Mayo magic rewarded with six All Stars

Only in 1971 was there a wider spread of counties represented in the All Star Football awards, this year’s selection featuring players from eight counties – and, need it be said, All-Ireland champions Mayo are top of the tree with six awards. Malachy Clerkin takes you through the chosen 15, among them Kobe McDonald, who becomes just the third 18-year-old in history to make it in to the football team of the year. Will any of the omissions cause a rumpus? Heck yes, not least that of Paudie Clifford.

Followers of Salthill-Knocknacarra would, no doubt, nominate Tomó Culhane as Footballer of the Year after his injury-time goal last Sunday earned the club its first Galway title since 2012. A “moment of glory,” as Ciarán Murphy describes it, “a Galway showpiece had never seen 60 seconds of football like the minute that decided this one”.

The way things had been going, there was a certain inevitability to James McClean and Derry City breaking up some time soon. It came to pass on Wednesday with the announcement that his contract had been terminated. Gavin Cooney reflects on the conclusion to “this miserable episode”. “There is likely a sense of relief on both sides,” he writes, but “there should be sadness too”.

There was nothing but glee over at Fleetwood Town after they produced “one of the greatest giant-killings in English football history” when they beat Arsenal in the League Cup on Tuesday. And there were a fair few Irish fingerprints all over the triumph too, as David Gorman tells us.

In rugby, it’s been some week for James McNabney. First, he was called up to the Ireland squad, and then he signed a new contract with Ulster that will keep him at the club until at least 2029. Gerry Thornley talks to the man they call “Horse”.

And Michael Scully hears from Munster winger Shay McCarthy ahead of Saturday’s URC game against the Sharks, the 23-year-old relishing his impressive run in the team. He was a gifted young footballer and was once invited for a trial with Brighton, but he has no regrets about shifting his sporting focus to rugby.

In motorsport, Ian O’Riordan reports on the dilemma facing Formula 2 driver Alex Dunne – should the 20-year-old from Offaly bide his time and wait for his chance in Formula 1, or should he make the leap to Indycar racing?

And in his America At Large column, Dave Hannigan fills us in on how baseball is on the brink of chaos with “the gloomy prospect of a lockout potentially wiping out the 2027 season”. And all because the billionaires who own 27 of the 30 Major League clubs think players earn too much. “Greed is all well and good for money crunchers, but seemingly not for those preternaturally gifted with a bat or ball in hand.”

TV Watch: Galwegian Liam Nolan makes his final push for a full DP World Tour playing card at the Challenge Tour’s Grand Final in Mallorca which gets under way today (Sky Sports Golf, from 11am). Nolan is 10th on the order of merit going in to tournament – he just needs to stay inside the top 15. Everton and Newcastle meet in the League Cup at 7.45pm (Sky Sports Plus), and at 8pm, Manchester City host PSG in the women’s Champions League (BBC2 and Disney Plus).