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Hi lads,

just in case any of ye are supposed to buy tickets, they're on sale now. I'll delete this thread later on...

As most of ye know, I'm not one of the GPA's biggest fans. My opinion on them is that they have done good things in terms of focussing the mind on player welfare in the bad old days, while I am, at the same time, deeply suspicious of the motives regarding financial compensation for their members.

Having said all that, I took a look at their 'official' magazine (The Player) which was free with the Independent today, and I have to say it is very good, and a credit to them. Of course there are several references to 'professional preparation', 'financial burdens', etc etc, which is to be expected, but when you accept that they are always going to emphasise that aspect, the magazine itself is very interesting, well written, and I'd imagine it's very practical and useful for GAA players, GPA or not.

So, to the Executive Editor (a Mr. D. Farrell ), I say well done on this magazine. It raises my opinion of the GPA.

If you are interested, the contents are :

Advertisement/Features related to sponsored initiatives endorsed by the GPA or GPA members, such as Show Racism the Red Card, Opel's Kit promotion, The La Manga golf charity event and a team 'weekend away' company being run by Ronan O'Connor from South Kerry.

Article espousing the benefits of eating fish, and the health advantages thereof.

Article explaining the benefits of a tailored conditioning program, specifically for GAA players, with example sessions.

Article regarding a GPA initiative to 'pair up' a weaker county in hurling with a stronger one, allowing the weaker teams to learn about methods, skills etc from the stronger one. It looks very interesting, and Sligo have been paired with Offaly, so I hope we learn a lot from them

Article regarding the benefits of Iron in a balanced diet, complemented by rest, to help combat Chronic Fatique in young footballers.

Brian Corcoran's 3 young lads to watch in hurling. (Joe Canning, John Lee and Paudi O'Sullivan)

Article regarding proper preparation for a Job interview, aimed towards GAA players, and advocating the GPA's partnership with the Communcations Clinic

Liam Hasset's 3 young lads to watch in football. (Daniel Goulding, Tom Parsons, Diarmuid Connolly)

Interview with Padraig Harrington, and his GAA roots. (Lots of 'I don't know how they do it', and 'I can't believe they are out of pocket' soundbites)

An article by 'Dr. Tim Butler', who I presume is some sort of horticulturalist or grounds expert, on the problems of poor playing surfaces and how clubs and counties could improve the quality of their pitches.

Feature about CLub Energise Ad, featuring Ken McGrath, Damien Hayes, Pa Cronin, Cha Fitzpatrick, Alan Brogan, Declan O'Sullivan, Conor Gormley and Tommy Freeman.

Advertisement feature about a residential training camp for boys and girls up to 16, run by Dermot McCardle.

A feature about the Sports Surgery Clinic, and Ray Moran the orthopaedic surgeon.

An article about Wii - Fit.

An article about Shane Wakelin about Grassroots, Aussie Rules style.

A feature on good and bad DVDs for rent.

An interesting feature by Dr. Liam Hennessy on reducing training in the run up to games. Peaking at the right time essentially.


as I say, I found it very interesting and very appropriate to their audience. Fair play.

This just occurred to me as I was looking at O'Neill's GAA clips on youTube thread. Someone posted up Ciaran Carey's winning point for Limerick against Clare in 1996. It was a phenomenal score, for it's quality and it's importance. It's certainly hard to better it off the top of my head.

What do the rest of ye think?


for a reminder, here is the last few phases of action in that game, including Carey's tour de force.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fayiAfDvzgM&feature=related

Well, the annual procession to annoint Kilkenny the masters of Leinster kicks off on Sunday in Portlaoise, with what could be a very tasty double header. In the opening game, there's the almost annual Offaly Laois local derby to set things off. Rumours of disquiet in the respective camps seem to be rampant, each with as many tales of woe than the other, apparently. Offaly had a miserable league campaign, and seem to be standing still, at best, under novice manager Joe Dooley. Relegation, and a few defections have left a sour taste in the mouth, but there are seemingly slightly more positive rumblings coming out of the camp at the moment, with a challenge game win over Clare last weekend (10th/11th). Fitness, or the lack of it, and touch were the two biggest worries I had after the league, but hopefully the training since then will have addressed those issues.  Laois seem to have problems of their own, and rumours that Young will be unfit also abound, which would hurt them severely. Laois would target this game all year, every year as they would love to beat Offaly in the hurling championship, to add to their recent hoodoo over the Faithful at football. They deservedly won a league game this year between the two sides, but we hope that was a major freak day for Offaly. It should be hard and competitive at least.

