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Interesting to read Caroline Wozniacki's swipe at the likes of Martina Navratilova earlier this week for not showing her enough respect, having been world No1 for quite some time, despite never having won a major.

In a way I can sympathise with Wozniacki, on two fronts.

Firstly is the simple annoyance factor; everywhere she goes

Novak Djokovic's recent dismantling of all comers at the Mubadala Tennis World Championships points to a scenario we already foresaw: he is the man to beat in 2012, and it's likely that nobody will manage to do so.

In fact, such is the Serb's rise and confidence, my prediction is that he matches his 2011 feats, and will claim the Wimbledon, US and Australian titles. Can he win in Paris? It all depends on the form of dirt rat Rafa Nadal who seems

Sligo Preview and Selections

Its the last meeting for 2011 at Sligo Racecourse and they plan to bow out of 2011 in style as they stage an eight race National Hunt card focused around the students from the local college, so if you are attending, be prepared for a lot of noise and loads off drinking.

The first off a seven race card goes to post at 3:30 and it is a Beginners Chase for mares. Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds will be represented by his son’s horse Stephanie Kate. Having finished only fifteen lengths behind the talented Willie Mullins superstar Quevega at Cheltenham in March, she looks set to be well primed for the larger obstacles. Despite having to carry top weight, the Gordon Elliott Brave Beauty already has experience over the larger obstacles and can give Davy Condon a well deserved winner.

A rare combination takes places in the Martin Reilly Motors Hyundai i40 Steeplechase as Ruby Walsh teams up with Gordon Elliott to take the ride on Traffic Article. The race has only attracted four runners and Kakagh looks to be the main danger. The two remaining runners are Vital Plot and Miss Sarenne who failed to make it around last time out when falling at Ballinrobe.

The Frank O’Beirne Memorial Beginners Steeplechase looks like a race best watched. Mouse Morris saddles Easily Pleased for owner JP McManus and he can improve on his third at Ballinrobe last time out, however despite carrying top weight; For Dylan might be a dark horse for Michael John O’Connor and Tom Doyle in a weak looking Beginners Chase.

The Cleveragh Road Handicap Steeplechase has attracted ten runners and it looks a wide open race. Cecil Ross saddles Westmeath Bachelor and although a ten year old, he just met one better at Ballinrobe last time out. Code Of The West and Second Glance have youth on their side but the name of the game is jumping. Mighty Bob has been an early morning market mover (12/1into 9/1) but may be best watched.

The Sligo I.T. Student Day At Sligo Races Beginners Steeplechase sees Noel Meade’s useful horse Jim Bowie make his chasing debut and Tim Carroll claims a valuable seven pounds from him, however Gordon Elliott’s Definite All Star has been consisted lately but can’t get in front and today might be his day following Gordon winner with Hanger Management at Sedgefield yesterday. Abbey Glen looks a major threat despite having top weight.

Ardglen aims to make a bit of history in Ireland before the Handicapper gives him a huge weight hike when he bids for four wins in just over a week in the Foley's Bar & Off Licence Handicap Steeplechase. Ten Fires looks the one that might spoil the party but as a loyal fan of the horse and the tremendous form John “Shark” Hanlon is in at the moment, Ardglen looks the one to beat.

The concluding Follow Sligo On Facebook Flat Race looks a battle between the Charlie Swan newcomer Meister Eckhart and Mikey Fogarty’s mount Fire Belt; however John Paul Gilligan doesn’t train too far away in Craughwell in Galway and his Churchfield Champ should be ignored at your own peril. Patrick Mullins is a notable booking.

 

Sligo Selections

3:30 Brave Beauty

4:05 Traffic Article

4:35 For Dylan each way

5:05 Westmeath Bachelor each way

5:35 Definite All Star

6:05 Ardglen

6:35 Churchfield Champ each way

Happy Punting – Giddy Up

Wednesday’s Sporting Headlines

• Henderson heads to Liverpool on £20 million fee.
• Ireland beat Italy 2-0.
• Woods out of US Open.
• Workforce set to miss Ascot for Coral Eclipse.
• Decision on Rite Of Passage participation in Ascot Gold Cup will be made at the weekend.
• Wexford overcome Dublin in U21 Hurling Championship.
• Murray hopes ankle will hold up for Wimbledon.

