Latest news with #2024Championship
Irish Daily Mirror
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Diarmuid Connolly issues Fenton SOS and makes big call on Dublin manager search
Brian Fenton must be coaxed out of retirement by the next Dublin manager, says Diarmuid Connolly, who doesn't believe the job will go to Ger Brennan. Having announced his shock retirement last year, two-time Footballer of the Year Fenton is currently playing with the John McBride's club in Chicago for the summer but Connolly feels that, at 31, there's still a way back for him with Dublin. With Dessie Farrell having stepped down as manager following the All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Tyrone last month, Dublin are on the lookout for a new manager and, whoever it is, Connolly says that enticing his former teammate Fenton to return should be the priority. READ MORE: Hilarious video shows Sharlene Mawdsley race Tipperary fan amid All-Ireland celebrations READ MORE: Liverpool hero Joey Jones dies aged 70 as John Aldridge leads tributes And he reckons that there could be a way back for Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffey, who also stepped back after the 2024 Championship, too. Connolly noted how Peadar Ó Cofaigh-Byrne blossomed in the midfield this year and said that he and Fenton would make a formidable midfield pairing. He said: 'Peadar Ó Cofaigh-Byrne had been on the fringes for the last couple of years and he came in and probably was Dublin's standout midfielder this year. And that's in the absence of Brian Fenton, who, by all accounts, if a certain person gets the job, might come back. And same with Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey. 'Can we even see them guys come back for maybe a year or two to rebuild the squad a little bit and get younger guys in behind them, and teach them how to play the game the way they played it, and give them that knowledge and the confidence, I suppose, within the squad?' He added: 'If I was the Dublin manager coming in, he'd [Fenton] be the first call I'd be making. He'd be the first call I'd be making, and I'd be saying, 'Right, Brian, give me a year. Just give me a year'. 'But he's another four or five years left in him at the really top level, I think. And I'm sure in his own brain, maybe taking this year out, going and doing a bit of travelling, might give him a new lease of life to come back and do something like that. 'I haven't been speaking to him personally, but I'd love to see Brian Fenton come back into that squad because he's such a leader. He's the first person picked on the team every week.' Diarmuid Connolly is a Gaelic Games ambassador for BoyleSports (Image: ©SPORTSFILE) Meanwhile, despite Brennan being installed as favourite to succeed Farrell having stepped down as Louth manager on the back of inspiring their first Leinster title since 1957, Connolly doesn't believe that his St Vincent's clubmate will be the next Dublin manager. 'Ger Brennan has been touted to take the job, I don't think that's going to happen now. Dec Darcy, maybe. Could be someone from the club managers, I don't know. 'Ger has a young family, people don't realise that. He's a fairly important job out in UCD as the director of sport out there. That can pull a lot out of you too. 'So I don't know whether his ambition is to go on and do this because Dublin, everybody knows, Dublin senior management is an all-encompassing job. You're managing the best talent in the capital. It's not a role where you go into light-heartedly. 'It's a decision for Ger to make himself. I'm sure the county board, if he wanted to present for the job, he would certainly get the opportunity to do that. But whether he wants to is another thing.' Diarmuid Connolly was speaking as a BOYLE Sports Gaelic Games ambassador.
Irish Daily Mirror
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Back from the brink - how Liam Cahill sparked a revival in Tipp hurling
We'll start with the question about Liam Cahill's future because that is where the Tipp revival started too. In the windowless corridor underneath the main stand at Semple Stadium, only minutes had passed since Tipp's 2024 Championship had ended. Their record, one draw and three defeats, was appalling; the 15-point slaughter by Limerick and 18-point hammering by Cork accentuating the negative gloom that hung over the team. 'Are you considering your future?' Cahill was asked. His answer was defiant. No, he would not go, he said. And yes, the team could turn a corner. But no one really believed him until they met Clare again in the Championship this summer. Before then, the only certainty in hurling was that the Tipp Munster Championship campaign was going to be a misery, just as it had been in every other year of this decade. Then over the course of eight days in May, Tipp beat Clare and Waterford, getting as many Munster victories in a week as they had in the previous five seasons. A year earlier Cahill had been forced to talk about Tipp's good name 'being on the line'. Significantly, though, the one thing that wasn't on the line was his job - which he knew was safe. And now that the story of Tipp's revival can be told, we need to remember that. Jittery county boards would have shown Cahill the door. Tipp's board, however, had faith. Fourteen months on, they have been vindicated. For a county like Tipperary, anything less than an All-Ireland is deemed unsatisfactory. Yet they got used to unsatisfactory years after winning their 28th Championship in 2019. But there was a significant difference between Cahill finishing bottom in 2024 with Michael Ryan and Bonnar's failures in Munster in 2018 and 2022. First were the circumstances. By the time Cahill had been lured from Waterford in 2023, it was clear that a period of transition was required. He had lost or was losing Brendan Maher, Padraic Maher and Seamus Callanan - three of Tipp's finest ever players. Then there was the injury to Seamus Kennedy and the persistent doubt about Cathal Barrett. Come his second season only three starters from the 2019 All-Ireland winning team were making his starting XV. Yet Cahill had signalled the change that was needed and had a plan