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Well the votes are in and counted. Some people had nominated series of movies as one entry. In these cases I made an assumption to the most popular. e.g. if you nominated 'Lord of the Rings (all 3 of them)' I selected the most popular LOTR movie as your single vote.

Despite the very late start this year we had 42 entrants into the poll, with 113 movies nominated in total. A first place nomination merited 5 points, all the way down to 1 point for 5th place.

And so........

The 2007 GAA Board FAb 50 Movies are ......

Hi All,

Well we're a bit late with this this year, but Billy has spurred me into action. As time is short, we'll expedite the process, but unlike slacker Billy, I'll try and do the whole process

1. Nominate your 5 favourite movies of all time in order of preference from 1st down to 5th, and if there is multiple 'versions' (like Miracle on 34th Street) please put down the relevant year of the version you like.
2. Also, as a new feature, nominate your favourite Actor and Actress and we'll run this side by side.

That's all for now. I will close the nominations at 5 pm on Monday, and will publish 50-31 on Tuesday, 30-21 on Wednesday, 20-11 on Thursday and the top 10 countdown on Friday. (We're finished here on Friday).

Let's get going....

Ziggy reminded me of a frequent problem I have encountered, namely how do you address, or refer to a female or group of females, when you are speaking to a female.

As is often the case with women, I find that there is no safe phrase.

If you say: 'That girl', 'Hello girls' or 'Those girls', many women feel it is belittling them, especially if they are over 25 or so.
If you say: 'That lady', 'Hello ladies' or 'Those ladies', many women feel it is belittling them as they associate it with olden times when women were seen as weaker.
If you say: 'That woman', 'Hello Women' or 'Those Women', it seems to be a bit more acceptable, but still very 'impersonal'.

How do ye refer to them, or is it something that costs ye a thought at all? It's these questions that consume me on a Friday afternoon

For the record, I usually say : 'That woman', 'Hello Lads', and 'Those Women',

Excellent result for Birr yesterday. Obviously Shefflin and Cha being out was a huge blow to Ballyhale, but Birr rolled back the years with some of their hurling. Traditional Offaly defending in hooking and blocking was very important as well. Ballyhale missed chances at a vital time, but in fairness to Birr, they looked by far the more competent team from about 10 minutes into the second half. Great stuff out of the likes of the Whelehans, Niall Claffey, Rory Hanniffy and Dylan Hayden. Ballyboden will be a different kettle of fish in the final, they'll be mad enthusiastic, fired up and keen, but I hope Birr can go on now and win an unlikely Leinster.

Is the tide turning, or at least ebbing? With Birr, and the Under 21s , that's two wins in a row for Offaly teams against Kilkenny teams. Small acorns and all that.

It's World Series time again and last night in Game 1 the American League's Boston Red Sox hosted the National League's Colorado Rockies. The Rockies had a long lay off after sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 in the NLCS, while the Red Sox had to come from 3-1 down to beat the Cleveland Indians 4-3 in the ALCS. The lay off may not have helped the Rockies too much, but there was more to it than that last night as the Sox absolutely destroyed them in front of a packed Fenway Park. Red Sox ace Josh Beckett pitched 7 innings of consumate play off baseball, as he struck out 9, walked only 1 and gave up one Earned Run off 6 hits. Mike Timlin and Eric Gagne came in and closed out the Rockies with a perfect inning each. With the bat in hand, most of the Boston Red Sox did the business. Dustin Pedrois (2B) led off the game with a Home Run, and it got better from there on. Big Pappy, David Ortiz (DH), went 3 for 5 with 2 Runs Batted In and 2 Runs Scored himself, while Manny Ramirez (LF) went 3 for 4, plus a walk, driving in 2 runs and scoring 3 himself.

For the Rockies Todd Helton (1B) went 2 for 4, while Troy Tulowitzki (SS) had their only RBI as he went 2-4 himself. The Rockies' pitchers had a collective nightmare. Starter Jeff Francis lasted 4 innings, but in that time he gave up 10 hits, 6 earned runs, including the game's only home run, 3 walks and had an unhealthy ERA of 13.50. Speaking of ERA, it would be hard to match Franklin Morales, who came in in relief. He managed to get out only 2 Red Sox, and in the process gave up 7 earned runs of 6 hits with one walk for a horrendous ERA of 94.50.  The other 4 pitchers who came in managed to shut the stable door, but the Red Sox horse had well and truly bolted at that stage, and was frollicking merrily on the way to the biggest ever World Series Opening Game win.

