Beach volleyball starting next week in Cork city:

CORK CITY BEACH VOLLEYBALL: just like the Copacabana

Subject to numbers;  my friend, Richard O'Riordan is starting a Beach Volleyball group in Cork city.   We will practice/play at Musgrave Park in the city.  We intend to cater for all skill levels; from novice to advanced.

We plan to start from next Monday;   4th July.

We intend to play on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7p.m. until dark.  Cost will vary from €2-€5  per person per night as we have to rent the pitch.  We will bring portable nets and all equipment required. Musgrave Park will supply sand  (it is beach volleyball after all!)

For anyone interested or who has more questions; please leave a Comment at the end of this article, or, alternatively, check out the Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_223138544363302
Novices will most likely play 4v4 or 6v6;  though we will certainly cater for more advanced players; who will compete on a 2v2 court.

If numbers are sufficient we will look to getting extra court(s). The atmosphere should be very relaxed. I am only playing for some fun, but the more advanced players might give us some tips from time to time. So no skill level is required and the only thing which is desired is that you turn up with a smile on your face and leave with a bigger one :D

Dublin Super Cup MIGHT help Irish football:

2011 DUBLIN SUPER CUP:   opportunity to showcase the Airtricity League

This isn't a time to turn one's nose up at the Dublin Super Cup.  Instead, it should be embraced by fans of the Airtricity League (of Ireland) who crave a much-needed injection of recognition and investment in the domestic game.  Next month's tournament will see Inter Milan, Manchester City and Glasgow Celtic arrive at the AVIVA Stadium with Damien Richardson's carefully selected legion of Ireland based players fighting for a share of the global spotlight.

Damien Richardson will hope his charges can be competitive

Set to be beamed around the world, in 3D, no less - it is a showcase that allows the Republic of Ireland's top league to reach an audience it normally would never get near, the Sky Sports, bar stool generation that is.  I was going to type the  "Republic of Ireland's top professional league," in that last sentence, however; over the last two years and due to the deepening recession in Ireland; the top level of football is semi-professional at best; shamateaur at worst.

STAR ATTRACTION:2010 Champions League winners Inter Milan

This tournament puts Irish clubs not alone in the same shop as Europe's elite; but on the same shelf as three of Europe's top level brands that are usually gobbled up by football enthusiasts; fans who know more about Manchester United's reserve team 'keeper than who is top scorer in the Airtricity League.  A moment of magic from Dundalk winger Daniel Kearns or yet another special from league champions' Karl Sheppard could go some way to changing that though.  The quality of football in this league is massively overlooked and by making the most of this tournament, neutral fans will see that it is not that bad at all.

Selling the league to those fans flocking to see the opposing teams is key.  And the best way to do that is by offering concessions to upcoming league games and pointing them in the right direction of the next Kevin Doyle or Seamus Coleman.

Once in, fickle as these fans are, there is a chance that they just might stick around.

"PONY EXCESS:" a dynasty lost in sudden death; with special thanks to Toponlinecolleges.com

I received an email today from  Toponlinecolleges.com  telling me of an article that I might be interested in.  They (Jennifer Lynch from Toponlinecolleges.com to be precise)  were correct; the article was fantastic.
The article (titled the  “10 Most Crooked College Programs in NCAA History”)  was also a boost to my ego.   This is the email Jennifer Lynch sent to me today:

"Hi James,

My name is Jennifer and I write for Toponlinecolleges.com. After publishing our most recent post, “10 Most Crooked College Programs in NCAA History” I thought of you and your readers because it tackles the same kind of issues you often discuss on your blog. If you’d like to share it on your site, we’d love to keep the discussion going.

(http://www.toponlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/10-most-crooked-college-programs-in-ncaa-history/)

Thanks!

Jennifer Lynch"    

- clearly; my articles are being read....who would have thought, eh?!  I was going to condense the article into a Top 3 or a Top 5;   but there is just too many interesting stories in there, so thanks again to Jennifer Lynch from Toponlinecolleges.com  for informing me about it.

"It's a question of obey the rules, or be more subtle if you don't.  The NCAA are a bunch of gangsters.  As long as money is there, the incentive will be there to cheat." 

This article (the “10 Most Crooked College Programs in NCAA History”)  gets me onto the  "ESPN 30 for 30";  a countdown of the Top 30 films since the foundation of ESPN (30 years ago).  Many of these films are worth watching;  in particular;  "Once Brothers,"  "Without Bias," and of course  "Pony Excess;"  which tells the story of the aforementioned Southern Methodist University practices of corruption;  #1 on the list of Toponlinecolleges.com  “10 Most Crooked College Programs in NCAA History.”

Referee knocked unconsciousnes after match:

Referee being stretchered from pitch after being knocked out

GAA administrators in Tyrone have ordered an inquiry after a referee and a senior county official were knocked unconscious when violence flared at the end of a women's football final.

