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. 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. Nike Vapormax En Gros . -- Hal Steinbrenner says Alex Rodriguez is "a great player" and "obviously an asset," but the New York Yankees managing general partner wouldnt discuss the third basemans possible return to the team following a season-long suspension. Nike Joyride Run Norge . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. http://www.vapormaxnorge.com/vapormax-herre-norge/vapormax-hvit.html . And yet as they left TD Garden amid the slush and snow of a winter storm on Thursday evening, there was a sense among the Leafs that they had finally stood toe to toe with their long-time bully, only to fall just short. Vapormax Svart Herre Norge . Expensive. The NFL fined Tomlin $100,000 on Wednesday for interfering with Baltimores Jacoby Jones on a kickoff return in the third quarter of a 22-20 loss to the Ravens on Thanksgiving night. Nike Sko Vapormax . If there is one club built to handle an off-field controversy, its the Bill Belichick era Patriots. Even if New Englands offence stumbles a bit out of the gate, their defence can help them stay in games, especially in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in the first two weeks.(SportsNetwork.com) - Mark Buehrle tries to follow up a terrific season debut on Tuesday when the Toronto Blue Jays open a three-game set with the Houston Astros at Rogers Centre. Buehrle turned back the clock on Wednesday against Tampa Bay, as the 35-year- old left-hander scattered four hits and struck out 11 over 8 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win. Remarkably, it was only the second time in Buehrles 15-year career he had double-digit strikeouts. It was a sharp contrast to his first few starts from a year ago which saw him allow at least five runs in five of his first seven outings. "He was really good; he might have found the fountain of youth," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said in a half-joking manner. "He said all spring training long that hes felt the best he has felt in a long, long time." Buehrles fast start could continue, as he was 2-0 with a 0.53 ERA in two starts against Houston last season. After taking two of three from the Rays to start the season, the Blue Jays dropped two of three to the New York Yankees and come into Tuesdays opener having lost three of their last four games. The offense has been the main culprit, as the team is hitting just .196 (9- for-46) with runners in scoring position through seven games. Still, Toronto has hit eight homers accounting for 12 of its 22 runs thus far. "Weve got a few guys in our lineup that are cold right now," said Gibbons. "Weve wwon a few games, gotten some pretty good pitching, so Im optimistic (wins will come) once they get going.ddddddddddddIt shouldnt be that far off. Too many of them have proven themselves in the past." That could be good news for 24-year-old lefty Brett Oberholtzer, who will be looking to bounce back from a loss to the Yankees his first time out. Oberholtzer gave up three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings of that one. Houston has lost four of five since winning its first two games against the Yankees. On Monday the Astros were walloped by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 9-1, in the finale of a four-game set at Minute Maid Park. The Astros are also off to a slow start at the plate this year, hitting .191 as a team through seven games. Nearly a quarter of their hits (10-of-41) have been home runs and they have nearly as many extra-base hits (20) as they do singles (21). Mondays setback was also third time in the last four games that the team managed to push just one run across the plate. Toronto was 4-3 against the Astros last season. Astros line-up Robbie Grossman 7 Jose Altuve 4 Jesus Guzman 3 Jason Castro 2 Chris Carter DH L.J. Hoes 9 Matt Dominguez 5 Alex Presley 8 Jonathan Villar 6 Brett Oberholtzer 1 Blue Jays line-up Cabrera 7 Lind DH Bautista 9 Encarnacion 3 Navarro 2 Lawrie 5 Rasmus 8 Izturis 4 Diaz 6 Buehrle 1 ' ' '