It'll be tough for the Rockies to swing this momentum around, but in Baseball strange things can happen, as so much of the game hinges around the form of the starting pitchers, and there will be 2 different lads on the hill tonight: Ubaldo Jiminez for the Colorado Rockies, and veteran gunslinger Curt Schilling for the Red Sox.

Well lads, the countdown is on in earnest now. 33 days by my reckoning. Hopefully the Dolphins and Giants will have a couple of wins under their belts by then so that the game truly is meaningful.

Who from here is going? I know Turk, LoneShark and Myself are all heading over. I thought I saw SuperDuperCooper and SammyG as well were heading?

Surprised this hasn't been mentioned, or did I mis-hear the news this morning? I thought I heard that Tony Considine got the bullet from the Clare County Board last night? Whatever about the performances under Considine, I think Davy Fitz, his Father, and a couple of others did their county no favours at all this year with the constant sniping, and undermining of Considine.

Well All,

Looking for a decent hotel close enough to Wemberleee for the October weekend. Myself and the brother (and half of the GAA board apparently ) are heading over to the Dolphins - Giants game.

I presume you would be better staying north side? Or would it be just as handy in the centre of town?

Great stuff. Now, send out the clarion call for Home of hurling, Lemon, BottlethrowerX, Treasurer, GalteeGael, Ciaran Carey's hurling Arm, First Touch Joe Cooney etc etc.

Gather one, gather all

Well lads, what are your thoughts re this qualifier next Saturday? Home advantage to Tipp should help them, but surely the saga with Limerick will have left them jaded. Also, will Babs Keating still have the players mentally willing to play for him? If there was tension beforehand, I can't imagine losing to Limerick and entering the Qualifiers will have done much for morale.

Having said all that, Tipperary are probably a bit further on in their development at the moment than Offaly, and would on paper be the better team by 5 or 6 points. Formlines generally go out the window with Offaly as they are so inconsistant, but Tipps close encounters with Limerick reflects better on them than Offaly's capitulation in the relegation play off.

This is a big game for Offaly, if they want to continue the mini-momentum that has been built up with a solid first half display against the Cats, followed by a victory over Kilkenny in the Under 21's a week and a bit later. There are at least 10 senior panellists on the Under21 team, so hopefully that win will reinforce their belief that there is nothing to fear at this level.

Again, we need to make sure Tipp don't rattle in 3 or 4 goals. They have scored goals in all the games against Limerick, and we have a penchant for conceding by the lorryload. We held the Cats to 1 goal, and were not cut open too often by the runs through the middle. John Carroll is fairly adept at those types of run, so he needs to be curtailed by Oakley, Kenny or Brady, who are all big lads themselves, although not as, emm, powerful.

Obviouslly Eoin Kelly will need to be curtailed, but that is easier said than done. It's generally a case of damage limitation with him, although David Franks might be able to do a job on him, if he gets some sort of support out the field in terms of limiting ball in.

If our backs perform in a similar fashion to the Kilkenny game, then we have a real chance, but only if our forwards lift their game significantly, which I expect them to do to be honest. The likes of Rory Hanniffy and Joe Bergin need to be a lot more involved than they were in Portlaoise. Joe Bergin is suffering from the fact that he is a great white hope in a county with a small pick, so the likes of Rory, Gary, Brian Carroll and Brendan Murphy need to take the pressure off him from a scoring perspective, and let him flourish with loose shoulders.

All in all, there are more unknowns about Tipperary than Offaly, especially about the external factors such as Tiredness, Camp Disharmony, etc etc but I still would have to make Tipperary marginal favourites. However, I will not be one bit surprised if Offaly beat them, which will make Offaly a live contender for a quarter final place.

Just came across this interview from 2001 on the internet. It's an interview with Matt Connor on Weeshie Fogarty's Terrace Talk on Radio Kerry. It's a tribute show to Matt and shows the esteem he is held in down in the Kingdom.