in place to counteract it. In three seasons, he handed out inter-county debuts to 13 players who made up his panel on Sunday, the county board sold on his rebuilding policy and as dependent on its success as the manager was. Because, we must remember, they were the ones who went after him as early as 2022. So, they knew they had to stick by their man, because the player-heave on Bonnar wasn't a good look. The optics behind a second manager in three years getting the heave-ho would have been disastrous. What helped was the fact they could see the Cahill blueprint would benefit Tipp down the line. It just so happened that success came quicker than anyone expected. Tipp were in a mess when Cahill arrived and appeared to be in an even worse state last summer. But he stuck by his new kids on the block. Five of keeper Rhys Skelly's nine Championship appearances have come this summer. And it wasn't the only inspired decision made by the manager. Cahill handed Robert Doyle his Championship debut this year, the corner back making the last minute goal line clearance from John Donnelly to see Tipp secure their All-Ireland place. Another 2025 debutant is Darragh McCarthy, scorer of 0-31 in the Championship prior to Sunday, scorer of a vital first-half goal against the Cats. But trumping Doyle, McCarthy, Skelly on Sunday was supersub Oisin O'Donoghue who now has 3-2 from play in this year's Championship, including Sunday's match-winning goal. All in, there have been five debutants this summer, 14 in the three seasons Cahill has been in charge. He said: "To go after a little element of culture, the key was to get the right players in the dressing room that would embrace that. I think now that we have a mix of a number of younger players with the real, real, genuine, more experienced cohort, it's a lovely, lovely balance." Among them are a trio of their U-20 team that landed a Munster title this year. "They bring no fear because they have no baggage," said Cahill of the younger players in his squad. "They come in to a set-up where they're just absolutely mad eager.' Their enthusiasm paid off on Sunday. Bryan O'Mara and Michael Breen made the same point on Sunday, how they had to endure plenty of soul-searching over the winter. Three defeats and a draw does that to a team. But it was actually a Tipp victory - by their minors in last year's All-Ireland which really shocked their senior team into action. For here were 16-and-17-year-olds had been willing to "fight on their backs," to win a 22nd All-Ireland minor title against Kilkenny at Nowlan Park - despite being reduced to 13 players. "I was down in Nowlan Park myself that day and there's no point in saying it, we were embarrassed walking out," said Jake Morris in May. "In terms of being a good battling Tipperary team, that never-say-die attitude was inspiring. We thought about it with regard to ourselves. "You never mind losing a game as long as you've shown up and you've performed and you've fought on your back and you can come away together on the bus afterwards and you can look at each other. "The manner of some of the defeats last year wasn't acceptable. Players are in the trenches. You have to go to work, you can't hide away. We were in the trenches after last year. We had to deal with it face on and take our constructive criticism and move on and look in the mirror.' Last night they couldn't stand the image of their reflection. This morning they can. Pride has been restored.
CBS News
27-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Celtics shoot down Jaylen Brown, Derrick White trade rumors
These are interesting times for the Boston Celtics, who traded away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis earlier this week to get out of the NBA's restrictive second apron. Brad Stevens' quest for salary cap and roster flexibility brought on a fresh new round of Jaylen Brown trade rumors, and even had fan-favorite Derrick White thrown in the mix as well. Boston was reportedly receiving some really outrageous offers for both players leading up to the 2025 NBA Draft, but nothing that made them trade away two key members of the organization's 2024 Championship run. And it doesn't sound like the team has any intention of moving on from either of their stars. After the conclusion of the draft late Thursday night, Celtics vice president of basketball operations Mike Zarren made it clear that Brown and White are not going anywhere. He laughed at the notion of either being traded during a video conference call with reporters. "Those two guys are really, really great NBA players, and there hasn't been anything close to serious about trading them," said Zarren. "I'm not sure where all this reporting came from, but those guys are key parts of our team and we're lucky to have them here." With Jayson Tatum expected to miss most -- if not all -- of the 2025-26 season, the Celtics will be Brown's team next year. Trading him at the draft would have signified a total tear-down for the organization, which doesn't seem like something Stevens and Zarren are interested in doing, even if dealing Brown could have brought in a bouquet of future picks and assets. Likewise, White has became more than just a key role player, and will have even more on his shoulder's in Tatum's absence. He still has three years on his deal, and it would have taken a lot for teams to pry the do-everything guard away from the Celtics. Stevens also shot down the rumors Wednesday night after the first round of the NBA Draft, calling Brown and White foundational pieces of the organization. "We've got a good group. We've got the foundation, obviously with Jaylen and Jayson and D-White and Payton [Pritchard] and all those guys that a lot of teams would love to have," said Stevens. With the Holiday and Porzingis trades, the Celtics were able to dip below the second apron by $4.5 million. But more moves are likely coming to keep Boston under the threshold. Dealing away Brown or White would potentially get the Celtics under the first apron too, but Stevens and company sound like they want to keep the team as competitive as possible while Tatum is out, and the core intact for when he ultimately returns.
