams calls ‘the Pope’s children’ (though ‘the archbishop’s children’ would have been strictly more accurate), I grew up with the Simpsons. And so, I [...]
Tactics Not Passion, the book looks at the strategies that defined Gaelic Football over the last year. It's available in paperback from Original Writing and as an e-book from amazon.com, iBooks and most other online stores.
