Indo Sport
Bits & Bobs | Tiger at 50, and golf's moment of reckoning | An ode to 'greedy' strikers | What the club finals can capture
16 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome, everyone. Friday, bits and bobs coming at you. Happy to say, just like last Friday, Conor Doherty is here. Conor, hello. Hello, Joe.
They're throwing you curveballs. It's a new pairing every week for you at the moment. Yeah, they're really trying to find the right person for me, trying to make this Conor experiment work. John Green, can you get Conor going?
Can you bring the best out of Conor is the question. You're very welcome. Thank you very much, Joe. Indosportpodcast at independent.ie is the email address. And just to remind you, our live show at the Helix is coming into view now. It's 30th of January, a Friday.
We will have Ian Madigan, Eddie O'Sullivan, Luke Fitzgerald, Will Slattery and Sinead Cassano on stage at various points talking all things Six Nations and beyond. If you want to come along, go to thehelix.ie. Lots of you are coming, so we're thrilled with that. We do have a pair of tickets to give away to be in with a chance of winning. Just tell us.
Eddie O'Sullivan, who'll be there on the night, led Ireland at two World Cups. Which country did he coach against Ireland in the 2011 World Cup? Email your answer, please, to indosportpodcast at independent.ie. Ronan will be going through those emails. So maybe say something nice about him as well in the email. And he may look favourably on your contribution.
I bumped into, just before I get into what's going on this weekend, I bumped into John Green in the lift this morning. We got talking about reading because he had a book with him. And John is the life this man is living. He was saying one of his many favourite things to do, but one of his favourite things to do is go to his local pub. 90 minutes approximately, two pints and read. That's great.
I think I said two slow pints. Yeah, well that's implied with 90 minutes.
I'm not saying you chug them. You don't chug them in the first 10 minutes and then live off the buzz for the next hour and a half. How often are you doing this? Every night.
Yeah, definitely once or twice a week.
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Chapter 2: What are the highlights of Tiger Woods' 50th birthday celebrations?
And I tried. And a big Christmas in my house. It was a chilling moment.
It's like, I haven't worn this suit in a year. Oh, no. I thought you were going to say, I said no, but you said I tried.
Oh, I tried.
I was not expecting that honesty.
I tried. Every year, the Six Nations, it kills me, especially if we're not doing much in November, where it's like, oh, here are the clothes I haven't worn in a year. I'm still in good shape. Clothes don't lie. I don't think the clothes shrink just sitting in the wardrobe.
I thought it was a deliberate, you know, relax. Everybody, I've got this. I don't need to be stuffy.
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Chapter 3: How has Tiger Woods' career trajectory changed over the years?
You don't need to worry. Not a power play on my part. Like the thick of it, you know, I love the no tie thing.
No, no, I tried. And I was like, I'm sorry, it's not going to work. Interesting, by the way, just on rounding off that rugby, the Six Nations, I was just reading the London Times of a story. You contrast Ireland. Nobody can get tickets for the games versus Wales. So Wales have France coming to the principality February 15th. Wales against France, a glamour tie in many ways.
And there are still 20,000 tickets that nobody wants. Can't sell them.
That would be a good weekend for a rugby fan.
It did occur to me. And then I was like, geez, maybe an Irish fan will hop over. But then I thought, God, you really will be watching France whip Wales. You know, they're just so bad.
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Chapter 4: What controversies surround Tiger Woods and his personal life?
You know this tradition. I have a few friends doing it this year for the second time to go away on a home international weekend to the other country. So go to Wales. I don't know where Ireland are that weekend. They're probably at home, aren't they?
Italy in week two at home yeah so it's the best time to do it there's a good 20,000 tickets there's a good weekend I think you know the economy the worst part would probably be the game but the rest would be a good weekend oh yeah I said there was a quote from Garrett Davies talking to Wales Online I'm just very sad he's a former out half lion I'm saddened because of what all my mates are saying they're just not interested in the game so it's you know such a crisis Welsh rugby and obviously the tournament is so small I can't really afford to have
two lesser-thens in Wales and Italy. In terms of GAA then, there's obviously inter-county pre-season tournaments, Galway, Mayo and the FBD final, etc. But the club is taking centre stage on Sunday. Dingle of Kerry against Bridges, Roscommon is the football 340 and then half one, Ballygunner, Waterford, Loch Ray of Galway, both on TGKR. The DRA, you were pointing this out, John.
