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A bit better.

http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/9337726/gaa-to-make-debut-on-sky-sports

A lot better. That's exactly the kind of enthusiasm you expect from Sky, selling the game. As regard the Black card, he spoke eloquently. I've always liked the guy, it's easy to criticise somebody just because they weren't GAA players themselves, but give him a chance. On that evidence, he won't be half bad.

Yes it is better, but you you really have to jump straight into the controversy du jour before you have even broadcast a match?

Show some epic footage of the two teams, historical rivalry or whatever.

They could have done that with the hurling, considering that it is a hurling match that they're broadcasting on Saturday, but you're nit-picking a bit. Sky have no reputation for being negative about the sports they broadcast. If anything, Carney was being positive in relation to the black card and its impact. Whether you like it or not, the black card is the big issue in GAA right now. You're not not going to talk about it.

A bit better.

http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/9337726/gaa-to-make-debut-on-sky-sports

A lot better. That's exactly the kind of enthusiasm you expect from Sky, selling the game. As regard the Black card, he spoke eloquently. I've always liked the guy, it's easy to criticise somebody just because they weren't GAA players themselves, but give him a chance. On that evidence, he won't be half bad.

I'm like your good selves, I was very excited when I heard Sky would be getting involved in GAA coverage. Sky have been outstanding, and that's not a word I use lightly, in covering whatever sport they get behind. They rejuvenated football beyond belief, turned the unsexiest sport of them all (darts) into absolute theatre, their coverage of cricket, golf, rugby, ANYTHING, is top notch.

While we can only really judge them on their actual broadcasts, I'm building myself for a bit of a fall right now. First of all, Rachel Wyse aside I don't think their team is anything special (and I mention Rachel Wyse as a lady that I think has genuine ability) and while this Kilkenny-Offaly Connacht football thing is small, it is nonetheless a very embarrassing mistake. Kilkenny couldn't kick a football out of their f**king way!

Here's hoping I'm wrong.

Terrific game. I was impressed by Down and they showed great character. I hope they win the replay, because that was a blatant dive at the end. Not nice to see.

Anyway, I think we can safely say that neither team will be winning Ulster, at least that's my own personal opinion. It's hard enough winning Ulster from the preliminary round without having to replay it.

I'm starting to get the impression that people have finally reached saturation point with Brolly. I think he was found out last year when his beloved Donegal were not only beaten (twice, something Brolly was having people believe could not happen even once), but absolutely humiliated. He's jumped horse pretty embarrasingly to Dublin this time and has suddenly turned on Donegal. People were always fooled into believing he 'was right more often than he's wrong', but now people are finally waking up and seeing that it's not hard to be right if you back every horse that takes the lead.

Just to extend on my own point, once Donegal were beaten, he started saying that Mayo's football was some of the best he'd ever seen and said with great authority that they would not be beaten. They were beaten. Now he's all about Dublin. Prepare for him not only to get right on the team that beat Dublin, and not only that, but he'll turn around and slate the Dubs. If Dublin do win the All-Ireland, sure he'll have been right all along. Not to easy to be 'right most of the time' when you do that, eh?

I'm starting to get the impression that people have finally reached saturation point with Brolly. I think he was found out last year when his beloved Donegal were not only beaten (twice, something Brolly was having people believe could not happen even once), but absolutely humiliated. He's jumped horse pretty embarrasingly to Dublin this time and has suddenly turned on Donegal. People were always fooled into believing he 'was right more often than he's wrong', but now people are finally waking up and seeing that it's not hard to be right if you back every horse that takes the lead.

Nothing wrong with a bit of competition Offalyman, but I do know/have seen some stuff that goes beyond the competitive and into the nastiness. I've seen too much of it in fact! But I agree that things seem to be improving with parents, I think clubs are making a better effort at encouraging a fair game with the realisation that the under-12 South Leitrim shield is not the All-Ireland final. To be fair, the parents are more childish than the children in a lot of cases

It is the simple things. There is a deep sense of satisfaction and enjoyment in helping out with the young kids. We have 80+ kids training with us on Tuesday nights, and about 60 on Saturdays. We do hurling and football alternately. The joy they get out of learning something new, or showing it off is brilliant.

A couple of years ago we had a team up from Cork for a day. We played U6, U8 and U10. We have 3 pitches side by side, and all 3 were full of kids playing. It was a sunny day, and before the games we marched them all out behind our local piper, who then played Amhran na bhFiann as the kids all stood to attention like an All Ireland final. Brilliant stuff.

Hate to lower the tone, because those scenes are brilliant, but it's a pity that they don't last longer or provide an example. From under-12 onwards (maybe even earlier), things get very heated, which is ridiculous when you think of it. I've heard of young fellas locally at under-10 level bullied for being no good, which is all out of order. The mothers don't help matters! By under-14 you can have all out war being waged! It's a pity this innocence doesn't last longer. I remember attending an under-8 schools blitz and I had to chuckle at their being far more goals than points and everyone actually getting along. That's what it's about.

The market has Dublin evens which means it's 50-50 whether they'll win.
This is correct.  They are not odds on which reflects that anything can happen in the long hot summer (on some days it can be hot) ahead.

An evens horse is considered the best horse in a race on form and pedigree. It is not a sure thing as it has to face obstacles, possible injury , a lapse in concentration  and of course the sudden discovery of a form of another horse.
So in a nutshell, Dublin probably won't win the Epsom Derby

The best team I've seen were the Kilkenny hurlers. Were they unbeatable? Close, but they eventually got turned over in their biggest ever game. They're an extreme example, and as good as Dublin are, I don't see them being close to that. That's why you're on the mark with the 50-50 thing. That's a much better shot than most get at the All-Ireland (akin maybe to Kerry between 2004 and 2009), but still not a foregone conclusion.

Nice piece.

http://hill16.ie/news/315301/Dublin_County_Board_Statement_Shane_Carthy

Best wishes to Shane Carthy. Some things are actually more important than football and this is one of them.

Agree completely.

Ditto.

[CONNACHT]

There is no such effin thing as a "Connaught" Championship.
For the umpteenth time to someone on this board it's
CONNACHT.
OK.

Calm down Rossfan...we all know the bleddy Brits put Munster, Ulster, and Leinster on  the other 3 provinces, when they came to us, they called us Connaught. But we rather the Gaelic version Connacht.

It's still a horriblly stupid corruption of the proper spelling. Almost all professional sources use the Irish version in place of the corrupted version. In football and sporting terms there's no such thing as 'Connaught' anyways.

My apologies. I will edit. There was no harm intended. Excuse my ignorance, it was not out of badness.

I wouldn't take any notice of his opinions, it's the way others do that bothers me. Love him or hate him, he's got an audience. I hear a lot of people saying 'he's right more often than now', but I don't think that's hard when you back every horse in the race, eh?

Who tocht you to spell anyway?

Top marks for that one!

Unfortunately I made a bags of it.

It was a good effort though

This myth still surrounds Donegal. Are the likes of Dublin, Tyrone, Cork,  Derry etc not putting the same physical graft or maybe more than Donegal? Is 100% not the minimum from all squads? You'd think Jimmy was marshalling a chain gang!

Again, we just don't know, do we? There was so much made of the efforts they were making that you'd find it hard to believe that there wasn't something to it. My word did Brolly build up this set-up though!