In the second game of the day, the younger Dooley, Johnny, takes his Division 2 and Christy Ring hurling champions, Westmeath, into battle against Dublin, the heirs apparent to Wexford and Offaly in challenging Kilkenny. Westmeath have a good few passangers, but they do have a strong enough spine of the team, with Greville, McCormack, and Shaw very good players. It will be interesting to say the least to see if the Lake County can throw a spanner into the Dublin works again, as they did last year, I think, in a monsoon downpour.


Offaly team versus Laois should be along the following lines

1.B. Mullins
2.M.Verney
3.D.Kenny
4.D.Franks
5.K. Brady
6.G.Oakley
7.D.Horan
8.B.Murphy
9.S.Ryan
10.D.Molloy
11.P.Cleary
12.A.Egan
13.B.Carroll
14.G. Healion
15.D.Hayden


Edit. Just in case anyone is wondering, Joe Bergin and Rory Hanniffy are out, but will hopefully be ready for the next game, be that in the qualifiers, or against Kilkenny.

Anyone read this? I heard an interview with him on Newstalk at lunchtime so I got the article from the indo. I must say I'm surprised. I think it's fairly obvious that Munster have evolved and are continuing to evolve the way they play the game. What will not change is they will try to play winning rugby. If that requires up the jumper stuff, then that's what you'll get. If it requires running rugby, with offloads, then they'll try that. If it requires O'Gara to kick the bejaysus out of every ball then they'll try that.

Munster are far from perfect, but I think this is either a) a cheap shot, or b) a frustrated cry by a coach who was in charge of the one of the best back lines of modern day rugby, who failed to land the big one.  What do our rugby afficianados think?

RELAND'S failure to evolve during the Eddie O'Sullivan era has been compounded by the IRFU choosing the wrong man to replace him it was claimed last night.

David Knox, the Australian who has been backs coach to Leinster for the last three seasons, yesterday revealed a litany of failings and mistakes that have bedevilled Irish rugby in recent years.

"It's a big mistake to choose Declan Kidney as the new coach," he said. "The Irish international team badly needed a foreign coach. After the Eddie O'Sullivan era, they wanted someone to test these guys, show them a new way to play.

"The Munster people think he [Kidney] is a messiah but I just don't understand that."

In a revealing, wide-ranging interview, Knox is fiercely critical of the rugby played by Munster. He acknowledges their successes in the Heineken Cup but maintains they have achieved glory at the expense of any style or flair.

"And when those players come to play at the very highest level, such as a World Cup, they come up short," he insists.

Rubbish

Who is he thinking of? None more so than Ronan O'Gara.

"I have been here for three years and I have never seen him create space for anybody. Yet over here he ranks with Dan Carter as the best fly-half in the world. I have never heard such rubbish."

What Knox calls Munster's limited, blinkered rugby is part of the reason for Ireland's players' inability to succeed on the world stage, he claims.

"Munster's record is fantastic but you can't tell me they play anything but 10-man rugby. Unfortunately, players can't just switch on style play when they get into the international arena.

"Munster get 30 points on the board by grinding away and when the other team is shot, they try and throw the ball around a bit. Then people say, what a great team. It's rubbish.

"If Doug Howlett had played for Leinster this season, he would have ended up scoring 30 tries. He's scored about three or four for Munster. He's seen as the greatest buy of the year but how often has he touched the ball? They have no idea how to use him."

Knox also admits he has been bewildered by what he called "the paranoid world" of Irish rugby during his stay in Dublin. He revealed that Eddie O'Sullivan never once contacted him to discuss any of the Irish international players with whom he was working, day in day out.

Well seeing as how none of the Larries or the Lakers (Go Kobe) seem willing to put their heads above the parapet (unless I missed a thread) I said I'd start one to mark the first game of the new Leinster Senior Football championship season. Longford seem to have been a very fractious and dissatisfied bunch during the early round of the leagues, but their performances against Dublin in the O'Byrne Cup final and the fact that they got themselves out of a very tight spot in the last 2 games of the league would seem to suggest they are far better than their February and March form would indicate. In Brian Kavanagh they have a genuine All Star calibre forward, and with the game up in Pearse Park, you would have to give them a fighting chance of causing a mini upset on Sunday. However, their backs, especially around the full back position, seem to be a real achilies heal, and would give you cause for concern if you were a Longfordian. Or a ShamrockShorian, or a Laurelyeyian or even a Billys Bootsian.

