Final standings
In a very exciting last weekend of competition, The Ryder Cup and All-Ireland hurling replay on the same weekend, It was very close at the top of the table with Brian O'Connell, Colman O'Brien and Gary O'Sullivan all on 84 points with all to play for. Michelle Dollard and Peter long were not far behind on 79 and 78 points with Micheal Harrington and Des McCarthy not far behind them.
With a maximum of 17 points up for grabs, Brian O'Connell gained the full compliment of 17 to win the competition outright on 101 points. Peter Long jumped into 2nd place with a total of 97 and Michelle Dollard finished alone in 3rd with 96 points. Des McCarthy finished on 88 in fourth place with Gary O'Sullivan on 86 and Colman O'Brien not moving on 84. Cian O'Leary, Denis Healy and Micheal Harrington all finished on 82 with Dominic Cashman and Mark O'Mahony completing the top ten with 81 points.
Congratulations to the winners, Brian, Peter and Michelle. the prizes will be presented in due course.
With a maximum of 17 points up for grabs, Brian O'Connell gained the full compliment of 17 to win the competition outright on 101 points. Peter Long jumped into 2nd place with a total of 97 and Michelle Dollard finished alone in 3rd with 96 points. Des McCarthy finished on 88 in fourth place with Gary O'Sullivan on 86 and Colman O'Brien not moving on 84. Cian O'Leary, Denis Healy and Micheal Harrington all finished on 82 with Dominic Cashman and Mark O'Mahony completing the top ten with 81 points.
Congratulations to the winners, Brian, Peter and Michelle. the prizes will be presented in due course.
All-Ireland Hurling Final
Second-half goals from the Power brothers Richie and John helped Kilkenny beat Tipperary 2-17 to 2-14 in the All-Ireland Hurling Final replay. Seamus Callanan's 28th-minute goal enabled Tipp to lead 1-7 to 0-8 at the break after a tight first half. However, Kilkenny moved ahead after the restart and Richie Power's crucial goal on 59 minutes left them four ahead, a lead they never relinquished. The margin was only three points but the difference was starker. After Tipperary spoiled a host of early first-half goal chances, Kilkenny dictated the pace of the fare in front of 81,753 onlookers. They achieved that with a ferocity of effort that their opponents could not match with the same consistency.
Ryder Cup
Europe romp to Victory World number one Rory McIlroy led by example as Europe won the 40th Ryder Cup by 16.5 points to 11.5 after being given an early scare at Gleneagles. The home side were overwhelming favourites with a 10-6 overnight lead, but saw Graeme McDowell three down after five to Jordan Spieth in the opening match and the unbeaten Justin Rose four down after six to Hunter Mahan.
At one point the United States were ahead in six early matches but McIlroy was an approximate eight under par in thrashing Rickie Fowler 5&4 to put the first European point on the board and fellow Northern Irishman McDowell won five out of six holes from the 10th to complete a remarkable 2&1 victory.
At one point the United States were ahead in six early matches but McIlroy was an approximate eight under par in thrashing Rickie Fowler 5&4 to put the first European point on the board and fellow Northern Irishman McDowell won five out of six holes from the 10th to complete a remarkable 2&1 victory.
All-Ireland football final
Kerry won their 37th All-Ireland Senior Football Championship crown with a hard-earned 2-09 to 0-12 win over Donegal at Croke Park. There was despair for Donegal as a blunder by keeper Paul Durcan proved a pivotal moment in Kerry's victory. Donegal were just one point behind when Durcan kicked the ball straight to Kieran Donaghy, who took the chance to score the second goal. Paul Geaney netted the other goal in the first minute but Donegal battled back and led early in the second half.
Donegal nearly grabbed in the dying moments when there was a frantic scramble as Colm McFadden came agonisingly close to netting an equalising goal, his fisted effort rebounding off the post. But, in the end, it was a 37th Sam Maguire Cup for Kerry,
Donegal nearly grabbed in the dying moments when there was a frantic scramble as Colm McFadden came agonisingly close to netting an equalising goal, his fisted effort rebounding off the post. But, in the end, it was a 37th Sam Maguire Cup for Kerry,
As it stands
With three competitions to finish, it is all very tight at the top of the table. Brian O'Connell, Colman O'Brien and Gary O'Sullivan are all on top with 82 points. Michelle Dollard is alone in second with 79 points. Former winner Peter Long is in third with 78. Denis Healy and Micheal Harrington are both on 71 and in with a slim chance of leap frogging into the top three depending on the results of the All-Ireland finals and the Ryder Cup.