Our greatest ever player, and a shocking loss to Offaly. Set us back 10 years.

http://terracetalkireland.com/interviews/Matt-connor.htm

Well lads,

I suppose we might as well start a thread for this game, even though it is simply a stepping stone on the Dubs relentless march towards greatness, or another August collapse, but in any case I can't see too many people thinking Offaly can trouble the Dubs.

On the face of it, you would have to agree with them, but there are a couple of things which may give pause for thought, even though the prediction may be the same.

1) Offaly may be better this year than last. Despite getting relegated to the new Div 4, ( a disgrace by the way) the Offaly team as set out against Carlow looked a good bit better balanced than last year's model. The Full back line is a serious doubt in my mind, but the Half Backs and Half forwards are better, or at least better on paper. Alan McNamee has another fielder at midfield with him, albeit a young and raw one, but that may give him a chance of some parity in that sector. The Full Forward line, with a pure Full Forward type in PJ Ward, also looked fairly solid against bad opposition, so it will be interesting to see if Nialler, Ward and Thommo will do the business against an improving Dublin full back line.

2) Offaly were closer than people think in hindsight last year. Until Alan McNamee got sent off and the goal shortly afterwards, they were still within touching distance. It was always on the cards that the Dubs would pull away, but a few bad Offaly wides when Dublin were vulnerable let them off the hook, and the red card and goal sealed the deal.

3) Dublin will give you a chance. Whether it is mental attitude, brittleness or whatever, Dublin always seem to give a sucker an even break. They find it very hard to really kill teams off, and you nearly always have a chance to claw them back, and maybe even go ahead. If you fail to get ahead of them, they then seem to let out a collective sigh of relief, and kick on to beat you going away, but if you do go ahead, they can be beaten. If Brian Farrell hadn't kicked the equalising chance badly wide yesterday, I don't think Dublin would have pulled away. It was like a weight off their shoulders when he did so.

4) Freetaking. Dublin have perfectly competent freetakers, such as Mossy Quinn, Vaughan and Keaney, but they are notoriously hot and cold, perhaps excepting Keaney. If both Quinn and Vaughan have off days, it's a big boost for the opposition.

All in all Dublin, on paper, should be too good for Offaly. Their movement and fitness when in full flow is a joy to behold, and if they keep it up for 70 minutes, Offaly would be lucky to keep it to single digits. However..... The devil is in the detail. It's a big IF for Dublin to keep it up for 70, and (here comes another one) IF Offaly keep in touch, within 2,3 or 4 points, and take the chances that will come their way at that stage in the second half, about 55 -65 minutes when the Dubs tend to hit a speed wobble, Offaly can do it.

We travel more in hope than expectaion. And we know it will take a poor enough Dublin performance and a very good Offaly one, but we will go, and we will try. We are the Faithful.

Uibh Fhailí Abú

2)

Jaysus, just when it seemed RTE were going to do the right thing by showing both big games, they go and hose it all up. I'd say I wasn't alone in contemplating a nice Father's Day watching 2 games live (Donegal v Tyrone and Waterford v Cork in my case) and following it up with the full recorded Dublin Meath game.

It would have been easy to avoid talk of the game, but what do RTE do? Right plonk in the top left corner every 10 or 15 minute, updates from Dublin Meath. For Jaysus sake, could they not just let people check the radio or teletext if they really wanted to find out the score of a game they were probably taping???

Idiots.

Footnote, having seen that Dublin were 13-09 up I switched over to watch the last 15 minutes, and of course there in the top corner was the final score from Thurles, so anyone who chose the football and to tape the hurling was equally stymied.

Lads, did any of you ever read this book by Alan English? Picked it up in paperback over the weekend and it is a great read. It brings out the characters really well, the background and the atmosphere.

It also doesn't shy away from some of the negative stuff, and the paranoia that gripped Limerick Rugby especially at that time. (Maybe paranois is the wrong word).

Excellent first person accounts from Ginger McLoughlin, Donal Canniffe, Brendan Foley and a host of other participants on the day.

Genuinely one of the better sports books I've read. Far better than either of the accounts of the Heineiken Cup win.

Anyone in Tullamore yesterday? A huge let down for the O'Moore men. They were never really in the game at all, apart from the melee that broke out before the game started. (Were the hurlers of the country under orders yesterday?)