For our beloved northern neighbours, it has been, in fairness, a very impressive year. Notwithstanding Dublin's travails before the league final; a win in Monaghan along with some of their other results, resulted in a well deserved promotion to the top tier which will be a brilliant help come 2009. They are going well, and even if there are doubts around Dessie Dolan's fitness they seem to have a good scoring threat, including the mercurial Martin Flanagan. Flanagan has been the bane of Westmeath supporters since I was playing. He's a bit younger than me, but he has always been touted as a great prospect, slated, renewed himself, sulked off, and is now back in one of those rich veins of form. On his game he would be the best Westmeath player they have, including Dessie, Damien Healy and anyone else. Unfortunately for him, over the years, he's had rare enough days like that.

Westmeath's backs are good, and Damien Healy is still going great guns. Connaughton is a sound keeper, and Duffy in midfield is a very good prospect, improving all the time and with a great pair of hands.

On all known pointers, you would have to give a confident vote to Westmeath, but championship is championship, and Longford at home will be hard beaten in a first round game. I'm not convinced that Westmeath will have a stroll in the park, and in fact I have a sneaky suspicion that Longford might pull off an unlikely looking surprise.

[My County:]

Well lads, the sun is out, the grass is cut, the blood is rising and championship is here. All around the country the hawkers are ordering in, or robbing, extra loads of Choc Ices, warm minerals and 3 for 2 euro chocolate. Old women all over Dublin are frantically braiding colours into the always fetching 'head bands', while steam presses are busily churning out the rest of the triumvarate. "Anyone for the hats, flags and headbands?".

So, as the excitement builds and we wait for the footballers of Longford, Westmeath, New York and Leitrim, and the hurlers of Cavan, Monaghan, Tyrone and Fermanagh to take the field next weekend, lets revisit our hopes, dreams, fears and predictions for championship 2008. The league is over and done, and we have a few form lines now, for what they are worth.

Respond in the following format, and we'll check back as the season progresses to see how your predictions are doing, and also how your own county is matching up against your forecast for the year.

My County: Offaly

Football Hopes for 2008: Win Leinster title.
Football Fears for 2008: Lose to either Westmeath or Longford, and crash tamely out of Qualifiers

Hurling Hopes for 2008: Beat Laois, run Kilkenny closer than last year (14 points). Show progress in back door.
Hurling Fears for 2008: Kilkenny maul us by more than 14. Get hockeyed in the back door as morale disintegrates.


Predictions for 2008:

Football Provincial Champions: Derry, Galway, Dublin, Cork
Football All Ireland Winners: Dublin

Hurling Provincial Champions: Cork, Antrim, Kilkenny
Hurling All Ireland Winners: Kilkenny

I'm surprised someone hasn't mentioned this before, and I certainly meant to until I forgot, but I was reading Tommy Carr's column at the weekend, is it the Star he writes for? Anyway, he made a claim that it will be very hard to curb county managers getting paid, because the biggest offenders are actually clubs. He reckoned a big club gig is more lucrative than an inter county gig. Now whatever about all that, he then went on to claim that he was personally offered €20,000 p.a. to coach a club team. He turned it down because it was too much hassle, and it is easier to manage a county team. (Maybe this sheds a bit more light on his lack of success in Dublin and Roscommon)

Now that he has said this, and if there is a REAL will to eliminate this cancer, which is just as bad, or worse, than any money players might get directly or indirectly for playing the games, I think he should be pursued by the GAA to 'name and shame' the Club which made the offer. This could be the thread which the GAA can pull on to unravel the whole mess.

The question is whether or not the will exists to do anything about it, but I would think the GAA cannot turn a blind eye to such a public statement which clearly implicates an unnamed club in a major rules breach. If the GAA are to be seen as anything other than a bunch of myopic hypocrites, giving any amount of sticks for the GPA to beat them with, they have got to jump on this and see what comes out in the wash.

What do ye think?