Further update!
July concludes one of the busiest sporting months of 2014. Germany were crowned World Cup Champions for the fourth time while England made a tame exit at the Group stages. The Provincial Hurling and Football Championships also finished this month with Kerry, Dublin, Mayo and Donegal taking the football honours while Kilkenny and Cork claimed their respective Leinster and Munster Hurling Titles. In Golf, Rory McIlroy held off a spirited challenge from Ryder Cup team mate Sergio Garcia to claim his third major Title at the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Ulster Football Champions
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Donegal 0-15Donegal wrapped up a third Ulster title in four years with a 0-15 to 1-9 victory over Monaghan in Clones on Sunday.
The margin of victory did not flatter Jim McGuinness’ side, who were the dominant team throughout and could easily have won by more. Scores were at a premium in an attritional decider played in front of 31,912 in St Tiernach’s Park. |
Connaught Football Champions
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Mayo completed a four-in-a-row of Connacht title victories with a comfortable 3-14 to 0-16 victory over Galway at Elverys McHale Park in Castlebar.The Green and Red dominated the majority of the first-half scoring a 24th minute goal.Trailing 1-09 to 0-05 at the interval Galway rallied briefly in the third quarter, but a 48th minute Jason Doherty goal was followed by a third major on 56 when Barry Moran finished off a sweeping move.
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Leinster Football Champions
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Dublin 3-20 Meath 1-10
Dublin defeated Meath by 16 points to claim their 53rd Leinster SFC title and their 4th in a row in front of a crowd of 62,660 in Croke Park. The game was effectively over as a contest at half time as Dublin were 9 points up thanks to a Bernard Brogan goal and some excellent points scoring from Kevin McManamon to leave it 1-12 to 0-6. |
Munster Football Champions
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MUNSTER SFC FINAL: CORK 0-12 KERRY 0-24
James O’Donoghue scored 0-10 as Kerry retained the Munster GAA Football Senior Championship at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday, but it was all too easy for them as Cork failed to put up any sort of a challenge. Leading by eight points, 0-13 to 0-5, at half-time, Kerry looked set to face a second-half onslaught as Cork – with the wind behind them – scored the first three points upon the resumption, but it was merely a brief interruption of the visitors’ dominance in front of 21,028 people. |
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Munster Hurling Champions
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Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Final: Cork 2-24 Limerick 0-24
Cork won a first Munster SHC title since 2006 as second-half goals from Séamus Harnedy and Paudie O’Sullivan gave them victory over Limerick in the last provincial final to be played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh before its redevelopment. In a game which was level on eight occasions, six times in the second half, goals were always going to be crucial and so it proved, as the Rebels reversed the outcome of last year’s decider in the Gaelic Grounds |
Leinster Hurling Champions
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Kilkenny regained the Leinster hurling championship. Kilkenny beat Dublin 0-24 to 1-9. Kilkenny won their 69th Leinster SHC with a 12 point win over Dublin and Henry Shefflin equalled Michael Kavanagh’s record with his 13th title. Indeed Henry came on in the second half and scored Kilkenny’s last three scores to rubberstamp the victory and set out Kilkenny’s plan for the remainder of the summer.
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US PGA
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Rory McIlroy continued his good year with a one shot win over Phil Mickleson in Valhalla. For Rory McIlroy, a fourth major championship, the reclaiming of the Wanamaker Trophy and proof that he can indeed do it the hard way. Back-to-back major successes and a third tournament victory in a row endorse McIlroy’s status as the best player in the world. Henrik Stentson was one shot further back.
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British Open Golf
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Rory McIlroy won the British Open by two shots on -17 holding off Sergio Garcia, -15 and Rickie Fowler, -15 at royal Liverpool. Rory McIlroy wrote his name into the record books when he carded a closing one under par 71 to claim a two shot victory over Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler at the 143rd Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
At 25 years and 77 days McIlroy became the third youngest golfer to achieve the third leg of the modern Grand Slam after Jack Nicklaus (23 years and 181 days) and Tiger Woods (24 years and 171 days). |
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Mens Wimbledon
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Novak Djokovic won the mens singles title on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, he beat Roger Federer in a truly thrilling final 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 in three hours and 56 minutes, thus regaining the world No.1 spot for the first time since September 2013. G.Dimitrov and M Raonic were the beaten semi-finalists.