Disputes Resolution Authority, excuse me. So Loch Ray in the Hurling Final, they're seeking their first ever All-Ireland. And their midfielder, who's been a driving force of the team this year, Cullen Keelan, got a red card in the semi-final against Lough Neill for striking with minimal force. And they've gone to the Central Hearings Committee, the Central Appeals Committee.
They don't seem to have the sufficient video evidence to prove that he didn't do it. They're adamant he didn't do it. They don't have the video evidence. And so they're going to the disputes resolution authority. This guy's 19 years of age. It's all very stressful, I'm sure. Like Ray going for their first ever All-Ireland. He's got two brothers in the team.
And in time, honour, tradition, it's going to go late tonight.
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Chapter 5: How does Tiger Woods' return to golf impact the sport?
late tonight a day and a half before the all-in final he doesn't know the 19 year old doesn't know his family don't know the club don't know if their midfielder is playing he was mad in the match in the semi-final semi-final happened December 21st I know there's been layers to this process I know Christmas was in between but I mean the finals in January 18th I think they would have sped that up a little bit and
it's so unnecessary. Like it happens off the ball. So don't know what happens. He did seem complete shocked that the ref gave him a red card. You look at the cameras and it's just, it's happening off camera. It was Brendan Rogers, the stock needle player. Apparently they were holding each other according to the locker room manager.
And he said there was a, he said there was a swinging and he said they weren't swinging hers. No, they were twisting to try and get each other away. And I think he was appealing for Brendan Rogers to come out and, uh,
have a good word for him as well Rodgers was holding his finger now whatever did happen like afterwards could have been unrelated but he was holding his finger and it's not like it was in Rodgers' benefit to get him sent off this was an injury time Stockdale were 14 points down that's why it's all the more unnecessary for Lockery and it would be such a shame for a 19 year old and maybe this was one of those moments for a referee to come over and have a word and say look if I send you off here you're missing the All-Ireland Final but
Is that on the referee to do that? If he did see what he saw and what he saw was right. So it's just a shame we don't have the video evidence to clear it up. And I don't know what the case is to take to the DRA then because there is no video evidence.
You're looking for some technicality there. Someone to sweep in with some. You didn't read him the rights in Irish. But it is eternally strange that they go so close to the wire. There was the Dermot Connolly famous one, wasn't there? Which was like news came through either It must have been night, maybe I was in bed, but it came through late, late that he was in against Mayo.
It has speeded up. You know, I was thinking when you were saying it, like the whole country shuts down for two weeks at Christmas. You can't get anybody to do anything. So trying to get volunteers out to committees, etc. But yeah, I don't know why it couldn't have been, you know, at the start of the week.
Yeah.
Well, we'll see what happens. At least it's not the night before. The Calendly one was.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of LIV Golf on the PGA Tour?
Labour talks. They always have to go deep into the night just to show how hard they fought for their people.
I always thought that. You could never do a deal at three in the afternoon.
Never.
It'd have to be five in the morning.
Also on Premier League, Manchester Derby, Saturday, half twelve. It's on Sky, interestingly, usually TNT slot, but Sky, Liverpool, Burnley, three. Not in Forest Arsenal, half five. If you're interested, 7pm Sunday, Senegal, Morocco is the Africa Cup of Nations final. That's on E4. The boxing, the nationals are on. Finals all day Sunday. That's on TJ Gahar's YouTube page.
Australian Open is obviously on in your mornings if you want. The rights to that bounce around all over the place. It's on TNT this year. NFL playoffs. I asked Will if I was going to watch one game and he said he's all in on Josh Allen. So Broncos, Bills, half nine Saturday. And... PGA Tour is underway for the year ahead over in Hawaii. Sony opens.