Good to have some relatively positive news to report from Offaly underage hurling, as the minors bounced back from a shocking loss down in Carlow to draw with Dublin at the weekend. Any of our Dublin contributors there? I think Dublin hit a lot of wides early on, and that gave Offaly some hope, but it's still a very creditable result. I wasn't at the game, so I can't offer any insight into why Offaly were better, but you'd imagine that Dublin would have been favourites to hand out a bit of a scutching. I can only assume that Johnny Pilkington had Offaly fired up to bounce back.

They will still finish bottom of this round robin, more than likely, but at least it gives them a bit of hope heading into the next stage of the championship, albeit a very tough phase because of their result down in Carlow.

There definitely seems to be a cull on these types of discussion boards. As well as the revamp of Hogan Stand, the closure of Orchard County, the brief shutdown of Resevoir Dubs etc etc, the rugby boards are now following suit.

Ulster Rugby Forum Statement.

The Ulster Rugby Fans Forum has been indefinitely suspended on www.ulsterrugby.com 

The decision to indefinitely suspend the forum has been made because we have become increasingly concerned about the tone of some contributions on the forum, personal attacks on coaching staff, players and members of staff, but significantly of the very grey area surrounding some of the legal aspects of hosting a messageboard, and recently a number of highly inflammatory and potentially libellous posts have been removed.

The board has become increasingly difficult to maintain and while Ulster Rugby understands supporters' frustrations during this challenging period and will endeavour to improve communication where possible, the large amount of incorrect information, rumour and innuendo on the forum emanating from a small number of posters does nothing to enhance the reputation of the club to prospective players, supporters or sponsors.

The decision to suspend the messageboard also comes as we consider plans to open a Members Only section of http://www.ulsterrugby.com/ ahead of next season. It is envisaged that this section would offer supporters exclusive content, competitions, offers, access to events, and a forum for discussion is also being considered as an option.

While there's no doubt that some may see this an attempt by Ulster Rugby and the IRFU Ulster Branch to stifle negative comment, we are keen to stress that we are always willing to listen to supporters' thoughts, ideas, even criticisms, which can be directed to us in writing by email or post, through the feedback form on this site, over the telephone, or through the Ulster Rugby Supporters Club which has an active committee and provides a direct and official link for supporters to Ulster Rugby through regular meetings and communication. 

If you would like to contact Ulster Rugby with any specific queries please do so via email or post to the addresses below or telephone us on 028 9049 3222.
Email: anne@ulsterrugby.com
Address: Ravenhill Grounds, 85 Ravenhill Park, Belfast BT6 0DG
Telephone: 028 9049 3222

Ulster Rugby would like to take this opportunity to thank the majority of posters for their constructive contributions on the forum to date and stress again that we are keen to hear your views either by way of post, email, telephone or through the Ulster Rugby Supporters Club (URSC).

And from Munster

Forum Closure
11 April 2008, 4:07 pm
By Pat Geraghty
The Website Management have decided, after long and careful consideration, to discontinue the Messageboard Forum of www.munsterrugby.ie

Various efforts have been made over the past number of years to moderate/monitor the forum in order that those who have have engaged in reasonable robust debate could continue to do so. Regretfully we have not managed to eliminate the minority element who use the cloak of anonymity to ridicule and deride.

Although fully recognising that the vast majority of contributors use the facility responsibly, there are unfortunately a few whose comments are offensive both to the people who operate the site, Munster Branch officials and the Munster players themselves.

It is at the urging therefore of those three groups that the decision to discontinue has been taken.

Thank you to all those who cotributed to the forum constructively, and used the facility in a positive manner.

Are we on borrowed time? Seems like a lot of people are getting tetchy or litigant

The death ocurred yesterday of Pat Stakelum, former Tipperary captain and member of the famous 3 in a row team of 1949-1951. Pat also won 6 National leagues and 6 railway cups with Munster.

A Holycross man, he played for Hoycross-Ballycahill for years and years and won Tipp county championships in 1948, 1951 and 1954.

When he finished playing, he was Secretary of the Tipp GAA in '61 and '62 and was a selector with several Tipp teams.
He was an uncle of Richard and Conor Stakelum and Bobby and Aidan Ryan who all went on to glory in the BLue and Gold.

Pat was one of the early innovators in terms of underage hurling, which is poignant considering the threads we've had here, and the current focus on youth academies and structures, and his work was a big reason why Tipp have started to reassert themselves at underage level. He was president of Durlas Óg club, which he helped found, at the time he died.

