Frank McCourt apologizes to Dodgers fans over mess team is in

The Irish American owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Frank McCourt has apologized to fans over the mess the team is in because of his bitter divorce.

I'd like to apologize to fans to say, `I'm sorry,'" McCourt said .

"I'm sorry that my personal mess has affected their lives and their enjoyment of supporting the Dodgers. I'm sorry that I've been a source of embarrassment for them."

McCourt says getting a new television contract for his team is critical and he needs clarity on what baseball commissioner Bud Selig will do next after announcing he wanted to remove McCourt from ownership.

"It's preposterous to think we are going out and have a Plan B or a Plan C with baseball sending in somebody that nobody is quite sure whether they are a receiver or a monitor or what their role is and we have a transaction completely negotiated and done," McCourt said.

"At some point in time if the transaction isn't approved, of course there's going to be a financial situation that has been precipitated by the lack of approval."

Mickey Ward's mother dies-- Melisssa Leo won Oscar portraying her

Alice Ward, the mother of fighter Irish Mickey Ward has died in a Boston-area hospital.

Melissa Leo,pictured, won an Oscar for her portrayal of Alice Ward, in the movie 'The Fighter' based on her son's life

She was 79 and had suffered a cardiac arrest and was taken off life support.

Her death was first reported in her hometown newspaper the Lowell Sun

Tom Durkin will no longer call Kentucky Derby, Triple Crown races

Irish American announcer Tom Durkan, recognized as one of the greatest race callers of all time, has decided to step down from covering the Kentucky Derby on NBC and other Triple Crown races but will continue to call New York races.


“It’s always been stressful,” Durkin, told Daily Racing Form adding he had seen a psychiatrist to help handle the stress.

“It’s just the stress got to be too much,” Durkin told DRF . “When you’re walking around with a pit in your stomach for three months a year, just a general bad feeling and nervousness. You look up stress in the dictionary or online, and I’m a classic case of it. Sometimes you have to look out for your professional life; more importantly, you have to look out for your personal life. This is a bad professional decision and a good personal one.”

Durkin said he called NBC to withdraw but then agreed to do it

“I couldn’t sleep for two days and I called him back and said ‘forget what I told you,’ ” Durkin said. “He said ‘good.’ About three weeks ago, when you start turning up the pressure cooker, I just wasn’t up to it.”


“I’m disappointed in myself; it was a battle of nerves that I lost,” Durkin added. “And at the racetrack, you don’t like to lose.”

In a prepared statement, Ken Schanzer of NBC said “Tom Durkin is a legend. He is not only one of the great race-callers of all time, but I have been honored to call him my friend for more than a quarter-century. While I regret that he has made the decision not to call the Triple Crown for us, I understand it and wish him nothing but the best.”

Added Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports Group: “It’s rare in this business that you find someone who has such extraordinary talent, who works relentlessly, and never ceases to be the nicest person in any room he’s in. We will truly miss Tom on our Triple Crown broadcasts.”

Asked if he regretted any call Durkin said he was late to spot Mine That Bird when he took the lead late in winning the 2009 Kentucky Derby.

“You wish you could get that call back,” Durkin said. “You do your best and you don’t beat yourself up over it. If I didn’t prepare, I could beat myself up. I walk in there ready.”

Celtic tie Rangers 0-0 in vital league clash, now favorites for title

Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor was the hero as he stopped an 82nd minute penalty kick in their vital game against Celtic.

The 0-0 draw left Celtic one point behind with five games to play with a game in hand and are favorites to win yet another Scottish title.

The draw will suit Celtic then, but they will surely regret Gerogios Samaras's miss from the penalty spot which would have made them hot favorites for the title.

Despite a backdrop of mounting tensions after parcel bombs were sent to Celtic coach Neil Lennon an other leading figures in the club, the game went off without incident.

Neil Lennon says he won't quit Celtic after parcel bomb mailed to him

Celtic manager Neil Lennon is more determined than ever to stay at the helm at Parkhead despite receiving a bomb package in the mail.

Lennon said: "Anyone in any walk of life shouldn't have to deal with something like this.

"It is uncomfortable, you see your face every hour on the news and after a while you start thinking 'is that me they are talking about?' And I had to deal with that on the day of a very important game [against Kilmarnock].

"I'd like to thank the police for all their briefings and the professionalism they have shown and the security they have given me over the last week. They have been absolutely fantastic and made life as easy as possible under the circumstances.

"I've had this for 10 years but I don't want to say you get used to it because you never do. It's been with me during my time as a player, my time as a coach and my time as a manager. But it is not going to deter me from doing what I want to do.

"For me this is the greatest privilege in my life to manage this football club, and the support I've had from the fans and my close family and friends has been my strength."

Asked if this would have happened at any club other than Celtic, the Northern Irishman replied: "It wouldn't, no. And it's not because it's my aggressive behaviour on the pitch any more.