Savage haul for Damien Murray, something like 1-12 out of the 1-26, but I really thought Laois would put it up to our lads. If it wasn't for the keeper, and James Young's frees, this would have been of Kilkenny - Offaly 2005 proportions.

A good win for a young Offaly team though, and it does re-inforce the view that we are still (just) on the second tier of hurling counties, so mayber there is something to build on.

The worrying thing as far as I can see is that if Kilkenny hammer Offaly (which they are likely to do) then where does that put the likes of Laois?


Also, the championship structure is a joke. A stupid joke.  If Offaly were to deliberately lose yesterday they would find themselves in a qualifier group with Galway, Clare, Antrim and Themselves. Finishing second there would be eminently achievable, thus getting to the quarter final.

If, as expected, Kilkenny beat them next time out, they will be in a group with Dublin/Wexford, Tipperary/Limerick and Cork/Waterford. And if you finish second there, you get exactly the same prize. MAdness.

[Opening Balance €100]

Hi Lads,

I had an idea yesterday for a bit of craic this summer which might also help a good cause or two. I always have a couple of small flutters on most of the championship matches during the summer, and I usually (touch wood) end up ahead by the end of the year. This year I've decided to bet on EVERY championship match, as long as I have funds to do so, and to give the balance at the end of the year to Charity. I think it's appropriate that this Charity would be the Cormac McAnallen trust and hopefully the Tony Griffen Cancer Cycle.

I have €100 in my PP account (Sorry LoneShark, but its handier to use in Ireland with Laser Cards), and will use that as our seed money to kickstart the season.

Now, what do I want ye to do?

I thought it might be a bit of craic to spread the responsibility a bit I'll post the championship fixtures I'm betting for the week in this thread, and will ask for everyone to respond with their predictions. Come 5 O'Clock this evening (and every Friday evening) I'll simply place a tenner on the most popular result. On Monday monday morning I'll update the running total and the results with any monies won.

(If anyone else wanted to do something similar, feel free, I won't be patenting the idea , and as long as it goes to a worthwhile Charity we can feel good about partaking in the Devil's pastime (Sorry LoneShark)).

OK. Here we go. No pressure (All Odds Paddy Power Odds)

Opening Balance €100

Ulster SFC
Cavan (8/13) v Down (7/4) (Draw 13/2)

Leinster SFC
Longford (6/4) v Westmeath (8/11) (Draw 13/2)

Connacht SFC
New York (7/1) v Sligo (1/16) (Draw 14/1)

Uslter SHC
Antrim (1/33) v London (8/1) (Draw 20/1)

Derry (1/14) v Armagh (6/1) (Draw 18/1)



So that'll be €50 to bet this week.

Cheers

I don't think anyone has mentioned this so far today, so I'll start. Thank God I eschewed the temptation of Nenagh yesterday in favour of the double header in Thurles. Not so much because of the quality on display in Semple Stadium, but the action in Nenagh would have given me a stroke.

The first game in Thurles yesterday had the very distinct feel of Kilkenny saying 'Ye think ye are on the way back? Ye are in my arse' as they simply blitzed Wexford. They could have won this game by as much as they wanted to, and only Darren Stamp's great finish for a meaningless goal in garbage time ensured Offaly the dubious pleasure of heaviest defeat of the weekend.

All over the field Wexford were outplayed, and Kilkenny's stick work , while not 100% just yet, and physicality mean they are already shaping up as clear favourites for the Championship this year, and any team that is going to beat them will have to stand up to them physically, and try to spoil them. Wexford did not have the bodies OR the strength of will for that yesterday. From the first moment when Cha Fitzpatrick batted down for Fogarty to goal in the first minute, the tone was set, notwithstanding Darren Stamp's first goal, also a cracker. Stamp's goal only proved to be a minor irritation though, as the likes of Brennan, Fogarty, Cha Fitz, Lyng et al tore Wexford asunder. Skippy Ruth looked totally at sea in on Cha in the first half, and the whole KK forward line were in front of their men all day. Doc O'Connor was about the best of them, but even he had som hairy moments. In the second half Ruth improved slightly, but I have the feeling that improvement came about as he adopted a more agricultural approach to stopping Cha, and the ref didn't have the interest in stopping the game for a plethora of frees.