Slán to a great hurling man.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Alright, we're approaching the business end of things now, so I said I'd start a new thread for the League quarter finals. Kilkenny and Galway are already through to the semi finals and await the winners of the two quarter final ties which are down for decision this weekend.

First up is the intriguing clash in Nowlan Park of Tipperary and Waterford. Waterford, the league champions, have made a shakey fist of defending their title so far, and the defeat at the hands of Cork in last weekend's farcical 'play off' was their 3rd of the campaign so far, including a bad trimming at the hands of Kilkenny, and a poor defeat at home to Wexford in the opening round. In fact their only wins were at home to Dublin and at home to Antrim, albeit those victories were very convincing. Their third 2 points came as a result of a walkover from Cork. Justin McCarthy will be much more focussed on peaking for the championship this year, and perhaps are building towards that bearing in mind their success in the League last year, and in Munster, still fizzled out under the heat of a Limerick challenge as the effects of a lot of hard matches took it's toll. Now that they are here though, Waterford will want to notch it up a bit, as defeat here would leave them a full 8 weekends from their first round clash with Clare. Tipperary are perceived to have momentum behind them, and are generally regarded to be 'on the way back', but is there much substance to that argument. Their league form has been patchy enough to date, with a late surge pulling them away from relegated Offaly in round one, followed up by a good win over a Limerick team still finding their feet. Galway drew with the Premier, as did a poor Clare side, albeit in Ennis where anything won is hard got. They rounded out their divisional matches with an expected scutching of Laois, but there are still questions, as new manager Liam Sheedy is finding his feet in the job. A lot of people were expecting wholescale changes, but the same names are still popping up for Tipp. Whether it will be good enough for them to progress from last years promise is another matter. Whatever the backdrop, I'd be expecting a good game in a lovely pitch for hurling, and I'll hesitantly give the nod to Tipperary as they bid to continue the momentum.

4.15 in Pairc na nGael is the time and venue for the second quarter final, as the hosts Limerick do battle with Cork. Following the strike, Cork have hit the ground running, as we knew they would, and finished with 6 points from 3 games played, including a hard fought win over Dublin in Parnell Park, where the Dubs learning curve continued as a rusty Cork side still showed the value of taking your chances. They blew away Antrim in Casement Park before holding off a spirited Wexford side on the last day. Better indicators of Cork's true early season form would have come against their postponed opponents, Kilkenny and Waterford, but they at least addressed one of those questions by going to Walsh Park and winning by a point in the aforementioned playoff. Limerick have alternated between the sublime and the ridiculous in the league, often within the same game. A trouncing at the hands of Tipperary was followed up by a mauling of Laois and a 9 point win over Clare in Limerick. Next out was a big win over Offaly, although they conceded 1-17 in the same game, and mixed great hurling with very average stuff. With qualification assured, Limerick were missing a couple of big name players, including Andrew O'shaugnessy and suffered the consequences as Galway took them for an 11 point hiding in the last game. Richie Bennis will be keen to progress to a semi final meeting with Kilkenny to whet the appetite for Summer hurling, whereas Cork will be keen to get as many games as possible under their belt. Another close one to call, but I'll pick Limerick to prove they are a little further along the road than Cork, even though that is likely to be very different come June and July.

Hi, there is a football version of this running on the other forum. The criteria is pick the province you come from, but you must have seen the players live in the flesh, not just on TV. That basically puts my timeframe from 1981- today.


1. Noel Skehan (Cill Cheannaigh)

2. Willie O'Connor (Cill Cheannaigh)
3. Eugene Coughlan (Uibh Fhailí)
4. Martin Hanamy (Uibh Fhailí)

5. Brian Whelehan (Uibh Fhailí)
6. Ger Henderson (Cill Cheannaigh)
7. Tommy Walsh (Cill Cheannaigh)

8. Joachim Kelly (Uibh Fhailí)
9. Cha Fitzpatrick (Cill Cheannaigh)

10. Johnny Dooley (Uibh Fhailí)
11. Martin Storey (Loch Garman)
12. Henry Shefflin (Cill Cheannaigh)

13. DJ Carey (Cill Cheannaigh)
14. Christy Heffernan (Cill Cheannaigh)
15. Liam Fennelly (Cill Cheannaigh)

[Gun-toting GAA player is jailed]

Can we organise a GAABoard Boycott of the 'Wish I wasn't Irish' Independent?

