RTÉ have secured a massive boost to their sport portfolio with a new five-year GAA deal. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

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• RTÉ and Sky Sports set to retain their current GAA TV packages, while in radio the state broadcaster now has  full commentary rights.
• Newstalk have questioned RTÉ’s use of state funding to win the full radio commentary rights in the new GAA media deal.
• Dundalk defender Andy Boyle is on the verge of completing his move to Championship side Preston.
• Ronan O’Gara has ruled himself out as a potential replacement for Pat Lam at Connacht.
• Munster have made six changes for for tomorrow’s Champions Cup pool clash with the Leicester Tigers at Thomond Park.
• Meanwhile, it’s four changes for Connacht as they prepare for Sunday’s trip to Wasps.
• Ulster have recalled Ireland internationals Paddy Jackson and Rory Best for tomorrow’s Champions Cup meeting with Clermont at Kingspan Stadium.
• Leinster head coach Leo Cullen says he is “hopeful” of retaining Jamie Heaslip’s services beyond this season.
• West Brom manager Tony Pulis has warned James McClean to cool his behaviour after the fiery Irish winger sparked a melee against Watford last weekend.
• Irishman Jay O’Shea has been named player of the month for November in League One.
• Roscommon manager Kevin McStay has confirmed that former Kerry netminder Declan O’Keeffe will be the county’s goalkeeping coach next year.
• The 2016 Munster and Leinster GAA senior player awards winners have been announced.
• Alan Philpott is adamant that he’s the man to finally bring an end to the dominance of BAMMA’s dual-division champion Tom Duquesnoy.

Away

The NFL continues its expansion of the London series. pool pool

• A new report says more than 1,000 Russian athletes in approximately 30 sports took part in an “institutional conspiracy” to use banned drugs at the Sochi and London Olympics and other global events.
• However, Russia’s Ministry of Sport has rejected claims of state-sponsored doping in the country.
• Police have identified 83 potential suspects in the sex abuse scandal that has rocked English football and believe 98 clubs from all levels have been ‘impacted’, the National Police Chiefs Council said today
• The NFL have confirmed that London will host four regular season games for the first time in 2017.
• Anthony Pettis misses weight for UFC interim featherweight title bout.

The Best Thing We Shared

Remember that Australian guy who punched the kangaroo to save his dog? You may have missed Conor McGregor’s role in the whole incident…

On The Record

“When Diarmuid [Devereux] came to me, the chairman of Wexford, I turned him down.I said: ‘I don’t think I can do this.’

“Now, when I got talking to him and I started to get enthusiastic. I saw where he felt Wexford were … they had players, they had talent, but needed just a different direction or something. And they were so passionate about it.

“It just made me think twice. It made me think that it would be great if another team could join the top ranks.”

Davy Fitzgerald spoke to Alan Waldron at the launch of the Bord na Móna Walsh Cup in Croke Park yesterday.

The Fixture List

• The Champions Cup returns this weekend, with Leinster kicking-off proceedings at Northampton tonight.
• Ulster host Clermont tomorrow, while Leicester travel to Munster tomorrow. On Sunday, Connacht make the trip to Wasps.
• Katie Taylor enters the ring for her second professional fight on Saturday, taking on Swiss-based Brazilian Viviane Obenauf in Manchester.
• Man United against Spurs is the pick of the weekend’s Premier League action.
• There are intropro fixtures in GAA, while St Vincent’s face Rhode in the Leinster Club SFC.
• Meanwhile, Munster take on Connacht and Leinster come up againt Ulster in the women’s rugby interpros.
• UFC 206 will take place in the early hours of Sunday morning.
• Fionnuala McCormack will be hoping for a strong finish to the year at the  European Cross Country Championships in Sardinia on Sunday.

Showbiz, Baby!

The UFC have released a promo to whet the appetite ahead of Ronda Rousey’s much-anticaptated return.

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