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was just thinking is there many duel refs in gaa  meaning they ref football and hurling.

Not at intercounty level but plenty of intercounty ref's from dual counties ref both at club level. Barry Kelly has done All Ireland finals and ref'd county football finals

He's probably the best football ref in Westmeath. Certainly top 3.

[I have no idea why people push this argument]

Genuine question. Why would legalising then help?

It doesn't. It makes it worse. I have no idea why people push this argument. Is it the tax revenue?

How does it make it worse?

Explain to me how diverting (wasted) resources from chasing, arresting, charging and prosecuting individuals for carrying small amounts of drugs to a more public-health based approach makes things worse?

You're literally freeing up hundreds of thousands if not millions of pounds that can be put towards treating drug addicts, needle exchanges, funding educational programmes etc rather than pissing away time, money and resources on a battle you're never going to win.

San Fransisco (California) - Thats why drugs shouldn't be legal

wife works with someone who was there recently and they said it was the worst place they have ever visited.

I go there a few times a year with work. It has regressed at an alarming rate over the past few years.

I generally talk out my ass here for the craic, but there is some waffle going on here, pub soccer teams in the south getting tested and lads looking club players tested also!! Jesus wept!

Be testing for alcohol next!

100%
Testing of club players is not going to happen. It's not up to the GAA to fix societal issues.

are county players still subject to random drug testing?

I think it comes with the territory once you avail of sports council grants

Can't believe Sideways would go to Saudi. At least he'll have a good supply of oil for thon hair of his.

700k pw he'll be getting if he moves.. I'd be on the first plane there if it was me

Yeah but you're not already on 200k or whatever he's on.
Look at it another way. Would you be on the first plane for a 4x increase in salary? I know I wouldn't.
I've been to SA ; there isn't a hope in hell I'd bring my family to live there.

Clare would have been 18-17 up ten minutes into the 2nd half only for another poor refereeing decision, that being the disallowed goal.

Clare were on fire for the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half and did take the lead, through their tactics and will to win. They went 2 up, 19-17 and were on top all over the pitch.

The one big mistake Clare made was the conceded goal. Outside of that they did little wrong.

There was one throw ball given the entire game. Who did it go against? Clare!!

Referees circling the wagons is a poor look. Show a little balance in your perspective if you want to be taken seriously.

Whatever about all your other points, there can be no quibbles about the disallowed goal. The whistle clearly sounded before the ball was driven in and the KK defenders had largely stopped playing.

Was the wrong call though. The advantage was poorly applied as it was for the slap on the hip at the other end of the field. The Clare goal was right on the fringe of the 5 second rule. Look at the reaction of the players.

And the referee. You can see on one of the replays from his facial expression that he knew he called it too early. Not allowing this to affect subsequent decisions is one of the things that sets tops refs apart from the rest. Don't think I could resist trying to even it up 

[He hasn't a bulls notion about Gaelic football, so not worth the energy dissecting what he said lads]

Good lord, Eamonn Sweeney is a randomer from Sligo who moved to West Cork a few years ago so gets a few yarns off a few fellas down there he regurgitates occasionally. He hasn't a bulls notion about Gaelic football, so not worth the energy dissecting what he said lads.

But on a point of order, no every other team does not routinely run back inside the 45 with 15 men. Dublin did it in the league a bit but changed tack and the high press of Mayo worked very well for them. Every team will get a lot of bodies behind the ball when needed of course so anyone from any county bemoaning this needn't look far but the Derry template (and Louth's is worse actually - don't even contest most kickouts) isn't good for the viewer you must admit. Derry don't care of course, they are merely trying to win and I don't blame them. They also attack in numbers, with great pace and in most games have a good range of scorers.

I think looking back at it Derry should possibly have scored 2-16 or so against Cork, who themselves were terrible in front of goal, so it could easily have been 2-16 to 1-13 and there would have been far less furore. If Derry sharpen up which I would expect then this game is potentially very close Sunday.

Exactly. Should be ignored. He's a talented writer but hasn't a clue what he's looking at. All these publications are interested in now is clicks for ad money. He serves that purpose.

Posters here who don't see the benefits of the split season fall in to one of these buckets:
- has been so long since they've been involved in the club game that they can't remember how shit it was previously
- simply don't care much about the club game and are really only interested in the county game (at least Seafoid admits this!)
- from a county that doesn't have duel considerations so has never seen the full extend of what the condensed club calendar leads to

We only really know the intricacies of our own county's club championships. (I have a decent understanding on Dublin too as I live here, but have never been 'involved'). I am from a county which is genuinely duel ; a Division 1 hurling team where 80%+ of the players play football, and most at senior level. The only way (outside of reducing the number of games for club players) to run the championship previously was to start in April with 2 rounds, and then pause until the county teams were knocked out. So club players had to peak for 2 separate championship periods, the second of which they didn't have dates for until maybe 2 weeks prior. As I said above - it was shit. I'm involved now, albeit no longer as a player, and it is superb. We knew our championship dates in February (this would only have changed if Westmeath had made the 1/4 finals). There are no midweek championship games. The lads who play hurling have at least 7 days between championship games.

