It’s the time of year when us sports journalists get lazy. We put the feet up, dust down the clichés and do what we always do for the final edition of each and every calendar year – we look back.
We reminisce. We remember the way we were.

The first snows fell out our way on Tuesday, the same day the first begging text of many arrived in relation to a certain sporting event in Poland next summer.
Now, it has to be said, the few snowflakes that did land in this part of Meath as your favorite column was compiled were mere novices compared to the heavyweights that visited us this time last year.

This sounds like the scene setter for a love story, but it’s not.

Much has been made of Donegal’s view that defense was the only form of attack in Sunday’s All-Ireland football semifinal against Dublin at Croke Park, an unsuccessful stance as it happened.

Michael O’Neill is now the manager of the Shamrock Rovers side that has just qualified for the group stages of the Europa League, the first Irish team to make it to this level of any European competition.
It’s a big deal by the way. Rovers, whose squad was put together for less than $1 million, could earn close to $3 million in prize money just for getting this far in the new version of the old UEFA Cup.

It’s the coolest thing in the world apparently, at least that’s what my kids told me when the subject came up quite recently and my humble cell phone headed for the bin.
Persuaded to do so by those hardly old enough to know any better, I did invest in the Apple revolution quite recently myself -- not due to the fact that I am only a little less than 30 months away from the half century, more due to necessity.
They've been lining up to partake in a recent Irish tradition all week -- the well-known sport called “Knock Robbie Keane.”
It’s a popular past-time in Ireland, particularly among a particular section of the media who have an opinion on Robbie that’s more immovable than the Statue of Liberty.
In their eyes, Robbie Keane is what we Irish call a chancer. According to them, he is a player of limited talent and even more limited ambition who has made a fortune out of moving on from one club to another.