Latest news with #JohnMcDermott
Irish Times
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Meath are back at the top table after wins over Dublin and Kerry
With wins over Dublin and Kerry , it's fair to say Meath are officially back. Ironically, the last time the Royals defeated Kerry, by 2-14 to 0-5 in the 2001 All-Ireland semi-final, has been identified by some as the day the Meath rot set in. In the closing stages, with Meath in complete control, their fans began to rub it in; after all, they had just qualified for a 10th All-Ireland final appearance (including replays) in 14 years. 'With 10 minutes or so remaining this 'Olé' started ... It took the goodness out of it,' recalled full back Darren Fay in Philip Lanigan's 2013 book Four Kings. 'For that 10 minutes, for the first time I've ever experienced, and probably the first time Meath football experienced, an arrogance became part of Meath football. An arrogance to the players from the supporters. READ MORE 'That's when Meath football started showing an arrogance and it's never recovered from it ...' Fay reckoned. 'I remember John McDermott saying to all of us, 'That is actually going to do Meath more harm than it will Kerry'. And he didn't say us, he said Meath. And you look at what happened. Meath haven't got within an ass's roar of winning an All-Ireland and Kerry have won what, four?' Newspaper coverage confirms the suspicion. 'Make no mistake about it, this defeat will damage the Kingdom severely,' reckoned the Meath Chronicle, whose headline on the piece read simply 'King Dumb'. Ouch. Has Meath's struggle been an identity issue? Speaking about Meath's revival, another theory put forward for their decline over the years was that the county's identity had been diluted due to demographic change, with the population of the county rising by almost 65 per cent between the 2002 and 2022 censuses. When the Royals beat Kerry 24 years ago, they used 19 players; on Saturday, it was 20. Skyrne had the highest representation in 2001 with three players (John McDermott, Trevor Giles and sub Mick O'Dowd). St Pat's had two and Blackhall Gaels, Simonstown, Carnaross, Kilmainhamwood, Drumree, Walterstown and Ballinlough all had one each. It's striking that none of those nine clubs were represented on Saturday. St Ultan's, Dunsany, Donaghmore Ashbourne, Ballinabrackey, Na Fianna (two), Curraha (two) all had players in action at the weekend, along with Cavan club Kingscourt Stars. Meath are only the third Leinster county to beat both the Dubs and Kerry in the same championship, having done it twice; Kildare also managed it in 1998 and 1927 and Offaly did it in 1982. Of the non-Leinster counties, Tyrone in 2008 and 2005, Armagh in 2002 and Cork in 1989 all did it – and all won Sam afterwards. Cavan must hate the sight of Tyrone Since 2018 alone, Tyrone have beaten Cavan six times in championship football. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho At this stage, Cavan must hate the sight of Tyrone. Since 1980, the counties have met 53 times in all competitions at senior level; to put that in context, Derry are next on the list of counties Cavan have played the most in that period (40 times). Tyrone have won 41, with two draws and most of Cavan's wins coming in the McKenna Cup. The Breffni boys are without a win in the championship over the Red Hands since 1983, stretching to 13 meetings. In that period, Tyrone have also beaten Cavan in two Ulster finals and two National League finals (Division 1 in 2002 and Division 2 in 2016). Since 2018 alone, Tyrone have beaten Cavan six times in championship football, by a combined total of 48 points. Sunday's 0-31 to 0-18 defeat was the third widest margin in the last 20 years; Tyrone won by 21 points in 2005 and 16 in 2019. Aidan O'Shea's scoring scarcity Aidan O'Shea's total for the season is 2-10 (one free); he has yet to score a two-pointer. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho ' Aidan O'Shea shows up all the time, tries his best and contributes in many ways, albeit not regularly on the scoreboard,' wrote Colm O'Rourke on Sunday. At first reading, that smacked of damning O'Shea with faint praise but the stats do tend to back O'Rourke's point up. The Breaffy man, who will turn 35 later this month, featured in 12 matches this season, playing at least 40 minutes in 10 of those. [ 'This wasn't a fair one': Donegal's Jim McGuinness criticises choice of Dr Hyde Park as neutral venue against Mayo Opens in new window ] His best days in terms of scoring – and that's not really his role – were when he hit 1-3 in the Connacht championship against Sligo, 0-3 in the league final against Kerry and a late goal against Cavan. He was held scoreless in four matches, including on Sunday against Donegal, and scoreless from play in one other. O'Shea's total for the season is 2-10 (one free); he has yet to score a two-pointer. Number: 4 Successive championship meetings between Galway and Armagh which had an Ulster referee in charge; Seán Hurson officiated at both clashes last year, Joe McQuillan was in charge in 2023 and Noel Mooney on Saturday. Quote 'Dean Healy has been a mainstay of this team for so long, he's soldiered for so long, and now he gets a big day in Croke Park. He's our leader and who else would you want taking on that shot?' – Oisín McConville on the Wicklow veteran who kicked the winner against Westmeath.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pope passes on Easter Monday at age 88