CBS News
24-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
What are the Celtics getting in Anfernee Simons?
The Boston Celtics swung the first of what could be many trades this offseason, sending veteran guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers late Monday night. The move was made to help get Boston under the second apron, but Celtics president of basketball ops. Brad Stevens also brought back an extremely gifted offensive player in Anfernee Simons. Let's just get this out of the way: It stinks to see Holiday get shipped out of town because of the CBA. Holiday was only in Boston for two seasons but his impact was huge, whether he was knocking down clutch corner threes or stymieing opponents on defense. Without him, there is no 2024 Championship banner hanging in TD Garden. But moving him was a necessary evil to get Boston under the second apron and avoid not only a massive tax bill, but trade and free-agency restrictions in the future. Holiday is due to receive over $100 million over the next three seasons on the extension he signed with the C's in 2024, while Simons is on an expiring $27.7 million deal. The trade trims about $5 million off the books for Boston, with some more work to be done to get under the second apron. The Celtics not only got a talented scorer in the deal (along with a pair of future second-round picks in 2029 and 2030), but one who will be playing for a contract in 2025-26. Who is Anfernee Simons? Simons, 26, is an offensive gunner who averaged 20.7 points per game as a full-time starter over the last three seasons. The shooting guard averaged 19.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds for Portland last season over 70 games. Simons has the ability to create his own shot off the dribble, but where he's really thrived is from downtown, which will be music to Joe Mazzulla's ears. Simons has knocked down 37.4 percent of his threes while attempting 8.8 per game over the last three years. He is a career 38.1 percent shooter from three-point land and knocked down over 200 threes in two of the last three seasons, including a career-high 215 makes in 2024-25. While Simons won't fill the massive void left in Boston as Jayson Tatum recovers from his Achilles injury, he can certainly help pick up the scoring slack for the Celtics. However, he's not a very good defender and is often targeted by the opposition on that end of the floor. Tatum and Jaylen Brown did just that whenever the Celtics faced the Blazers. Boston will have to hide him on defense, or really push him to become a better defender going forward. With Simons is on an expiring deal, he'll be playing for a new contract with the Celtics. That is if the Celtics end up keeping him this summer. There's always a chance Stevens could flip Simons in a separate trade in what will likely be a busy, busy offseason for Boston. Did the Celtics get under the second apron? The Celtics only reduced their payroll by $4.7 million with the Holiday-Simons swap, so they remain about $18 million over the second apron at the moment. Stevens will have to continue to chip away at the payroll, with the Holiday deal the first domino to fall. Kristaps Porzingis ($30.7 million in the last year of his contract) and Sam Hauser (who is starting his four-year, $45 million extension) are the most likely candidates to be moved in the near future. Trading away both should get Boston under the second apron -- depending on what Boston gets back -- and still give Stevens some wiggle room to sign a few free agents (Al Horford and Luke Kornet are unsigned this summer) and the team's draft picks. While there is still work to be done, and trading away a championship contributor like Holiday stings, the Celtics were able to get a player who can help next season while shedding about $5 million off the books. Whether Simons becomes a piece of the present/future, is dealt away this summer, or allowed to walk in free agency at the end of the season, Stevens' first major trade of the offseason is a solid win for the Celtics.
Irish Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Foot and hand passing plummets as GAA reveal amount of two point shots per game
The GAA have released a fresh set of statistics from their 'Games Intelligence Unit.' One of the more interesting stats from the Championship to date is that handpassing is down compared to last year from an average of 450 per game to 390. Meanwhile, foot passing is also down, from 131 per game to 89.6 per game. However, in the old game many of these foot passes were just kicked short and sideways. This is still going on but not to the same extent. The stat the GAA probably needs here is forward kickpasses over 25 or 30 metres, or something similar. So, with hand passing and foot passing both down this effectively means that attacks are being constructed quicker with more shots being taken. Scores are up from an average of 30.7 points per game in the 2024 Championship compared to 36 points per game this year to date. Kickout retention has dropped from 84percent to 61.4percent. Contested kickouts are up from 26percent last year to 61.9 percent this season, reflecting a huge increase in competition for possession around the middle of the field. Accuracy levels have also increased with the shot to score ratio going up from 52percent to 56.8percent, despite players in all likelihood going for more long range shots due to the option of the two pointer. The extra space afforded to the shooter in an 11 v 11 scenario and the additional room to carve out simpler shots are also likely to be factors here. The average number of two point shots per team per game is six each. In the Munster Championship it was just 5.25, while in the Leinster Championship it was 6.45 per team, per game, the lowest and highest provinces. Turnovers have increased from 27 per game in 2024 to 32.6 per game this summer. Fouls are also up, from 23.8 per game last year to 29.1 per game this year. This could be viewed as a negative, but it also suggests teams are pressing more and getting in more tackles. The lowest amount of fouls per game is in Ulster at 25.4, suggesting there is still more possession play in the province than the rest of the country.