"A lot was said about that when I played and I think you all know the reasons why these things are happening now.

"It's good that people are talking about it, and we will get something done about it."

Frank McCourt should tell Bud Selig to butt out of his business

Frank McCourt should have the right to screw up his own business if he wants to.

He bought and paid for the Los Angeles Dodgers and it is ridiculous to see Major League Baseball try and take it off him.

I'm glad to see he is fighting back and will fight to keep his team.

I know Frank's brother, David McCourt well,a great businessman,and like Frank a proud Irish American.

I'm sure Frank will not take the nonsense that is being dished out by Bud Selig.

It is not like the Dodgers have underperformed under his ownership.

They were unlucky not to reach a world series under Joe Torre.

Attendance has kept up and McCourt has done his best to keep his private battles with his wife over the divorce well away from the team itself.

Sure he has problems, but look around Major League Baseball owners and show me one who does not.

Here in New York, the late and now revered George Steinbrener ended up in court on many occasions, Fred Wilpon of the Mets got folks to invest with Bernie Madoff.


And so it goes.

Frank McCourt is a buccaneer, a larger than life businessman who has made his mistakes.

And now nanny-like MLB comes to take his team off him.

They need to grow up and let McCourt sort out his own problems and let his team get back to winning.

Irish contender for Kentucky Derby as Aidan O'Brien enters Master of Hounds

Masterful Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien,(pic), looks certain to have a runner in this year's Kentucky Derby.

Master of Hounds, second in the Dubai Derby will represent the stable providing he works well the next two weeks according to reports.

Master of Hounds ran in last year's Breeder Cup on turf at Churchill Downs, where the Derby will take place on dirt on May 7th.

Given the wide open field, Master of Hounds has probably as good a chance as any in the Run for the Roses.

Master of Hounds will be O'Brien's first runner in the derby since Johannesburg finished 7th in 2002.

Rory McIlroy hits another poor shot that costs him in Malaysian Open

It was deja vu all over again for Rory McIlroy when a bad shot ended his chance of a major win in a golf tournament.

This week McIlroy stood on the 18th at the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur needing a birdie on the par 5 to get into a playoff.

However, history repeated itself as he drove his second shot too far to the right and was unable to beat par.

Depsite the second setback the Northern Ireland phenom remained upbeat.at his third place finish at the Malaysian Open.

"Obviously at this moment I'm pretty disappointed, but it was a good week," McIlroy said. "I started out really well and to shoot the scores I did considering the traveling is a pretty good effort. ... I'm proud of myself at how I picked myself up from last week and the way I came back on the back nine today."

Italian teenager Matteo Manassero had a one shot victory at the tournament.

Notre Dame's basketball queen Skylar Diggins denies nude photo circulating is of her

Skylar Diggins, the stunning Notre Dame sophomore guard who shot to national prominence this year when the Fighting Irish defeated U Conn in the final four has strongly denied that a nude photo circulating on the internet is of her.

Social media including Twitter came alight yesterday after the photo surfaced.

Skylar in several tweets strongly denied the picture was of her.

Since she shot to fame and has been linked to rapper Lil Wayne she has attracted over 1000,000 twitter followers.

She tweeted;

"Gotta clear this up. I dnt knw wht pic is going around, but tht is NOT ME. Idk who is going around trying to defame my character,but its sad

"The people that know me and love me know that I would never handle myself in such a careless and classless manner.

"I can truly say I am hurt by this...I dnt believe how someone could attempt to ruin my name but being untrue. I am stronger than this though

"I will not run away and hide. There is no reason to.....goodnight and I will be back to continue my thoughts and tweet regularly tomorrow..."

Before Notre Dame's loss to Texas A&M in the final Wayne tweeted:

"Let's go Notre Dame! Let's go @skydigg4! Wifey! You are a winner in my book regardless."

Bill O'Reilly may win the Kentucky Derby this year-- The Factor is now favorite for 'Run for the Roses'

Bill O'Reilly will be favorite to win the Kentucky Derby this year.

Well not exactly --- but a horse named after him 'The Factor' is currently the favorite and will be even more so if he wins the Arkansas Derby today.


The Factor is called after the Irish Fox News mega star because his owner, Charles Bolton is huge fan of the show and watches it every night.

The Factor is a speed demon, a horse who breaks in front and tries to carry his speed all the way-- kinda like O'Reilly when you think of it who is always fastest out of the gate when controversy breaks.

http://youtu.be/nKH84qN4sxQ


He is trained by Bob Baffert who knows a thing or two about wining Kentucky Derbies as he has won three of them and almost won the Triple Crown with both Real Quiet and Silver Charm.

Now he has his best chance since that horse with The Factor who was thought to have distance limitations because he runs so fast early in the race.