Simon Brady, 43, was attacked by a spectator as he checked his score card after St Macartan's of Augher defeated Carrickmore by scoring a winning point in the final stages of the match in Beragh.

Tyrone ladies football chairman Martin Conway was also stretchered off the pitch after he was hit when he tried to intervene on Friday night.

Father-of-two Mr Brady was treated at the Erne Hospital, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh for bruising and swelling to his face. He was struck once by a spectator after awarding St Macartan's a free kick just seconds from the end of the game.

Just after blowing the final whistle he was punched.

An official who came to assist the stricken ref was also knocked out

He said: "I was checking my score card to make sure every - thing was in order. I got a tap on the shoulder from one of the managers wanting to shake my hand and that is the last thing I remember."

Mr Brady told the Irish News: "Apparently I was hit. My understanding is that it was a spectator. I woke up maybe five minutes later. I was frightened. I didn't know what had happened. All I knew was I was lying on the ground and it was wet and cold.

"I wasn't even aware Martin Conway had been hit by another individual when he came to help me."

Tell your friends: New league starting in Cork:

There is a new six-a-side soccer league starting in Carrigtwohill near Cork city from early July (dates subject to change).  The league will take place at Millenium Park, which is a third generation synthetic pitch.  The pitch is FAI and FIFA approved and is used by Cork City FC and Cobh Ramblers for training purposes.
Top prizes are offered but more teams are needed.   
Please see the advertisement on this article for more details and contact information.   Alternatively, you can contact me on 0863541404 and I will tell you whatever information you need.

Rangers raiders are now a fresh threat to the GAA:

Ricky Nixon (left) with some GAA - Aussie Rules converts

GAA coaches around Ireland have long viewed Ricky Nixon, the Australian talent scout with the plane tickets to Sydney and the fat chequebook, as the biggest threat to their development work.  They hadn't considered a predator much closer to home however.
Rangers FC, it is alleged, have established a powerful scouting network within the GAA community in Ireland, with numerous former Gaelic footballers now on their books as full-time youth players.  If there is something refreshing about the Glasgow giants, who refused to sign Catholic players until the late 1980's, taking such an open stance, it might concern Croke Park that the Protestant institution have begun to 'cherrypick' GAA talent with such specific determination.

Aaron McGregor(l): another convert from GAA to a pro football code

Their new direction was highlighted by Michael McGregor, the father of new Rangers signing, Aaron, 17, who has left Limavady Wolfhounds GAA club behind to chase the professional pound in Scotland.  His comments are sure to raise eyebrows.
"Rangers is full of lads who have played Gaelic football: there are five in the squad that Aaron's joining and four of the Ranger's scouts have Celtic tatoos.  At this level, it's all about professionalism."
Aaron, his son has said he'll  "miss the Gaelic," but admitted:  "I've always wanted to be a professional footballer."

Brian bashes soccer no shows:

PROUD IRELAND INTERNATIONAL: talisman Brian O'Driscoll

"For me, it is the ultimate to put on your green jersey and I truly love it as you are representing the whole country, not just a certain section,"

Brian O'Driscoll checks into Ireland's pre World Cup trainig camp today with a word of warning for his rugby team-mates and a stinging rebuke for the Irish soccer players who shunned Giovanni Trapatoni's end of season games.
Returning to Ireland's failed 2007 World Cup campaign in France, the Six Nations all-time leading try scorer said that the team had been 'guilty of talking ourselves up way too much,' and he claimed that the soccer players who snubbed Trapatoni last month were 'not giving the jersey the respect [that it deserves].'
The Leinster star shot the breeze on a number of sporting issues in an informal but informative setting on the eve of commencement of Ireland's final pre-World Cup training camp with his own code and soccer high on the agenda.
 "We talked ourselves up way too much in the last World Cup and that has resulted in a more level headed approach going forward," - the skipper told www.irishcentral.com.
"Instead of having the attitude of: 'Yeah, we'll win it,' we're thinking: 'Let's get out of the Pool and then look to the quarter-final and take it from there.  We are far more consistent now and I think there is now real strenth-in-depth here as well."

TALKING CANDIDLY:  Ireland rugby icon Brian O'Driscoll

Ireland head-coach Declan Kidney welcomes a fully fit squad to Carton House in Co. Kildare, in direct contrast to the Ireland soccer squad, a number of whom shunned the opportunity to play in end-of-season European Champinship fixtures, something which O'Driscoll says disrespects the jersey.
"The guys who are turning down international call-ups are not giving the jersey the respect it deserves.  I don't think they should be considered for selection when the so-called more interesting games are there to be played and there to be won.
"For me, it is the ultimate to put on your green jersey and I truly love it as you are representing the whole country, not just a certain section.  Respect is a given for me when you are selected for your country.  It is such a huge honour.
"I have always paid into the belief that you are only ever borrowing the jersey.  You never own the jersey.  Someone has gone before you and someone will come after you, so it is a case of giving the jersey maximum respect"