Saturday 18 May 2013
Always knew I had a lot in common with Ronnie O'Sullivan. Yes, there is that shared God-given snooker talent (runner-up Ballymena and District Snooker League Division Three 2002) but now that I know he too is a huge fan of Homes Under The Hammer, we were clearly separated at birth.
With the Premier League's finish ending up more damp that a squid's undergarments, it was refreshing that the Championship reached such a chaotic conclusion on Saturday.
Maybe it's just the end of the season and I'm a little giddy but well done to all concerned at BBCNI for their coverage of the Irish Cup Final on Saturday.
It really should come as no surprise to us that a nation that insists on having 21 letters in its name is no stranger to the odd initial or three.
And talking of global superpowers, it was good that another one made sure that the Americans weren't having things all their own way last week.
Our heartiest congratulations go to Alan Smith for clinching the 2013 Understatement of the Year competition.
There was a time when ITV was a major player when it came to sport on the telly. In fairness, that time was the 1970s, Dickie Davies and Brian Moore roamed the land and there seems to have been little on since, but this is changing
I hail from Ballymena, a place where the words 'passion' and 'football' usually meant that there was heavy rain approaching the Showgrounds from the direction of Slemish.
The words 'Great Scott' were last uttered in such shocked fashion by Dr Emmet Brown in Back to the Future but there wasn't a flux capacitor in sight as Ken hailed the win of Aussie Adam at the Masters on Sunday evening.
Never mind all this talk of last-gasp survival and Harry Houdini, if it's a great escape you're after then naturally it's a German who is going to steal the show.
You probably didn't notice, but Channel Four had acquired the rights to show the Grand National for the first time this year.
I don't know about you but there's nothing I love more of an evening than being out in the great outdoors watching men in leather do what they do best.
The Boat Race – posh, sinewy, educated men messing about on the river watched by thousands of toffs and bemused ordinary folk – is a throwback to a bygone age of the Corinthian spirit of fair play, amateur dedication and a jolly good time had by all. And then you let an American in.
When you've waited since 1999 for a win in Dublin you don't mind having to hang on a wee bit longer for an Ulster victory, but beating Leinster is one thing it's quite another having to persuade the referee that this is allowed to happen.
Right from the outset I'd like to point out that my eagle-eyed reader will not have failed to notice that for the second week in a row I am going to discuss Formula One.
It is reassuring in these austere times that the guardians of the nation, the BBC, are cutting their cloth accordingly and confining their troops to base.
Maybe it's just me but did anyone else detect a slight irony in Saturday's Football Focus that everyone was so adamant that England's demolition of San Mario was meaningless?
There have been many ‘where were you?’ moments in sport down throughout the mists of time — Usain Bolt in Beijing, Ian Botham’s Ashes, Cliff Thorburn and his fags making a 147, Sir Steve Redgrave in his wee boat, Paul Hardy’s Irish Cup winner against Larne in 1989 — the list goes on and on.
You can only imagine the levels of excitement down at RTE this week as Ireland packed up their green holdalls to head off to Rome to try and seal fifth spot in the Six Nations table.
I have to admit I didn't harbour any great hopes that the European Indoor Athletics Championships would provide much in the way of entertainment.
It hasn't always been a bed of roses
There could be better to come from Tuscan Light judged on her manner of victory in the Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund Median Auction Fillies Maiden at Wexford.
The heavily backed Declaration Of War proved a major disappointment as Farhh made an impressive return to action in the JLT Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.
Joseph O'Brien believes it could be a "big ask" for Investec Derby favourite Dawn Approach to see out the mile-and-a-half trip at Epsom on June 1.
Jonny Wilkinson lifted the Heineken Cup after inspiring Toulon to a 16-15 victory over Clermont Auvergne at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
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