However last time out in Oaklawn Park going around two turns for the first time he burned off all the opposition well before the straight.

If he does the same today then Bill Reilly may well book his tickets to Kentucky the first Saturday in May.

The Factor will come out running that's for sure like the man who hosts the shows he is named after.

Last week the previous hot favorite Uncle Mo ran like one of O'Reilly's pinheads in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and suddenly the entire Kentucky Derby seems wide open.

The connections of The Factor will be hoping to fill that gap tomorrow

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly starts new quarterbacks in Blue-Gold game

Brian Kelly is throwing a big surprise for the first televised Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame on Saturday.

The two main quarterbacks Dayne Crist and Tommy Rees will be nowhere to be seen in the biggest game before the opener in September.

Instead sophomore Andrew Hendrick and Everett Golson, the rookie, will line-up behind center.

“It’s going to be Golson versus Hendrix, relative to the offense,” Kelly said. “They are going to do everything. They will be live. They will run the ball. They will throw the ball. We will get a really good feel for both of those guys because we know the other two guys can win football games.”

All eyes will be on Hendrix who can run as well as pass, something Crist and Rees do not do well . Golsen is regarded as a future starter who fits a Kelly-type spread offense to a T.

The live telecast on the Versus network shows just how big a deal Notre Dame football has become. There will be a full house as well

“It’s what we do 365 days a year,” Kelly said. “It’s called balance, with developing and preparing your football team at the same time always looking toward your future. Don’t mortgage your future, don’t live in the past, stay in the present. But the reality of BCS football, you’ve got to balance all of those things.”

Rory McIlroy hits 400 yard drive in quick comeback after Masters setback

Rory McIlroy whacked a drive over 400 yards at the Malayasian Open and announced he had put his US Masters woes behind him

“There was more people upset about that round than I was,” he said. “I’m fine. It’s one bad round. I’ll live and I’m getting on with it.”

He shot 3 under par to be five behind leader Alexander Norem.

McIlroy soon showed he ha ut his master's driving problems behind him by whacking his drive on the par five fifth hole past the 400 yard marker thanks to a favorable bounce.

Asked if it was his longest drive ever he said; “Probably,”“You don’t say this too often but I was almost too close to the green on a par five. It must have went at least 400 yards.

“I was lucky it hit off the cart-path and it could have went out of bounds but it stayed in bounds for me and set up an easy birdie.”

By the end of the round jet lag was evident as he missed some easy putts.

“I knew I was going to put a few bad swings on it just because of the way I was feeling but you know hopefully as the week progresses I can get better and shoot some better scores,” he said.

Padraig Harrington believes Tiger Woods blew the Masters more than Rory McIlroy

Padraig Harrington has no concerns about Rory McIlroy handling his collapse in the US Masters-- but he believes Tiger Woods may well deeply regret his back nine finish.

Harrington said that once he saw McIlroy after his bad round handle the media queries with class and style his fears disappeared.

"Rory did incredibly well afterwards," Harrington told the Irish Independent. "In a week's time, he'll have had time to reflect, but his attitude so soon after walking off the 18th green on Sunday was fantastic and augurs well for his future.

"He'll come through this. Rory has proved many times he's capable of winning these things, but I think even more so after Sunday. He'll win plenty of Majors going forward."

However, Harrington believes Tiger Woods will have more regrets than McIlroy when he looks back


"He's always going to have a great chance at Augusta and he had it again. If he looks back at this week, Tiger will see this as one that got away."

Rory McIlroy will be back, bigger and braver than ever after Masters setback

Rory McIlroy will overcome his traumatic experience at Augusta in due time.

He's just a kid, albeit one with a very special talent, but if you look at golfers like Padraig Harrington and Nickk Faldo, they struggled for many years before making the Majors breakthrough.

Indeed, Faldo was derisively known as 'Foldo' in the British tabloid press before he got it together.

McIlory will learn an enormous amount from the experience, but also, that leading a tournament for three rounds is the worst possible recipe for success.

Only one man in 20 years has done it at Augusts and now it is clear why, the level of pressure is just so great.

A friend who accompanied him around the last 18 holes in Augusta writes;

"Like Bobby Jones says " the golf course is played on a 5 inch field, the one between your ears".......Augusta National and the roars across the course claim another victim on Sunday.....something very special about that little town in GA and golf course....I've played there with some good golfers that wanted to cry when they tallied up their score at 18 after playing it for the first time......and will tell you that it just beats on you after the front nine which usually causes you to make mistakes on the back nine or find a rhythm to win......

"Proud of the way he played for three days and it was also said to watch him collapse as I followed him on Sunday.....I told my buddies to think about what you were doing or considered pressure at 21 years old.....this kid was trying to win the biggest golf tournament in the world and he will be back many more times to finally win it one day...