***********
Gun-toting GAA player is jailed

By Sonya McLean
Thursday March 06 2008


A successful GAA player who was renting an apartment for the sole purpose of preparing heroin for sale was jailed for nine years yesterday after being caught with a loaded handgun in a nightclub.


Trevor Brunton (25) of Broombridge Road, Cabra West, pleaded guilty to possession of the gun at the Spawell Hotel, possession of the heroin worth €159,361 for sale or supply at Sandlewood Road, Castleknock, and possession of ammunition at his home address on December 30, 2006.

Detective Sergeant Joe Molloy told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Brunton had the gun for possibly three reasons. He could have brought it to the nightclub as a "bravado to impress girls", to give it to someone else or to use for protection.

He said Brunton, a GAA player with Liffey Gaels, never gave a "satisfactory explanation" for why he had the pistol. "We honestly have no idea why he had it there," Det Sgt Molloy added.

He admitted Brunton was used by others because, as far as the gardai were concerned, "he was a new and unknown face".

Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Brunton to eight years in prison for the drug charge and a consecutive five-year term for possession of the pistol. He suspended the last four years of the sentence on condition that Brunton keep the peace and be of good behaviour for four years upon his release from prison.

Judge Nolan said he took into account Brunton's plea of guilty, his relatively blameless record -- having one previous road traffic conviction -- and the fact that he co-operated with gardai.

Det Sgt Molloy told prosecuting barrister Remy Farrell BL that a security guard at the nightclub saw Brunton in a toilet cubicle looking at the pistol in his hand.

He came voluntarily out of the cubicle and was restrained, but on walking through the nightclub, Brunton tried to lift the gun into his hand. Another security guard slapped his wrist, causing the weapon to fall to the ground.

It was picked up and placed in a money bag before it was handed over to gardai. The weapon was later found to be a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with eight rounds of ammunition in the magazine.

His home address was searched that same night where 13 rounds of various ammunition were found as well as the keys to the Castleknock apartment. A search of the apartment revealed 32 bags of heroin and 78 rounds of ammunition.

- Sonya McLean


**** *

So basically, a drugdealer sc**bag, who happens to be a member of Liffey Gaels, is headlined as 'Gun Toting GAA Player'. and a 'successful' GAA player. Jaysus for a minute I thought one of the Kerry lads had been caught out lamping Foxes or something.

What a bunch of guttersnipes the Independent journos have turned out to be.

That shocking crash on the N7 Naas Road on saturday night/sunday morning is after taking a weird twist. An off duty garda was driving home to Naas on the dual carraigeway when a car coming in the opposite direction (on a dual carraigeway!!) collided with him. The two 19 year olds in the second car were killed, and the Garda was seriously injured, but is stable in hospital at the moment.

Very tragic, naturally, but the bizarre twist is in that the very same garda was involved in a crash on New Years Day in which a teenager was killed...

To make matters even more surreal, one of the lads killed in this recent accident was a cousin of the young lad killed in January.

What are the chances of that?

Cork beat Limerick by 10 points  last night in Newtownshandrum in a challenge match. No word on whether they were applauded out with a guard of honour though.

From d'Paper.

***********

Rebels get back in the groove

By Brendan Larkin
Cork 1-25 Limerick 0-18
CLEARLY starved of hurling, over 3,000 spectators crammed into the splendid Newtownshandrum venue last night to see Cork inflict a 10-point defeat on Limerick in a keenly contested challenge game.


Both sides fielded under-strength teams but it was the more established players who brightened the damp night.

John Gardiner was excellent in the heart of the Cork defence and finished the game with four long range points from placed balls. Cian O'Connor and Ciaran McGann were other defenders to do well.

Jason Barrett did nothing wrong at midfield and contributed three points, all from play, to his side's tally. Niall McCarthy had a good hour on Paudie O'Dwyer who gave very little away while scoring five points for the Shannonsiders.

Pat Horgan showed some lively touches at corner forward for Cork while Niall Ronan scored the game's only goal and also landed three excellent points.

Limerick matched Cork score for score in the opening half and two evenly matched sides were level nine times in that period. Looking extremely sharp, the visitors were denied a goal by an alert Donal Óg Cusack, who saved well from Sean O'Connor. O'Connor had a great tussle with Diarmuid O'Sullivan but it was only when the Cork full back went off injured that he really blossomed.

Damien Reale, Stephen Lucey and Mark Foley were rock solid in the Limerick defence; Donal O'Grady had his moments at midfield while Donie Ryan and Pat Tobin did well in attack.