Fridays Sporting Headlines

• Robbie Keane faces a medical today ahead of Saturday’s game with Macedonia.
• Kieran Fallon’s ride on Recital in the Epsom Derby is in doubt.
• Rory McIlroy in joint first place in the Memorial Tournament in Ohio after Day One.
• Graham McDowell leads the Welsh Open at The Manor,
• Li Na knocks Sharapova out of the French Open to set up a final with Schiavone.
• In GAA, Cork manager Conor Counihan has made 6 changes to play Waterford at the weekend.
• Mark Hughes resigns as Fulham manager and could go to Aston Villa
• Nadal faces Murray in French Open Semi Final

Latest Sporting Headlines

• Andy Murray through to French Open Semi Final and will face Rafael Nadal.
• Sharapova eases through to French Open Women’s Semi final
• Gerard Houlier leaves Aston Villa due to health issues.
• Sepp Blatter retains FIFA president crown.
• Ex LA Lakers Basketball player Shaquille O Neal announces retirement.
• Gavin Henson set to return for Wales.
• Decision to be made on Friday regarding Carlton House’s participation in the Derby.
• Graeme McDowell leads the Wales Open at The Manor on Day 1.

I didn’t blog last week as there can be some surprising results the week after the 6 Nations as each team employs different strategies in terms of how they re introduce their Internationals back to the fold. With the Heineken Cup back this weekend every fit player will be considered for duty.The Clash of last weekend’s rugby matches in Ireland, Britain and France was undoubtedly the Irish Provincial Derby between Munster and Leinster in Thomond Park on Saturday night. Thomand Park is an amazing place to play and with Leinster having returned 4000 of their 6000 allocation the atmosphere was pretty partisan. Leinster went into the match on a run of 5 straight wins over Munster and the way they started the match it looked like it was set to be 6 from 6. The need seemed to be greater for Munster with their players and management stressing all week how defeat was unacceptable for them or their supporters. There was no quarter asked for or given and anyone who thought that Leinster would have one eye on their Heineken Cup quarter final against Leicester at the Aviva this Saturday doesn’t understand how important the bragging rights for Irish provincial rugby means to these squads. Only two weeks ago 17 of the players on show were joined together to beat England and now they are knocking Lumps out of each other for fun.

Leinster led 20-9 at the break through a brilliant try for Shane Horgan who was winning his 200^th cap for Leinster. Shane Horgan is a huge influence in the Leinster dressing room on and off the pitch and his mantra that “you don’t have to be talented to work hard” is something that I preach to any team I am involved with. His try his 66^th for Leinster was from a back row move that would have been designed to attack a weakness in the Munster defensive system spotted by one of the coaches or players studying footage of Munster’s recent matches. Its one thing spotting the weakness but having the skill and accuracy to exploit it is a much harder thing to do and the players involved. It started with having a steady scrum that got a right angle, and then Heaslip, Boss and D’arcy who passed the ball and Sean O Brien who blocked James Coughlan created the gap for Isa Nacewa to burst through. When Isa reached the next line of defence he put a delicate grubber kick through that Shane Horgan picked up at full speed and dived over the line. It amazing how good Leinster were in the first 40 minutes considering how they hadn’t played together for months. They were ruthlessly efficient in all aspects of the first half and with Jonny Sexton kicking any penalties in range they looked home and hosed at the break.

The Coaches role at half time can often be overrated but Tony McGahan needed to make sure his message was heard and most importantly acted upon. There must have been a chance that despite being top of the League and into the quarter final of the Challenge Cup another embarrassing defeat to their Arch rivals could have cost him his job in the off season. The method Munster used to turn the match was by focusing on the breakdown in the 2^nd 40 minutes. Whenever I played against Munster that was the area of the game that was the hardest to win. They hit you hard and low and if you didn’t get the right numbers to every ruck you risk getting turned over. They were also so efficient at the breakdown that they were able to keep the ball for long periods often by picking and going around the fringes through their pack. In an effort to play a more open brand of rugby they seem to have neglected this part of their game slightly and what you saw in the 2^nd half was Munster returning to their traditional strengths and they strangled Leinster in this area. Leinster made a few handling errors in the 2^nd half on attack too, which added to Munsters momentum. Despite Munster owning the ball Leinster’s defence refused to be breached and it is now over 500 minutes since Munster have scored a try against the men in Blue. That stat won’t bother Munster too much as when you have a kicker like Ronan O Gara you don’t need to score tries every match.

