DUBLIN, Ireland -- Ireland overcame the late withdrawal of captain Paul OConnell to beat Scotland 28-6 in their Six Nations opener at Lansdowne Road on Sunday. Rudy Fernandez Jersey . OConnell picked up a chest infection on Saturday night, but the hugely influential lock wasnt missed for once as his replacement, Dan Tuohy, helped mince up the Scotland lineout in the first half and stand-in skipper Jamie Heaslip led by example with a try and high workrate. Ireland bridged halftime with tries by winger Andrew Trimble and Heaslip, and Jonathan Sexton added 13 points to overtake Michael Kiernan and become his countrys third highest point-scorer in tests. Fullback Rob Kearney, marking his 50th cap, added a late try when the result was already in Irelands grasp. Without OConnell, Sean OBrien and Gordon DArcy, three big contributors in the heart-breaking loss to New Zealand in the last outing in November, there was enough doubt about Irelands ability and mindset to achieve another good start in the last Six Nations for Brian ODriscoll. But the doubts proved unnecessary, as Ireland had enough class and nous for a Scotland still lacking a killer touch, and won its tournament opener for the 10th time in the last 11 years. Even so, Heaslip said coach Joe Schmidt tore into them after the game, saying they needed "huge improvements." The trouble with Ireland is finishing what it starts, unlike its next opponent, Wales, a slow Six Nations starter but fast finisher. The defending champion comes to Dublin next Saturday. "Massive, massive challenge coming," Kearney said. "We have to recover really well now. Weve only got six days, theyve had an extra day. Theyre going for three championships in a row, so were under no illusions." Heaslip and Schmidt said they were shocked to discover OConnell became ill overnight, hardly slept, and saw a doctor at 4:30 a.m. Schmidt said he expected OConnell, plus DArcy, to be available for the Wales game. "Its a relief to me that weve got through the game and got a win on the board," he said. Scotland coach Scott Johnson rued his sides naivety. "We may have to go to some dark places and bring some torches," Johnson said. "Theres a naivety there that well overcome by having some time in the saddle. They dont understand they are doing the hard bits quite easily, but its the finishing off." Scotland began the match by doing what it does best, holding the ball. The Scots worked 11 phases into the Ireland 22 until they were harshly penalized for holding too long. Then Greig Laidlaws long-range penalty hit the left upright. Sexton and Laidlaw swapped penalties, and Ireland ended up leading 6-3 into the second quarter. Not until the last 10 minutes did the heart-rate rise. No. 8 David Denton came closest to a Scotland try when he burst blindside off a ruck 10 metres out and was trying to reach out to the line when he was bowled into touch by scrumhalf Conor Murray and flanker Peter OMahony. As Ireland loosened Scotlands pressure -- winning four Scottish throw-ins helped -- Scots and Lions winger Sean Maitland landed awkwardly on his right ankle from jumping for an up and under and limped off with concussion. Sexton put the pressure back on Scotland by carving past tackles in midfield, and gave Heaslip a shot in the left corner, but the No. 8 stepped over the sideline just before he touched down. Ireland failed twice from five-meter lineouts with seconds to go and Scotlands defence looked like holding, but quick rucks helped Ireland find Scotland short on the right wing, where Kearney gave Trimble the overlap to score for an 11-3 halftime lead. "That gave us a little bit of breathing space," Kearney said. Soon after the restart, Laidlaw cut the deficit to five, but Ireland put the game away in the 47th when Tuohys lineout take was mauled by Ireland and Heaslip scored too easily. Sexton converted for 18-6 and added a third penalty before the hour. Ireland controlled possession throughout the half, and inevitably notched a third try to Kearney, who exploited a tiring defence when he slipped off replacement Alasdair Dickinson and dragged flanker Ryan Wilson to the tryline nine minutes from time. Scotland hosts England next Saturday. Scottie Pippen Jersey . The Detroit Tigers star had microfracture surgery Friday to repair the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee. "I dont want to say it was a surprise," team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said. Theo Ratliff Jersey . The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2). https://www.cheapblazersonline.com/ .com) - Nicolas Colsaerts fired an 11-under 60 on Thursday and grabbed a 3-stroke lead with the opening round of the Portugal Masters suspended by rain.LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Andrew Harrisons three-point play broke a 57-all tie before twin brother Aaron followed with a 3-pointer with 1:20 remaining, helping No. 3 Kentucky escape stubborn Cleveland State 68-61 on Monday night. Trailing 54-44 with 7:41 remaining and needing a breakthrough against the Vikings, the brothers helped the Wildcats close with a 24-7 run including a pair of Aaron Harrison lobs inside to Willie Cauley-Stein for dunks along with a three-point play with 3:55 left to tie it at 54. After Bryn Forbes 3-pointer provided a 57-56 lead, Cauley-Stein made one of two free throws before Andrew Harrison followed with his drive and free throw. Aaron Harrison added a 3-point for a six-point lead. Andrew Harrison scored 12 as the brothers combined for 23. Julius Randle led Kentucky (5-1) with 15 points and 15 rebounds on a night the Wildcats shot just 36 per cent. Forbes 22 points led the Vikings (3-3). Cauley-Stein finished with 11 points for Kentucky, which shot just 19 of 53 from the field. Trey Lewis added 15 points and Sebastian Douglas 13 for Cleveland State, which started both halves shooting well but wilted down the stretch and was outrebounded 42-35. Kentuckys strong finish seemed unlikely late in the game as it struggled to make headway against a Vikings team that led by as many as 11 and seemed to answer every Wildcats charge with a basket that silenced the crowd. Then came the Wildcats final flourish that ended a tense game featuring five ties and six lead changes, prompting 21,067 to give the Vikings a standing ovation after the final buzzer. Kentucky was playing for the first time since last Tuesdays 29-point rout of UT Arlington, but there wasnt much down time as coach John Calipari used the break to teach his talented youngsters the finer points of defence. Besides teaching the zone, his main point was getting the Wildcats to play through the entire defensive possession instead of standing around. Portland Trail Blazers Gear. Whatever Kentucky learned during a weekend of instruction seemed to be initially forgotten as the Wildcats all-freshmen starting line was outhustled by the Vikings, who beat them for a couple of easy baskets inside. Cleveland State leading scorer Bryn Forbes them burned them for a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the arc because of a failed switch. The Vikings had several of those moments in making five of their first six from the field and 6 of 10 en route to a 19-12 lead that created a nervous murmur in the Rupp Arena crowd. Kentucky battled back with a 15-5 run for a 27-24 lead but Cleveland State scored the final seven points of the half thanks to Forbes three free throws after being fouled by Dominique Hawkins. That gave him and Sebastian Douglas 10 points each at the break for the Vikings, who shot just 11 of 32 (34 per cent) but outscored Kentucky 12-8 on second-chance points and matched the Wildcats in the paint (14-14). Kentucky meanwhile missed all six attempts from long range and were 7 of 26 overall (27 per cent) in the first half, a struggled that continued with a 2-of-7 start to the second half. Cleveland State meanwhile began the half strongly like the first to build its biggest lead at 44-33 with 14:11 and forcing Calipari to call timeout. The Wildcats responded to get within 47-44 with 9:21 left on two Randle free throws but the Vikings kept going at Kentucky as Trey Lewis banked a shot over two defenders while Douglas sank a 3-pointer for an eight-point lead at 52-44. Kentucky played without reserve forward Jon Hood, who sustained a head injury in Saturdays practice and is being evaluated on a daily basis. ' ' '