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Womens Wimbledon
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Petra Kvitova, the Czech left-hander who stands six feet tall, towered over the ladies’ singles final with an awesomely impressive display of power tennis that crushed Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0 in just 55 minutes. S Halep and L. Safarova were semi-finalists and score two points each.
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FIFA World Cup
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Germany won the 2014 World Cup following a one nil extra time win over Argentina in the final at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. The Netherlands and Brazil were the 3rd and 4th placed earning points
England didn't make it out of the group stages so any one who picked Group stages earn 7 points. |
US Open Golf
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Martin Kaymer won the U.S. Open in an eight-shot runaway final round. The 29-year-old German led from the outset en route to a second major title to go with his 2010 PGA Championship. Erik Compton was second on -1 Rickie Fowler was third with -1 also. Compton was not on the list for the sportsprophet competition as a choice so points only go to Kaymer (10) and Fowler (2).
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Rabo direct Pro 12
Leinster are the 2013/14 winners of the Rabo Pro 12 league. they beat Glasgow Warriors 34-12 in in the final. Munster and Ulster earn points as semi-finalists.
Update!
Following the Heineken Cup final and Champions League final and the FA Cup from the previous weekend, it has been an exciting time at the top of the leaderboard. The early leader Bernard Madden now lies in joint 4th position on 33 points along with former winner Des McCarthy, Eimear O'Sullivan, Oliver O'Brien, Susan O'Brien and Vera Neoralova. Colman O'Brien sits in sole 3rd position on 41 points. Thomas Brennan is alone in 2nd with 43 points. Former winner Peter Long has been catapulted into first position thanks to an impressive haul of 30 points having picked Arsenal, Real Madrid and Toulon to win their respective competitions.
Brian O'Connell, Denis Healy, Dominic Cashman John Butler, Owen Sexton and Noel Griffen are further back on 31 points each.
The full league table can be seen on the sportsprophet website.
Brian O'Connell, Denis Healy, Dominic Cashman John Butler, Owen Sexton and Noel Griffen are further back on 31 points each.
The full league table can be seen on the sportsprophet website.
Heineken Cup
Toulon 23-6 Saracens
RC Toulon became just the third side to retain the Heineken Cup after they saw off Saracens 23-6 at the Millennium Stadium.
Tries from Matt Giteau and Juan Smith and 13 points from the boot of Jonny Wilkinson ensured Toulon follow Leicester Tigers and Leinster Rugby in hanging on to European club rugby's greatest prize for a second successive season.
Anyone who picked Toulon earns 10 points. Saracens earns 4 points as finalists, Munster and Clermont earn 2 points each as semi-finalists.
RC Toulon became just the third side to retain the Heineken Cup after they saw off Saracens 23-6 at the Millennium Stadium.
Tries from Matt Giteau and Juan Smith and 13 points from the boot of Jonny Wilkinson ensured Toulon follow Leicester Tigers and Leinster Rugby in hanging on to European club rugby's greatest prize for a second successive season.
Anyone who picked Toulon earns 10 points. Saracens earns 4 points as finalists, Munster and Clermont earn 2 points each as semi-finalists.
Champions League
Real Madrid 4-1 Athletico Madrid
With a pulsating final between city rivals Real and Athletico Madrid finely poised at 1-1, Bale struck five minutes into the second period of extra time to break the hearts of the recently-crowned Primera Division champions.
Marcelo's strike and Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty gave the scoreline a rather flattering look as Real claimed a 4-1 victory and finally sealed the dream of 'La Decima', their 10th European Cup triumph.
Anyone who picked Real Madrid earns 10 points. Athletico Madrid earns 4 points as finalists. Chelsea and Bayern Munich earn 2 points each as semi-finalists.
With a pulsating final between city rivals Real and Athletico Madrid finely poised at 1-1, Bale struck five minutes into the second period of extra time to break the hearts of the recently-crowned Primera Division champions.
Marcelo's strike and Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty gave the scoreline a rather flattering look as Real claimed a 4-1 victory and finally sealed the dream of 'La Decima', their 10th European Cup triumph.
Anyone who picked Real Madrid earns 10 points. Athletico Madrid earns 4 points as finalists. Chelsea and Bayern Munich earn 2 points each as semi-finalists.