After the sides were level at 0-12 each Cork finished the half strongly to lead by two at the break, and it got better for them on the changeover as they rifled over three-in-a-row to finally put some daylight between the teams.

Mike Fitzgerald pegged Cork back with a brace of points from frees before the hugely impressive Mark Foley landed the best score of the night on 45 minutes. However Cork's better stickwork became more evident as the game wore on and after taking a four-point lead, Niall Ronan grabbed the game's only goal when he touched home Adrian Mannix's delivery. There was only going to be one outcome after that.

Both teams opted to use the bench and the game lost much of its edge for the last 15 minutes, but the huge following got a good 40 minutes of highly competitive hurling to whet the appetite for more.

Scorers for Cork: N. Ronan 1-3; J. Gardiner (0-3 frees, 0-1 65), P. Horgan (0-2 frees) 0-4 each; J. Barrett, C. Naughton, 0-3 each; K. Murphy, N. McCarthy, K. Canty 0-2 each; B. Corry, P. Cronin 0-1 each.

Limerick: P. O'Dwyer 0-5 (0-2 frees, 0-2 65s); S. O'Connor 0-3; M. Foley, P. Tobin, D. Ryan, M. Fitzgerald (frees) 0-2 each; M. O'Brien, K. Tobin 0-1 each.

CORK: D. Óg Cusack; S. White (Ballygarvan), D. O'Sullivan, C. O'Connor; P. Kelly, J. Gardiner, C. McGann (Castlelyons); J. Barrett (Carrigtwohill), K. Murphy (Erins Own); P. Cronin, N. McCarthy, C. Naughton; P. Horgan (Glen Rovers), B. Corry (Ballymartle), N. Ronan.

Subs used: M. Coleman, S. Farrell (Carrigtwohill), E. Cadogan (Douglas), G. Callinan, A. Mannix (Kilworth), SD. Dineen (Ballymartle), K. Canty (Valley Rovers).

LIMERICK: B. Murray; D. Reale, S. Lucey, D. Clancy; D. Cosgrove, P. O'Dwyer, M. Foley; D. O'Grady, N. Moran; M. Fitzgerald, M. O'Brien, S. Lavin; D. Ryan, S. O'Connor, P. Tobin.

Subs used: B. Begley, B. Foley, M. Fitzgerald, K. Tobin.

Referee: A. Cummins (Ballymartle).

Hi All,

Spring is in the air and training camps are starting in Arizona and Florida, which means that it's time to start thinking of the 2008 GAABoard MLB (Baseball) Fantasy League.

Coming off the successful 2007 NFL Fantasy League, it'll be interesting to see if the MLB one throws up the same sort of drama down the stretch as we had in December.

Reminder emails have been generated for the league to all managers who participated last year, but I'm sure some spaces will be available for any of you who missed the boat last year. Last years winner, the Res Dubs will be keen to defend their crown, while runner up Father Joe's Dynamos may be looking to go a step further this season.

The league has some similarities to the NFL version, in that you will fill out positions in the draft, and from that roster, select a team to take the field, and just like the NFL version, every week sees you playing against another manager in a head to head.

There are a couple of significant differences between the two games though, and the most important of these is down to the intrinsically different nature of the NFL and MLB seasons.

In the NFL, your players will only play once a week, and you just need to have your roster set before the first game kicks off. In the MLB, games are on all week, and a player may play 3 or 4 times a week at least. You may still set your roster once a week, but it's no harm to check on them during the week, and make sure you are happy with who is picked to play over the next couple of days.

The second major difference is in the way the scoring is calculated. In the NFL version, all your players points are added up, and the team with the most points wins the game for the week.

in the MLB version, because of the vastly different and varied types of stats recorded, each stat in itself becomes a game within a game for the week. There are 11 stat categories which means there are 11 'games' to be played against your opponent every week.

For example, if your batters hit 11 homers, and your opponent only 7, you win that category. If the RBIs are 24-19, you win that category, and if his pitchers get 4 wins as opposed to your 2, you lose that category. Each category win counts as a game, so by the end of the week you have 11 games to win or lose. Your record after the week might be 8-3, 10-1, 2-9 etc etc.

The next week you take on a different opponent in the same categories, and the standings are based on the cumulative records across all stats.

I realise it sounds a little complicated, but it isn't really, once you see it going.