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Chapter 7: How does the Irish Open tie into broader economic and political contexts?
So that's kind of the gist of the weekend.
You know, just even doing that quick summary that you do there. Like the hardest job now, that's why I have such admiration for Will Slattery. The hardest job now is trying to find out where the stuff is.
As in what channel? Yeah.
Yeah. Where is this? It took me several days to find out where the African... No, I wasn't very committed to the search. I wasn't Will Slattery-like in my search. But it took me several days to find out where you could watch or couldn't watch the African Nations Cup, for instance.
Yeah. I know there are a lot of rights that float around year to year. So, things to chat about. Some football stories kind of of interest. Czechia, Ireland is 69 days away now. We can smell it.
I've been listening to you the last week or so on the count down. You got me thinking that I should be a little bit ashamed of myself because When I hear the enthusiasm in the countdown here with each passing, doing a couple of weeks now, aren't you? Seem to be, yeah. Started at 80-something days and we're down to 69. And I have absolutely no enthusiasm for it whatsoever.
It's okay.
It's way outside my window.
No, it's all right. Listen, I put the Christmas decorations up before Halloween. I understand that.
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Chapter 8: What role does community play in the club finals discussed?
When he was done and he ate habitually fast, you were done, Haney recalls. And Haney said, well, Haney says that when they got fast food at the house, you know, if he was on a training stint with Woods, Haney would always have to pick up the tab. He seemed to think it was funny to be cheap. I remember Haney complaining that like Woods would go to the kitchen when he's playing his video games.
get one ice pop come back and sit back down beside Haynie and just keep playing this video not say do you want one too it's full of these like these anecdotes and you're like is this true is this is this fair to like that's too detailed to not be true could you make that up like yeah so easy just to with woods it's like there's so much fact and probably a fair degree of fiction and a lot of layers you know complex childhood complex parents yeah
And now, yeah, 50. It's wild. Like, it is funny. Like, you think of the iconic moments in 97, his dad's there to hug him. In 2019, a lot of people suddenly thought it was strange not to see his dad hugging him, but his mum was very much there. Now his mum's passed on. Now Tiger's 50. Now his son Charlie's been playing in these TV golf tournaments for five, 10 years and getting old.
Like, it's weird to think of Woods at 60. You know, the next decade will fly by. If he does play in the Champions Tour, I tell you this. I would watch him on the Champions Tour event over the PGA Tour at the moment on a given weekend. You know, he still has, again, as weird as he looks in his mom jeans and oversized sunglasses and hobbling around, he puts on the black hat and the red.
There is a kind of magnetic force to him. You know, the golf, golf has not got over Tiger Woods yet. No. He just, he just blew it up to this unbelievable level and there's just a massive crater still in the middle of golf. I remember the first time I saw him,
British Open shortly after the scandal 2012 he's kind of beginning to get back playing again Royal Lytham so I've seen I've seen my fair share in person he's one of the few that is maybe starstruck is the word I don't know but like he walked onto the range you do kind of go okay yeah Jesus it's Tiger Woods over there like he's he's in that rarest of echelons of he is yeah he kind of shimmers a bit you know just can't believe he's real
so yeah I don't know do you guys like him do you have strong feelings towards Woods I like the Clark Kent thing that you're talking about yeah that's the strong feeling I have is the red and it's like oh my god Tiger's on the movie 2019 is really when I was engaged with thinking this is actually happening I'm a believer now as well like everybody wanted to believe that the red shirt the teeth of his he's changed as well you know he's
you know it's like you know the way there's two kind of dominant kind of sports there and we're kind of talking about in the kind of individual sports realm here the one who you're still rooting for even though they're winning everything and then there's the one that you want to get beaten and you know say when I was younger like I would have Steve Davis was one I wanted to get beaten you know watching him and seeing him now I think he's great and but Tiger was somebody no matter what he did and he went out the next day and what he was doing you wanted him to win you wanted him to keep doing it
And I think the majority of the crowd... Wanted him to win. They were not cheering the underdog against him.
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