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That's the Tom Markham Cup btw.

Well?

Well known GAA website, An Fear Rua, has closed it's forum this week after 12 years of operation.
He blames financial problems as well as the difficulties of moderating an anonymous forum and a minority of users who do not stay within the guidelines.

Fear Rua Quote:
"This model of internet comment is no longer viable, if the comment is to be within the law at all times as well as the bounds of good taste.

In that context, my decision is also influenced by the unreasonable sense of entitlement displayed by a growing minority of Registered Users. There is a sense that they can just register under a pseudonym, pay nothing towards the upkeep of the site or towards an insurance against libel matched by a total lack of any attempt to even understand – let alone accept – that I have a right, and a duty, to administer this site in accordance with the law and in the interests of everyone who used it."

Don't think this will as straight forward as many will predict with many Dubs already talking about an AIF appearance although can't see this Dublin team been that complacent.

Anyhow Laois will have a very competitive midfield and have a very good defensive structure and are a lot more physical than the Micko Laois but outside Munnellly and similar to Kildare they lack that je ne sais quoi quality in the final third. Will expect Laois to fustrate Dublin and I think Dublin will get a good examination but realistically if Dublin perform they'll win. I think the spread on Laois is 7 points which would be a great bet.

Down were abysmal today and Munster counties are going well this year so hard to call when you factor in recovery and momentum,  will be interesting and history favours Tipperary.

Can Meath bounce back?

Laois very much under the radar, saw them against Carlow and while they poor they still moved through the gears when they had and closed out the game comfortably. Some big boys, have some tidy forwards and have a bench that can make an impact. Think Laois will win this.

Sligo have a great record against Kildare, if they can do the mass defence they'll win at a canter...

It's very easy to sit behind a keyboard and judge players performances, life choices etc but if you had a chance to play inter-county football for your own county would you be prepared to sacrifice up to 20 hours a week to training and matches while trying to maintain a job. Completely abandon your social life and probably your family as well. Expose yourself and your decisions to the instinctive reactions given without thought to anyone who possesses a keyboard and the vitriol that often comes with those reactions. Expose yourself to TV pundits who will ridicule the game you love and your footballing imperfections and your human flaws as if they were Teles themselves, expose yourself to journalists who are more interested in the story rather than the game and who fuel the innuendo and the myths. Write down everything you eat, give up the food you love and replace it instead with a banana and a protein shake, make yourself available for random drug testing, make yourself available for your clubs benefit nights, your county's benefits night, your local charity benefit night. Miss your best friends wedding, your brothers stag, a dozen christenings and communions, a confirmation, a 21st, your favourite bands festival gig and countless work functions.

Could you make those sacrifices and dozens more, all just for a poxy grant and the dream, that for more than 90% won't come true, of a Celtic Cross?

20 years ago I would loved the opportunity but in today's age and knowing what I know I couldn't....

Ha! Good old hot balls.

Cian Ward, John Doyle, Ciaran Lyng, Bernard Brogan all substituted today. What price would that have been?

When was that added?

How old is the the board?

Gerry Cooney has tendered his resignation as Offaly senior football manager.

The Meath man was only at the Faithful County helm for six months but oversaw a nightmare national football league campaign which culminated in relegation to the basement tier, with Offaly losing six of their seven Spring outings.

Cooney's departure comes eight weeks before the midlanders open their Leinster SFC campaign against neighbours Kildare, on June 17th.

After a long meeting with the panel last night, Cooney decided to step aside in the best interests of Offaly football. The County Board have reluctantly accepted his resignation.

Just two weeks ago, Cooney reaffirmed his commitment to the post and said he had no intention of going anywhere. The likes of Ross Brady, Richie Dalton and Niall Smith had left the squad and in the end something had to give.

The statement from Offaly County Board this morning reads:

"Offaly County Board Chairman Pat Teehan has issued a statement saying that it is with regret that he reluctantly accepts the resignation of Gerry Cooney as Offaly Senior Football Manager. Gerry and his management team had a lengthy meeting with the panel of players last night and afterwards Gerry tendered his resignation in what he described as the best interest of Offaly Football.

"Pat Teehan thanked Gerry for his loyalty, commitment and 100% dedication to the long term future of Offaly football.

"Offaly County Board will now commence the process of putting in place, an interim management, for the Championship. Offaly County Board or Gerry Cooney will not be issuing any further statement at this time."

Louth 0-04 0-06 Westmeath, Haggardstown, 3pm
Longford 0-06 1-04 Meath, Pearse Park, 3pm
Wicklow v Laois, Aughrim, 7pm
Carlow v Dublin, Dr Cullen Park, 7pm
Kildare 3-19 0-10 Wexford, Newbridge FT

Kildare were only a point up at half-time but there was a strong wind and Kildare just moved up the gears but still hard to gauge where Kildare are at as Wexford completely lost their way in the 2nd half.

However Kildare's spine was very good with Mahon at fullback, the always impressive Hyland at centre-half back, O'Connell in midfield but Niall Kelly 11) and Paddy Brophy (14) were just two footballers head and shoulders above everything else on the pitch. They just seem to have an eternity on the ball.