O Gara kicked 8 from 9 penalties at goal and the match winner was a penalty from the touchline in the last minute of the match. The American World War 2 General Omar Bradley said “Bravery is the Capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death” and that is the level that top class goal kickers like O’Gara and Sexton have to operate. Every time they lace their boots to play they understand that it’s likely they will be responsible for whether their team wins or loses. O’Gara stuck to his process and nailed the kick which left no time for Leinster to try and recover.

Munster will now finish top seeds in the Magners and Leinster will probably finish 4^th which would mean they meet again in the semi final which would be a thrilling prospect for both sets of supporters and the Neutrals. This week Leinster need to react positively to the defeat and prepare for what will be a huge examination of their worth at the Aviva stadium against Leicester who are the form team in England at the moment. Leicester will have noticed how Munster beat Leinster and are sure to copy some of the tactics used. However Forewarned is forearmed and I expect Leinster to win but it might be only by 1 score. Munster have the talent and hunger to win in Brive in their Quarter Final and should be good enough to win the Challenge Cup outright.

The two best teams in Europe collide in the Heineken Cup Quarter finals this Saturday when the Leicester Tigers come to Dublin to play Leinster and we can be sure that this will be the battle of all battles. The winner of this match has a home semi final which is a huge advantage and with the final in Cardiff it will be hard for a French team to win it this year given their weakness playing outside France.

Leicester have a great record of winning trophies with 3 of the last 4 Premiership trophies finding their way back to Welford Road and more importantly they have a very proud record in Europe winning the Heineken Cup twice. This season they currently lead the Premiership and have scored 13 more tries than their nearest rivals. For a team that is built on brute force, power and physical intimidation they are playing an attacking brand of rugby with an offloading game that is similar to Leinster. They will try and win the scrum battle with the Italian Castrogiovanni and English test prop Dan Cole two world class operators but Leinster have been brilliant in this area this season and I don’t expect them to get any advantage here. They usually bring on Argentinian Loosehead Marcus Ayerza but he is suspended for fighting against Harlequins at the weekend which is a big blow to them. Their Half Backs Toby Flood and Ben Youngs are dangerous and will have learned from their horror show in the Grand Slam and the Tuilagi Brothers will be the latest brusiers to try and run over the D’arcy and O’Driscoll partnership.

The quarter final stage is often the hardest for the Irish Teams because they come two weeks after the conclusion of the Six Nations which doesn’t allow much elbow room in terns of rebuilding cohesion and team work.. The Leinster players will have taken stock of how they allowed the Munster forwards get over the gain line around the fringes in the 2^nd half against Munster and will be prepared and ready for this tactic when the Tigers employ it. We can look forward to seeing skin and hair flying with Leinster to just edge a tight game.

The only Handicap bet I fancy this weekend is the plus 9 point start that Ulster receive away to Northampton. Neither team has much Heineken Cup experience of the Knock out stages of late and I think that Ulster will be competitive as they are one of the form teams in the Magners league at the moment. I am going to go for a Perpignan (4/7), Leinster (4/9) and Toulouse (4/5) which works out at just over 3/1 and might pay for a few drinks this weekend.

BetPack TV has live streaming of this evenings Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Final between World No 1 Rafael Nadal and an inform Novak Djokovic. This should be a close game with Nadal just edging the betting. Australian Open Champion Djokovic is unbeaten this year and will want to continue his run. Live from 18:10. Click here for all the latest prices and get on!

BetPack TV this evening has live streaming of the 2 Semi Finals in The Sony Ericsson Open from Miami. First up is in form Djokovic taking on Fish from 18:10. Then the massive tie of Nadal v Federer. These 2 never disappoint when they face each-other and tonight should be no different. Another great offer from The Pack!

 

BetPack TV today have live streaming of the Sony Ericsson Open from Miami. Nadal, Federer & Roddick are all in action today, so why not check out our latest prices and watch live coverage from the comfort of your home!