COLCHESTER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Early Monday morning, the news of Pope Francis passing was released to the globe. His death marks a significant moment for the Catholic Church, as he was known for his efforts to promote inclusivity and compassion within the faith. MyChamplainValley spoke with the Bishop of Burlington, John McDermott, who tells us he thinks the Pope will be remembered for three specific things: his emphasis on God's mercy, the fraternity of humanity and reaching out to the poorest of the poor. The Bishop is planning a memorial service for the Pope later this week on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Jospeh's. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
29-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
‘The Golf 100' isn't so much a pecking order of greatest players. It's an index of lively profiles
From John McDermott's fragile psyche to the sustained excellence of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods — or Woods and Nicklaus; no spoiler here on who's No. 1 — this countdown of the top golfers is less a list than an index of insightful, lively profiles rife with anecdotes centered on their most joyous and miserable moments. 'The Golf 100: A spirited ranking of the greatest players of all time' is the 16th title by author Michael Arkush, most of them from the sports realm including New York Times bestsellers 'The Last Season' with Phil Jackson and 'The Big Fight' with Sugar Ray Leonard. This one is all Arkush and displays his storytelling — some sweet, some savory, a few bitter — in bite-size pieces. He includes greats from the early 20th century. He includes greats from other countries. He includes women. Why? Because their stories are compelling, even if ranking them became messy. So, yes, there are 100 in all, spread over 366 pages. Lists of the greatest golfers aren't a novel conceit. GolfDay published one a year ago. Golf Digest has its own. Folks have concocted lists on Reddit. Bleacher Report took a swing. There is even the website Times sportswriter Houston Mitchell got more than 12,000 readers to respond in 2009 to a poll ranking golfers. The top five are among Arkush's top 10, although not remotely in the same order. Most rankings are based on point systems, assigning weighted numbers to categories such as total tournaments won, top-10 finishes, player of the year awards, career longevity and performance in the four majors — the U.S. Open, Masters, British Open and PGA Championship. Arkush prioritized the majors, writing in the forward that they 'feature the strongest fields and, more often than not, are staged on the most demanding courses. When history is on the line.' Still, Arkush allowed himself license after covering professional golf for 30 years (he was an entertainment reporter for The Times from 1988 to 1995). Once the numbers were tabulated, he shuffled the deck by employing subjective criteria such as a golfer's impact or contributions to the sport. 'I was similar to a juror who, despite a stern warning from the judge not to let evidence deemed inadmissible be a factor in the verdict, couldn't help its affecting his thinking in one way or another,' Arkush wrote. An example is his inclusion of Francis Ouimet, a name unfamiliar to all but the most serious golf history buffs. He won the 1913 U.S. Open at the tender age of 20 over Harry Vardon, a British golf titan credited with inventing the modern grip and swing. Bobby Jones, the epitome of class, came along next, and the pendulum soon swung to the U.S. side of the Atlantic. Like so many writers, Arkush was loath to let numbers get in the way of a good yarn, beginning with ranking McDermott at No. 100. The cheeky son of a mailman became the first American to win the U.S. Open in 1911 — at age 19 — one year after he finished second to Scottish immigrant Alex Smith, telling him as they exited the course, 'I'll get you next year, you big tramp.' McDermott's penchant for popping off soon got him in trouble, and that was followed by a steep fall. He embarrassed the more genteel of his countrymen by bragging about his Open victories in the presence of Vardon. Then he was saved by a lifeboat after being a victim of a shipwreck. Then he lost a fortune in the stock market. Then he was committed to a sanitarium in 1916 and was never the same. Arkush concludes the profile describing a chance meeting between an elderly McDermott and a gracious Arnold Palmer that provides a poignant connection between the infancy of professional golf in America and its elevation in stature to the 'Arnie's Army' level by 1970. Only 99 to go. The list includes 15 women, trailblazers and champions such as Mickey Wright, whose 82 Tour victories included 13 majors and whose swing was lauded as the best of anyone regardless of gender by no less than Ben Hogan. Pioneers of the sport, firmly planted in