Good win though.

In a sport dominated by the antics of the prim-ma-donnas, the emotional bravery shown by Billy Sharp last night while very sad is still uplifting..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/nov/01/doncaster-middlesbrough-championship-billy-sharp

...Stone Roses reunion imminent

Waterfall

[2hr 3min 38sec]

Outstanding, how long before the 2 hour mark is beat...

Before Sunday's Berlin marathon, Patrick Makau talked openly about his desire to take the world record back to Kenya. In the event, he delivered spectacularly, not only breaking Haile Gebrselassie's existing mark by more than 20 seconds, but also breaking Gebrselassie himself with an exhilarating burst away from the leading group around the 15-mile mark.

"In the morning my body was not good but after I started the race, it started reacting very well. I started thinking about the record," Makau said, and from the earliest split times it was clear that something special was in the offing on the same wide, flat, famously fast course on which Gebrselassie set the previous record three years ago.

Makau and Gebrselassie were in a leading group of four up to just past halfway, at which point Makau accelerated like a 1,500m runner hitting the home straight, leaving the world-record holder bent double, holding his stomach on the Mitte pavement. Gebrselassie rejoined the race but eventually dropped out at the 27km mark.

Makau kept up a two-and-half-minute lead over the field and entered the final stretch beneath the Brandenburg Gate at a grimacing canter, taking the tape in 2hr 3min 38sec, an achievement that will be leavened further by the £218,000 purse for setting the new record mark.

and other sundries
Ewan MacKenna

A look at our All Star XV, our Player of the Year, Score of the Year and other awards...

All Stars
1. Stephen Cluxton (Dublin)
That free at the end sealed the deal and made sure the number one jersey wasn't going the way of Paul Durcan, Shane Connolly or Damien Sheridan. In terms of shot-stopping there was nothing as memorable as past seasons and Eamonn Callaghan's goal in the Leinster semi-final got the better of him from quite a distance. But that aside, was solid in terms of his primary function, was good under the high ball and crucially his kickouts were key for a side that won an All Ireland but don't get a midfielder on this team.

2. Michael Foley (Kildare) 3. Neil McGee (Donegal) 4. Marc Ó Sé (Kerry)
It says something about the defensive year that was 2011 that this was the most competitive line on the field. In other seasons Rory O'Carroll and Hugh McGrillen would have made it and Keith Higgins might have made it but all of those just miss out. Instead we accommodate three full-backs. Neil McGee takes the actual number three jersey on the basis he was just about the best of the lot. It of course helped that he was surrounded by his entire team most of the time, but only four points were scored off him in Ulster and he took apart the high-flying Tomás O'Connor in the last eight with one of the individual performances of the season.
Foley was a shoo-in too. It wasn't just his championship that stood out but as far back as the league he was monumental in solving Kildare's age-old full-back dilemma. On top of that he was their player of the season. Which leaves Marc Ó Sé who sneaked in, a call which reaffirms the notion that it was a year for the defender given fellow All Stars Bernard Brogan and Andy Moran kicked just 0-4 from play between them while facing him, Seamus O'Carroll and Donnacha O'Connor hit just 0-2 from play against him in the two games before that while Seamus Grogan failed to score in the season opener.

5. Kevin Nolan (Dublin) 6. Karl Lacey (Donegal) 7. Kevin Cassidy (Donegal)
Outside of Nolan it is certainly a triumph for substance over style across the half-backs but Lacey and Cassidy were at the forefront of a defence that conceded an average of just nine points a game and gave up only one goal in 440 minutes of championship football. But it's not just their position in the front line of that immovable object that gets them spots on this team, it's their leadership qualities. Cassidy's was obvious to see with the winning score against Kildare, an effort that earns him our Score of the Year below, while Lacey's summer and to a lesser extent spring and winter means he takes third in our Player of the Season category.
Indeed were he not forced off by a cynical hit against Dublin (we condemn it but given Donegal's tactics some might call it karma) he may have been higher on that list and Donegal may have been higher in our end of season rankings. Also making it into the line is Kevin Nolan at five. His point late on in the All Ireland final demonstrated his maturity and composure but also a more stereotypical wing-back style as he got forward when he could and helped with breaking ball. So impressive was he that he keeps Donal Vaughan, Emmet Bolton, Morgan O'Flaherty and Tomás Ó Sé out of the line up.

8. John Doyle (Kildare) 9. Seán Cavanagh (Tyrone)
Dick Clerkin said on The Sunday Game that times were changing around the middle with a more mobile player now suited to the role. But we think it's by accident, not design. Across the last few seasons we've watched as the greatest midfield era drew to a close as one by one, the likes of Darragh Ó Sé, Paul McGrane and Ciarán Whelan exited the stage. That, coupled with the injuries to Dermot Earley and John Galvin this time around, and the fact both All Ireland finalists struggled at the times in the middle, leaves us with a less traditional eight and nine on this team.
Missing out just are Alan O'Connor, Michael Friel, Bryan Sheehan and Michael Darragh Macauley. Instead Doyle gets the nod for leadership, heart and some rare moments of high fielding in 2011. He managed that despite suffering the sort of late hitting against Dublin, Meath, Derry and Donegal that was a throwback to the late '80s and he still finished the year as the fourth highest scorer, accounting for 2-21. Beside him is Cavanagh who hit just five points less but returned to the sort of swashbuckling form we haven't seen from him in three years. He was pacy, energetic, and opened up defences and finished like we haven't see from him in all too long. On top of that he did it while surrounded by the poorest Tyrone team we've seen in an age.