And Co Finals Christmas Eve.....

? how many county championships will have began by mid August,  my guess would be Zero to three.
Everyone in the country knows that.
Most club players are gone traveling for the summer. The All-ireland should be played Mid August full stop.
By mid July, there would be only 4 teams left, by first Sunday of August, there would only be two.
Biggest winners, soccer and Sky sports. Gaa are hading them August and September on a platter. This year thrown in Rugby World Cup  and you will not have a word about GAA from July 31st to almost November. But yet, County teams and supporters are expected to go to three games in three weekends.
There will never be Irish media coverage of any early round club championship games, and again to remind you, very very few club managers want the club championship to begin before September, as most all third level students are gone, and the same for recent graduates.

Well not zero , as Westmeath started 2 weeks ago. I'm not familiar with other counties.
The soccer and Sky Sports argument is a weak one. There is no soccer on this weekend, and yet there has been little promotion of the hurling semi finals. 
There is little media coverage of these games because the county teams refuse to engage with media. So you could have 12 months of county games and it wouldn't make any odds in that regard.
"Most" club players are gone travelling for the summer? That is nonsense. You do know that "most" means the majority , as in more than 50%? A tiny portion are travelling. Do you think club players are all in college?

What is the big deal about Marty getting a motor off Renault?
I don't see what the fuss is about.

Me neither

If there has not been a tax payment then that's what the fuss is about. It's more money taken from the public. I know we'd all prefer it was someone other than Marty. But _if_ there has not been a tax event then it's tax evasion.

It does come down to money. The pot can only ever be so large. And if one team gets expenses then they all have to get it. And that means >1000 players across all intercounty LGFA and Camoige teams. The GPA believe themselves to be representing the elite , but there are not 1,000 elite players. Nor are there in the men's games - but the horse has bolted on that one unfortunately.

So we are giving up the summer to other sports!!!
But right now with little on and big games taking place there are no media days and no coverage.

Yep. All the screaming from certain people about the split season creating a loss of exposure. That argument shown how weak it is. The only sport worth watching this weekend is the all Ireland hurling semi finals, and the teams aren't speaking to the media.

Are European clubs moaning? Saudis pumping more liquidity in to their system , while taking mostly aging players. Chelsea's rebuild would not be possible without the Saudi league buying all their unwanted players for crazy sums.

[Cork 2010 maybe]

I wonder if Tyrone meet Kerry again in next year's Championship will we hear the same BS rhetoric we always hear before Kerry-Tyrone games? e.g. "Tyrone have a hoodoo over Kerry", "Tyrone always raise their game against Kerry".
Even though Kerry have won 4 of their last 5 C'ship games against Tyrone, with margin of victories of 12 pts, 10 pts, 4 pts and 3 pts while Tyrone's win was a 1 pt win AET when Kerry's MOTM had gone off injured.
A lot of journalists and content providers are stealing a living with the same clichés before every game.

Well right back at you, yesterday was Kerrys first win over Tyrone in 5 attempts, with Tyrone winning the last 4. It was overdue.

The league, really?

Yes, really. The League standings are a good indicator for championship football. When was the last time a division 2/3/4 team won the all ireland? Cork 2010 maybe? When was the last before that?
You maybe just tune in from May onwards?

Cork won Division 1 in 2010. And again in 2011 and 2012.

[Shamrock Rovers have a squad of 33 players]

You can see the points there but 3 games in a month is not uncommon in any sport.
Plus they would be getting slogged in training and playing midweek challenge games any other year too.

Like there are lads who will say GAA players are fitter and better prepped that League of Ireland. They don't complain about games every week, plus the odd vup mstch.

It boils down to how they prepare too. These 'highly rated S&C coaches' obviously haven't moved on.

It will be pushed back a bit and tweaked. Like some counties won't start club championship for ages.

LoI is professional. They have large squads- Shamrock Rovers have a squad of 33 players.  If Shamrock Rovers have an injury crisis they can use the squad or buy in players for next season.
If they are successful they earn money to buy players. If GAA was like LoI Shamrock Rovers could buy Clifford.

GAA is a totally different model.

To which they are limited. An intercounty GAA manager has the pick of hundreds of players.
Injuries are part of sport. Only one team is going to win the all-Ireland, no matter how many players get injured.