Rossiter was a severe disappointment at centre back for the Yellowbellies as well. Eoin Larkin didn't hurl up a storm, but he still comfortably controlled that area for the Cats.

All in all it was fairly forgettable, and Wexford will have to forget it if there promising form up to now is not to be wasted coming into the Championship.

The second game was an entirely different affair. Bordering on championship intensity at times, it is a big win for Waterford in that it was a close game, right to the wire, and they had the extra kick at the end to finish it. That sort of experience and feeling cannot be bought. It has to be earned and may stand to Waterford at the business end of the summer.

They seem to have unearthed a full back in Declan Prendergast, he had a stormer, especially in the second half, although there is a nagging feeling that Ken McGrath is too loose at #6 and Prendergast may be needed to shore up that area, which would again rob Peter to pay Paul. James Murray again looked very ill at ease in the corner, while the Decie Eoin Murphy looked a little unsure at times, but was solid enough.

The half back line is the best and worst of Waterford, especially in relation to McGrath and Brown. The have beautiful stickmen there, but McGrath especially is very open. He lets the Centre Forward play his game, and Ken concentrates on his own. Against Niall McCarthy you are not going to be crucified for that, but against a Shefflin/ Comerford/ Fitzpatrick/ Larkin, you could end up conceding 7 or 8 points from play.

Brick Walsh got through a power of work, especially in the second half, and Jack Kennedy was lively all throughout at midfield.

Up front is another conundrum for Waterford. Against the likes of Diarmuid O'Sullivan and Sean Og, Dan Shanahan and Seamus Prendergast are a little timid. I don't mean cowardly or anything, but they certainly are not a physically dominating as you would expect given their size. They seem very susceptible to being 'hooshed' off the ball. Waterford looked a much better outfit when Eoin Kelly went into Full Forward and started running O'Sullivan all over Semple Stadium. Shanahan went to the wing and Waterford looked dangerous. I'd be positioning the big lads on the 40 and let them win the ball there. Shane Walsh, Eoin Kelly and Mullane have the legs to threaten anybody and Mallumphey is a great little worker.

Justin McCarthy though, seems to have trouble deciding what is his best layout, and in my opinion is far too quick to make changes for the sake of it. And even when things are going well, he changes again. I would guess that the Waterford forwards played in at least 3 different positions each yesterday, which is very unsettling as a player, especially if you are going well in the position you are being moved from.

All in all a great win for Waterford, and Cork won't mind too much either, as it was a good hard game in their preparation. Ronan Curran was excellent at Centre Back I thought, while Sean Og and Tom Kenny had their moments. The O'Connors were quiet enough overall, although Ben, a late replacement for Joe Deane, looked lively enough. Corks problems still lie with Scoring forwards I think. There is a big dependency on long range frees from O'Connor, Gardiner etc, and yet again they never really looked like they were going to score a pile of goals.

The second game made it a good days entertainment, but the comedy moment was Diarmuid O'Sullivan's own goal. Great to see

Well, it's that time of year again, and first up is a trip to Carrick on Shannon (I presume). Any word from the Leitrim lads here about how they are shaping up? Offaly had two decent wins in the O'Byrne Cup before being unseated by a late Laois rally in the semi final. Pat Roe did a little experimenting, but not too much has changed, apart from perhaps Ger Rafferty starting in the corner, Joe Quinn making full back his own, Shane Sullivan moving out to centre back, and the surprising form of erstwhile #6 Scott Brady at wing forward.

Promotion has to be achieved this year, or else the league re-org (Is that still going ahead) would leave Offaly in Division 3 or 4, which would be a disaster. In order to achieve that, Offaly will have to beat the likes of Leitrim, even away from home.

Any views on this game?

Hi all,

I'm looking for some new and interesting drills, both physical/aerobic conditioning, as well as ballwork, for an adult football team that have been together for a good few years and are in danger of going a bit stale.

Something new and interesting in terms of drills will help keep them interested, and will hopefully get them through the drudgery without them realising it.

Any ideas or internet resources would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Hi Lads and Lassies,

I haven't seen a thread on this, so apologies if one already exists. Is there a list of O'Byrne Cup fixtures knocking around?