10. Paul Flynn (Dublin) 11. Ben Brosnan (Wexford) 12. Darran O'Sullivan (Kerry)
It says a lot about the weird season we've just watched that Kerry were seven minutes and a tad more composure away from an All Ireland and we struggled to give them two All Stars. But if the green and gold jersey in the full-back line was a close-run affair, here Kerry have the first man into the half-forward line. Darran O'Sullivan was the revelation of 2011 and came mighty close to both Player of the Year and Score of the Year in our other awards. It wasn't just his pace that was so lethal but the lines he took to cut open defences and the standard of his finishing. All of that made him the most dangerous forward in the game these past few months.
On the other wing we have Paul Flynn who was close to our Player of the Year list and for a while earlier in the summer actually headed it. Which left one position on the 40 with Ben Brosnan getting it ahead of Declan O'Sullivan, who's mistakes for the All Ireland-turning goal while concussed cost him his spot. For those who haven't seen the Wexford man, he's well worth a look. He only scored a point less than Colm Cooper this year but no player averaged more. His long-range free-taking is sublime while his vision, link play and passing is reminiscent of the Kerry man he beats to the 11 jersey and he is now in a league with the likes of O'Sullivan and Marty Clarke.

13. Alan Brogan (Dublin) 14. Andy Moran (Mayo) 15. Bernard Brogan (Dublin)
In other years we've moved players from here out to the 40 to accommodate the most deadly men close to goal. This year we do the opposite as Alan Brogan moves to corner-forward while picking up our Player of the Year accolade as well. With his brother having a sub-standard season and Diarmuid Connolly having just one really standout championship game to remember, he was left as the keystone in the Dublin forward wall. Along with Pat Girloy's tactics, he was architect of their All Ireland win and by extension the best player in the country. Beside him is Mayo's sole All Star after a year where James Horan moved the team forward far faster than we envisaged. Cillian O'Connor may have been the more obvious choice after his scoring feats against Roscommon and Cork – and indeed he wins out in the Young Player of the Year category for that – but Moran was the man winning those frees and tormenting defences.
He saved the county against London and in the All Ireland series was one of the stand-out attackers in open play. Which leaves the final place on the team and Bernard Brogan slips in at 15. Some of that is down to the fact Jamie Clarke didn't do enough, Eoin Bradley wasn't fit enough, Donnacha O'Connor didn't win enough while Colm McFadden didn't have enough support. On top of that the Kerry tactics in the final meant Colm Cooper never saw enough of the ball and his semi-final alone wasn't enough. Bernard had his standout game in the semi-final as well but was lively in the final too although he can still consider himself the luckiest of the 15 on this team.

Dublin 5; Donegal 3; Kerry, Kildare, 2; Mayo, Tyrone, Wexford, 1

***
Player of the Year
1. Alan Brogan (Dublin)
2. Darran O'Sullivan (Kerry)
3. Karl Lacey (Donegal)

***
Young Player of the Year
1. Cillian O'Connor (Mayo)
2. Rory O'Carroll (Dublin)
3. Patrick McBrearty (Donegal)

***
Manager of the Year
1. Pat Gilroy (Dublin)
2. Jimmy McGuinness (Donegal)
3. Paul Coggins (London)

***
Games of the Year (for entertainment as well as quality)
1. Donegal 1-12 Kildare 0-14 – All Ireland quarter-final
2. Mayo 1-13 Cork 2-6 – All Ireland quarter-final
3. Dublin 1-12 Kerry 1-11 – All Ireland final
4. Dublin 1-12 Kildare 1-11 – Leinster semi-final
5. Kerry 1-15 Cork 1-12 – Munster final

***
Upsets of the Year
1. Carlow 0-14 Louth 0-13 – Leinster quarter-final
2. Offaly 1-18 Monaghan 1-10 – Qualifiers round one
3. Leitrim 1-10 Sligo 0-10 – Connacht quarter-final

***
Scores of the Year
1. Kevin Cassidy winning point – Donegal v Kildare
2. Darran O'Sullivan goal – Kerry v Limerick (All Ireland quarter-final)
3. Kieran Donaghy equalising point – Kerry v Dublin

***
Controversies of the Year
1. Bernard Brogan's last-minute free against Kildare
2. Twitter and the Antony Masterson's forced apology
3. Joe McQuillan's lopsided All Ireland performance

***
Disappointments of the Year
1. The standard of refereeing and umpiring and the avoidance of that problem by those in power
2. Donegal's mind-numbing defensive tactics
3. The lack of a novel and surprise provincial winner

Maith An Fear

Kevin McManamon sings at Dublin Football Homecoming for Sam