Much of this weekend's sporting focus looked at the return of the Premier League, as almost all the teams were in action across Saturday and Sunday.
Soccer
Manchester United kicked off the league on Saturday afternoon against Tottenham Hotspur as want-away goalkeeper David de Gea looked on from the stands, but they only triumphed by virtue of a Kyle Walker own goal. The rest of the afternoon's games featured Watford giving Everton a good scare, while Bournemouth were another of the promoted sides who did not get on as well as they sunk to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa. Many were predicting disaster for Leicester under Ranieri, but they got off to a flying start with a 4-2 win over Sunderland, while Alan Pardew's Crystal Palace won 3-1 against newly promoted Norwich. Chelsea failed to impress either as they drew 2-2 with Swansea, and were reduced to 10 men after Thibaut Courtois was sent off.
Despite looking impressive in parts against Chelsea last weekend, Arsenal got off to a terrible start by slumping to a 2-0 defeat against West Ham today. Keith Andrews and Dave McIntyre were there for us, and they covered the major talking points which focused more on the Hammers' strengths than anything else.
Similarly, Nathan Murphy and Kevin Kilbane watched Liverpool take on Stoke, a game which exploded into life late on with a stunning Philippe Coutinho strike. They were on hand to give their thoughts afterwards too, as Rodgers banished the ghosts of last season's 6-1 hammering on the final day.
Fantasy football fans might want to assess the damage to their teams and see if they can follow our expert's advice to avoid getting caught out again next week.
GAA
It was a similarly busy weekend at Croke Park as Kilkenny took on Waterford in a tie that saw the Cats progress to their 14th All-Ireland final under Brian Cody, a simply stunning achievement no matter what way you slice it.
Mayo also overcame the challenge of Donegal with an eight point win, and while Aidan O'Shea was once again hugely impressive, it was Lee Keegan's "did he mean it?" strike that grabbed all the headlines afterwards. Similarly, Tyrone were able to overcome Monaghan in a match that descended into an ill-tempered affair as Monaghan once against saw their hopes in the Championship disappear in front of their eyes.
Rugby
Ireland's World Cup campaign began with a warm up match against Wales, and while the talk had focused on a punishing fitness regime being undertaken by Gatland's side, it was Ireland who looked the sharper and more ready for action in a dominating display.
A number of players made a strong case for their inclusion in Joe Schmidt's final squad, chief among them was Keith Earls, whose performance on the day was outstanding. Although they lead at one stage by a socre of 7-35, they took the foot off the gas and allowed Wales back into it slightly after a raft of changes, finishing up 21-35 victors. There were also injury worries for Tommy O'Donnell and Andrew Trimble, which may put their role in the final tournament in doubt.
In other news, Mo Farah wants the data relating to his anti-doping tests made public in the wake of the huge doping scandal which hit athletics last week, where it was suspected that as many as one-third of all medals in recent years have been won by athletes with suspicious tests.
The inaugural Dublin Ironman event took place this weekend, and while French athlete Denis Chevrot was first across the line, the Irish still had a very solid showing on home turf. A number of Irish boxers have been involved in the European Elite Championships, and Joe Ward has already claimed a victory so far. Golfer Shane Lowry is in contention heading into the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio and was only two shots off the lead when he teed off.
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