1. #RIP The world of Gaelic games is this morning in shock after the tragic death of Michaela Harte in Mauritius.
The 27-year-old, who is the daughter of Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte, was found dead in the bathroom of her hotel in Mauritius by her husband, where she was on honeymoon.
The police chief responsible for the investigation told TheJournal that he is confident a breakthrough will have been made in the case by this afternoon.
2. #KING Kenny Dalglish has admitted he would be “delighted” to accept the Liverpool manager’s job on a full-time basis after Damien Comolli, the club’s director of football strategy, confirmed the club legend will be considered for the post at the end of the season.
3. #SIX NATIONS After concerns for Geordan Murphy’s fitness this weekend, Declan Kidney confirmed that the Leicester skipper is ‘not looking good for the Italy game’.
Murphy was injured in the Tigers’ win over Northampton on Saturday and is believed to have injured ankle ligaments.
4. #TOURNAMENT Ireland look set to be involved in a revived “Home Nations” tournament being planned by the English FA and backed by their new sponsors, the Vauxhall brand of car manufacturer General Motors, according to Emmet Malone.
5. #CRITICISM He hasn’t gone away you know.
Former All-Ireland winning manager Ger Loughnane has launched a stunning attack on former Clare players Tony Griffin and Tony Carmody, accusing the pair of letting their county down.
6. RANSOM The IRFU can’t compete with heavy-hitting French clubs, according to union chief Philip Browne.
But he says they will not ‘bankrupt itself’ in its attempts to persuade the country’s top-shelf internationals to ignore the lure of lucrative contracts.
7. #RACING Robert Thornton will be on board Forpadydeplasterer for Saturday’s rearranged William Hill King George VI Chase at Kempton unless something untoward happens to Barry Geraghty’s mount Riverside Theatre.
8. #LET’S GET READY… American promoter Lou DiBella last night confirmed that middleweight stars Andy Lee and John Duddy will face each other in mid-March.
Gerry Callan reports in The Star that the pair will at last meet at the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket in Connecticut.
9. #AWARDS Leo Messi won FIFA’s Ballon D’Or last night, much to his surprise.
Glentoran’s Matty Burrows missed on the Puskas award for his goal against Portadown.
The Glens forward was nominated for his 15-yard back-heeled volley against Portadown in November but Hamit Altintop won the award for his goal for Turkey against Kazakhstan.
