TYRONE have made two changes to the team that will face Down in Sunday's Ulster Football Championship replay at Clones.
Fay Devlin has won back his defensive place after his omission for the drawn game last weekend, and comes in at left-half-back at the expense of Paul Donnelly.
Midfielder Jody Gormley has lost his place to veteran Enda Kilpatrick, who will play his first championship game in four years after coming out of retirement.
Kilpatrick, a former Tyrone captain missed last Sunday's game with a rib injury sustained in a friendly against Fermanagh on Easter Monday. Gerard Cavlan has also won his battle against injury and will again line out in midfield.
Surprisingly there is no starting slot for Brian Dooher, a success when he came in a second-half substitute last weekend. Dooher was at the centre of all positive in Tyrone's second-half power play as they pegged back a four-point deficit to earn the replay.
As expected, Down manager Peter McGrath has made only one change to his side with James McCartan coming in to the half-forward line for the suspended Peter Withnell.
Both Greg Blaney and Greg McCartan are tentatively feeling their way back into the game after very little match practice. Last Sunday's game will have done them good and it's believed the Down camp are hoping they are able to make a bigger impact on the replay. Wing-half-back Danny Flynn is believed to be suffering from a dead leg but has been named in the starting fifteen.
Down: M McVeigh; G Mason, S Ward, L Howlett; D Flynn, R Carr, C Murray; C Deegan, G McCartan; J Treanor, G Blaney, J McCartan, M Linden, C McCabe, G Deegan Subs: P Travers, M McAvoy, G McFerron, S Poland, C Pat McCartan, B McCartan, A McGivern, A Farrell, S McMahon
Tyrone: F McConnell; P Devlin, P O'Neill, C Lawn; N Donnelly, F Logan, F Devlin; E Kilpatrick, G Cavlan; A Cush, S McCallan, C Loughran; C McBride, S Lawn, P Canavan.
Celtic yesterday gave David Hay the green light to launch a Parkhead star search – in the absence of a new manager.
Chief scout Hay has been appointed as acting football manager by chairman Fergus McCann following the departure of Tommy Burns. Former manager Hay survived the purge which saw Burns and his assistant Billy Stark leave and now he is being asked to look for new players and negotiate contracts.
McCann, meanwhile, will be "identifying prospects" for the jobs of general manager and head coach – the much-vaunted new structure he outlined the day after Burns left on May 3.
Ironically it was Burns who brought his former manager back to the club when he arrived from Kilmarnock in 1994. Former Scotland international Hay bossed Celtic from 1983 to 1987, leading them to the 1985 Scottish Cup triumph over Dundee United and the premier division championship in 1986, when they overhauled Hearts on the final day
Worldwide coverage of gaelic games is set for a massive expansion in the summer with the announcement that Sky Sports are to cover the sports for the first time ever.
Croke Park has announced that Belfast company Sterling Productions, who handle the overseas franchise, have struck a deal with Sky and various television companies throughout the world which will dramatically enhance the games' profile.
The most significant of these deals is with Sky. Sky Sports II are showing a one-hour preview/review programme on Thursday nights at 10pm which comprises edited footage from both UTV and RTE networks.
The first of these was broadcast last night showing highlights of the Down v Tyrone game as well as previewing the Galway v Mayo clash in Connacht. Features and player profiles will also become regular slots on the programme.
Sky are taking over the British franchise from Channel Four who have held it for four years. As well as Sky Sports, who have bought exclusive rights in Britain and Europe, Fox Sports Network in America are taking a weekly one-hour package throughout the season as well as various deals throughout Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Asia. The GAA's PRO Danny Lynch said: "A couple of years ago we had no overseas coverage and now the games are being beamed to every corner of the world. This has to be good news for everyone concerned with the GAA."