"..the Patrons were extremely gracious to him giving a standing ovation and just trying to uplift him even after he was out of the race which seemed to console him as he walked up the fairways with his head down, that only can happen at a special place called Augusta National...

Some day soon McIlroy will make that walk with his head high I'm sure.

Rory McIlroy collapses after tenth hole disaster in Masters

Rory McIlroy lost his four shot lead after just ten holes of the final round of the Masters. He eventually ended up collapsing and hitting a round of 80.

McIlroy, clearly feeling the pressure was one over at the turn but drove his tenth tee shot almost out of bounds and took a seven to go four over par for his round. He later three-putted the 12th to fall completely out of contention.

His final round was reminiscent of the collapse at the British Open last year when he shot a second round 80

Afterwards he said "It is one of those things I am very disappointed but I will have plenty more chances ... hopefully it will build a little bit of character in me."

"I will reflect on this for the next few days. I lost a lot of confidence in my putting and began second guessing myself," he said.

McIlroy never looked comfortable during his final round after bogeying the first hole and soon found himself in a dog fight as Adam Scott, Tiger Woods and McIlroy's playing partner Angel Cabrera all shot under par with Woods powering through a 32 for the first nine and joining the leaders on the 15th.

McIlroy, who had played nerves free all week found the immense pressure telling on him and it finally came apart on the 10th when his drive ended up a hundred yards off the fairway and he later hit a tree as he tried to extricate himself.

It was heartbreak for the young 21-year-old Northern Irish player who had led through the first three rounds and looked certain to continue on to victory with a four shot lead.

Rory McIlroy learns to cope with fame and fortune --Masters leader a kid at heart but a pro when it matters

READ MORE: Irish Rory McIlroy takes charge

It is hard to believe some times that Rory McIlroy is just 21 years old.

He is playing with such maturity and passion at the US Masters that the phrase 'old head on young shoulders' comes to mind.

He is leading golf's greatest tournament after two rounds with Tiger Woods and a host of famous names in his wake.

Sure he is called the 'young gun'and other such nicknames, but this is a guy with $10 million already in earnings and three top three finishes in the last three majors.

He is so mature beyond his years on the golf course, An Irish American friend of mine who is following him around in Augusta this week wrote:

"I'm a member at Augusta CC next door and there usually are 4 groups from Portrush and County Down that play during the tournament and the guy that hosts them told they called in January and canceled due to the economy.

"He had a lot of the Irish community from Augusta following him and tons of kids. I think he is this generation of golfers Tiger Woods. Just a great kid, saw him on the range Wed and he was signing until he got everyone that was around the putting surface then gave a group of kids some balls and his glove. He portrays a great image for our community......"

Yet there is clearly a kid inside too. The New York Times this week recounted how McIlroy and his friends from Northern Ireland were out playing some touch football on the street throwing the football around with McIlroy giving his best Tom Brady impression.

“Sort of got into American football from being over here and just wanted to learn how to throw it a little bit better,” McIlroy said. “Bought a football, threw it around a little bit. Yeah, I was actually told off by the lady living across the street. We were making a bit too much noise. Had to cut it short.”

This is the noisy kid who is now leading the Masters, the most prestigious title in golf.

He has shown new maturity in his work ethic too, especially on a recurrent back problem.

“I’ve worked hard in the gym to strengthen my back,” McIlroy said. “I’m squatting with pretty heavy weights now and I’m happy with how that’s progressed. I haven’t had an issue with my back since maybe August, September, something, autumn last year.

“I can swing the way I want, and as long as I don’t do — as long as I’m not going out and playing tennis or playing football every day, if I’m just playing golf, then my back’s fine.”

In his personal life he and Holly Sweeney who were kid next door sweethearts since they were both 14 have broken up, “It is difficult to have a relationship when I’m on tour and she is in Ireland.”

His parents who have traveled to every major with him stayed home this time, a sign of the growing maturity of McIlroy.

They have been at the center of his life since he hit a golf ball 40 yards at just three years of age and he cried bitterly when aged eight or nine and his parents forced him to come home from the golf course.

Nick Faldo was his hero back then and he seems set to emulate his hero

He is still a kid who likes his toys, having admitted to buying 13 cars since he hit the big time, but not a $2 million car he allegedly bought last year.

He likes a night out too, loving Jagermeister and Red Bull when the spirit grabs him.

This week though it has been all work.

He is a feisty Irishman whose turn at the top may have come.


My friend noted a funny incident this week when McIlroy began his charge to the lead on Thursday.

"Forgot to tell you that some guy yelled, here come the Irish and this Brit that was next to us said in her demeaning tone "actually these Yanks don't realize that he is British".....everybody just gave her a stare that could cut thru glass."

If he wins the Masters, the first Irishman to do so, the Irish will lift the rafters down Augusta way.