FA Cup
Arsenal 3-2 Hull City (aet)
Arsenal came from 2-0 down to win a dramatic FA Cup final 3-2 with a goal from Aaron Ramsey in extra-time to end their nine-year wait for a trophy.
Anyone who picked Arsenal earns 10 points. Hull as finalists earn 4 points and Wigan and Sheffield United as semi-finalists earn 2 points
Arsenal came from 2-0 down to win a dramatic FA Cup final 3-2 with a goal from Aaron Ramsey in extra-time to end their nine-year wait for a trophy.
Anyone who picked Arsenal earns 10 points. Hull as finalists earn 4 points and Wigan and Sheffield United as semi-finalists earn 2 points
English Premiership
Manchester City are the premiership champions for 2014. On the final day of the season, Liverpool were still hoping Manchester City would lose and if they would win, they would lift the title. it was not to be as Manchester City beat West Ham 2-0. while Liverpool beat Newcastle 2-1 to finish second on the table.
Anyone who picked Manchester City earns 10 points
Norwich Fulham and Cardiff were the three relegated teams. Anyone who correctly picked all three will earn 10 points, two out of the three earns 4 points and picking just one of the three earns 2 points.
Anyone who picked Manchester City earns 10 points
Norwich Fulham and Cardiff were the three relegated teams. Anyone who correctly picked all three will earn 10 points, two out of the three earns 4 points and picking just one of the three earns 2 points.
US Masters
US MASTERS:
Bubba Watson turned on the style to win his second US Masters title in 3 years after a final round 69 gave him a three shot victory in the opening masters of 2014.
Watson breifly trailed his last day playing partner, Jordan Spieth, before pulling clear on the back 9 at Augusta to repeat his 2012 triumph with an eight under par total of 280. The 20 year old Spieth finished in a tie for second at five under par with Sweden's Jonas Blixt, who was also making a superb debut at the Masters. Miguel Angel Jimenez finished a shot further back on four under.
10 pts for Watson, 4 pts for Blixt &Speith 2 pts for Jimenez.
Bubba Watson turned on the style to win his second US Masters title in 3 years after a final round 69 gave him a three shot victory in the opening masters of 2014.
Watson breifly trailed his last day playing partner, Jordan Spieth, before pulling clear on the back 9 at Augusta to repeat his 2012 triumph with an eight under par total of 280. The 20 year old Spieth finished in a tie for second at five under par with Sweden's Jonas Blixt, who was also making a superb debut at the Masters. Miguel Angel Jimenez finished a shot further back on four under.
10 pts for Watson, 4 pts for Blixt &Speith 2 pts for Jimenez.
Aintree Grand National
AINTREE GRAND NATIONAL:
Pineau De Re won the 167th Grand National by five lengths from Balthazar King, with joint favourite Double Seven in third.
18 horses finished the race. This will be taken into account if and when there is a tie on the top of the league at the end of the competition.
Pineau De Re won the 167th Grand National by five lengths from Balthazar King, with joint favourite Double Seven in third.
18 horses finished the race. This will be taken into account if and when there is a tie on the top of the league at the end of the competition.
Six Nations
RBS SIX NATIONS:
France 20 Ireland 22
Ireland win the 2014 Six Nations in a nail-biting and hugely significant win over France which was a first victory in Paris since 2000 and brought with it a first Six Nations title
for Ireland since the Grand Slam year of 2009.
7 points are allocated to those who picked Ireland
France 20 Ireland 22
Ireland win the 2014 Six Nations in a nail-biting and hugely significant win over France which was a first victory in Paris since 2000 and brought with it a first Six Nations title
for Ireland since the Grand Slam year of 2009.
7 points are allocated to those who picked Ireland
2014 league
Thanks to all who signed up for the sportsprophet league for 2014. A final list will be available once all members have been ratified online. Thanks again and best of luck to all.
Sportsprophet 2014
The 2014 season of sportsprophet is now open for entries! Thanks to all who entered in previous years and we hope you will all enter again for 2014.
Sign up on the sportsprophet.ie website or ask Kevin, Marion, or Ollie for a printed entry form. Closing date for entries will be early March. Remember to pay the entry fee with your entry as non paid entries will not be validated online.
Best of luck!
Sign up on the sportsprophet.ie website or ask Kevin, Marion, or Ollie for a printed entry form. Closing date for entries will be early March. Remember to pay the entry fee with your entry as non paid entries will not be validated online.
Best of luck!