The positions you must fill in the draft to fill out a full weekly roster are (at least):
1 Catcher, 1 First Baseman, 1 Second Baseman, 1 Third Baseman, 1 Shortstop, 3 Outfielders, 1 Utility player (any position), 2 Starting Pitchers, 2 Relief Pitchers, 3 other pitchers (either starters or relievers). You can also have 5 on the bench (non scoring) and 1 on the Disabled List (Long term injury).

The scoring categories are :
R - Runs Scored (i.e. your player actually crossing home plate)
HR - Home Runs
RBI - Runs Batted In (RBI - runs scored as a result of your player's appearance at the plate)
SB - Stolen Bases
BB - Walks earned (Bases on Balls) (i.e. If the pitcher throws four bad balls, and your man gets to walk to first)
AVG - Batting Average (The percentage of the time your batter gets the ball in play safely with the bat, as opposed to making an out)

W - Wins - If your pitcher wins a game (i.e. Had the lead when leaving the game after 5 innings completed, or at the end).
SV - Saves - A relief pitcher gets a save if he comes in with his team in the lead, and the tying run on deck (the next lad up after the current batter), and manages to keep the lead to the end of the game. A relief pitcher that comes in with a huge lead won't get a save.
BB - Walks given (Bases on Balls) - You will win this category if your pitchers give up less BBs than the opposition.
K - Strikeouts - A pitcher earns a strikeout each time a batter is retired with 3 strikes (rather than a catch or a run out).
ERA - Earned Run Average - A pitchers earned run average gives an indication of how many runs he gives up, that are actually his fault, i.e. not caused by an error. The lower this number is, the better.


Anyway, that's the spiel. Any questions post them here, and I will try to answer. Otherwise go to
http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1 and register. The League ID to join is 133297 and the password is diamondbacks

The draft is an online live draft as well, and I have provisionally set it for Friday March 14th at 2pm. That can change if enough people want it to, but bear in mind we have people on both sides of the Atlantic. Also, it'll waste a couple of hours of work on the day before Paddy's weekend.

Cheers

Well lads, seeing as how NFL division 2 has it's own thread, and each Division 1 match will probably get a thread, How about we stick Division 4 topics in here. What are the thoughts of fans of Kilkenny, Tipperary, Wicklow, Antrim, Offaly, London, Clare, Carlow and Waterford.

It's hard to look past Offaly to win this division, especially if they play close to their potential, but all too often they have failed to do just that. Micko will be keen to make sure Wicklow get promoted, while Carlow showed a bit of form against the Dubs. Clare, Antrim, Tipperary, London  and Waterford will be no pushovers, especially in their home matches, and you could well see a few surprising results and close games.

Week 1 is next Suday Week.

Freshford : Kilkenny v Tipperary
Aughrim : Wicklow v Antrim (repeat of the Tommy Murphy Cup final)
Tullamore : Offaly v London
Ennis : Clare v Carlow
Bye for Waterford.

Hi Lads,

The well travelled among ye might be able to help me out. I'm doing a bit of preliminary research into the family holiday this summer. Basically the travelling party is going to be (hopefully) my wife and 18 month old son, myself, her two sisters and their husbands. So 6 adults and 1 baby. We all get along very well, and have had holidays before, so the whole fighting like cats and dogs shouldn't be an issue

We are looking at hiring out a nice villa somewhere warm, but not roasting hot, in early June (one sister in law is a teacher). The thinking behind a villa is that it would be private, and give us a bit of comfort with the little fella, while at the same time giving the women pool time, and maybe a bit of golf for the lads. Also with the six of us, we should be able to stretch to something nice, but not crazy expensive. We are thinking somewhere along the Algarve in Portugal, or similar to that.

We will probably hire a car as well, but don't want to be driving for hours either.

Requirements:
Nice weather
Nice Villa (very important)
Close enough to restaurants/bars
Things to do in the area (within driving distance) like Golf/Markets/Beach/Parks
Close enough to airport
Direct flights from (ideally) Shannon.
Short enough Flight < 4 hours, so that we don't annoy any pintsofguinnesses in the airplane if the little fella gets narky after 7 hours in a plane or something.


So, have any of ye rented a Villa in Portugal, Spain, South of France, Italy etc etc that would do the job, or have ye heard of friends who did this?

Once again the Mayfield hard man's followers are causing hassle.