the wellspring of 19th-century Scotland, are given their due. While the Union and Confederate armies were preparing for war across the pond, Willie Park Jr. and Old Tom Morris exuded geniality and competence on the green, dominating the British Open from its inception in 1860 through more than a decade. Old Morris passed on his mashie niblick — an early term for a seven iron — to his equally talented son, Young Tom Morris, who won the British Open four times from 1868 to 1872. They are the only father-son combo among the 100. Americans began to hold their own by the 1920s, and professional golf has increased in popularity as a spectator sport to this day. It's also an endeavor that nearly anyone can try and many become passionate about. One hundred is a somewhat arbitrary number to cap excellence, impact and irresistible storytelling. It's plenty for Arkush to mine, though, and relate the history of golf through the very best golfers. As for the thorny task of comparing golfers across generations and even centuries, Arkush leans on the wisdom of Jones, whose words can be extrapolated fairly to include women as well as men: 'I think we must agree that all a man can do is beat the people who are around at the same time he is. He cannot win from those who came before any more than he can from those who may come afterward.'
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Helping kupuna who are afraid, unable to speak for themselves
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Sometimes, our kupuna living in care facilities are afraid or unable to speak for themselves. State long-term care ombudsman John McDermott said he discovered that firsthand when he started the job in 1985. State House passes bill to limit risk of cryptocurrency scams 'In the middle of the night, there's a nurse aide who doesn't like her and comes when she's asleep and throws the blanket off and throws it on the floor. I said 'You saw that happen?' 'Oh yeah, many times.' 'Why didn't you say anything?' She just looks at me and says 'You've never lived in a nursing home, have you?'' McDermott recalled. Those fears can be eased as the ombudsman talks to the facilities anonymously to help advocate for kupuna. It's a federal mandate under the Older Americans Act. McDermott said overall, long-term care facilities in Hawaii do a great job, but as more out-migration continues on the islands, kupuna have less family to come visit, meaning advocates are harder to come by. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news 'That means you have that whole network that is now gone, that is not there to protect you. So that's what we do. We have volunteers and staff and their job is to create and form a relationship with the kupuna, find out if they're happy with the care that they're getting, if not we're going to try to do something to make it better.' The problem is that they're short-staffed. They're trying to fill neighbor island positions on Kauai and Maui County and two vacant positions on Oahu. 'We have a little bit over 1,700 facilities and we have about 13,000 beds and by federal law, we're supposed to visit everybody on a quarterly basis. That would be 30 facilities a day spread over six islands so it's not possible for me to do that by myself.' Check out more news from around Hawaii McDermott believes in the mission so much, that he is putting off his own retirement until he can get staffing up to par. He said he's looking for people who are trainable and empathetic. If you or someone you know is interested in applying or volunteering, call the Executive Office on Aging at (808) 586-0100. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
England plans major upgrade of training base used by its national soccer teams
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The English Football Association has announced plans to 'radically' redevelop the training base used by its national teams with a view to making them the 'best in the world.' St George's Park, based in Staffordshire, has been widely credited for improvements that have seen England's women's team win the European Championship and reach the final of the World Cup. The men's team reached back-to-back Euros finals and the semifinals of the World Cup since the base was opened in 2012. England has also enjoyed success at youth level in that time. England is co-hosting Euro 2028 with Ireland, Scotland and Wales when the three-year project is set to be completed. Redevelopment plans include upgrading playing fields and modernizing onsite hotel facilities and meeting rooms. 'With the honor of hosting a home Euros on the horizon alongside other exciting pathway activities, SGP 2.0 will level up our capacity to deliver an elite experience for players and to give ourselves every possible chance for success," the FA men's technical director John McDermott said. The FA said St George's would continue to be a base for national teams during the redevelopment work — covering preparation for this year's Women's Euros and qualification for the 2026 men's World Cup. The expected cost of the project was not released. ___ James Robson is at ___ AP soccer: James Robson, The Associated Press
