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More games, can't be bad. Won't suit Kerry's traditional route though.

http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=70089

Provincial winners may get second chance
11 December 2006


Cork secretary Frank Murphy has revealed that the GAA is considering a radical change of format for the All-Ireland football championship that would give provincial champions a second bite at the cherry.

Under the proposed format, the four provincial winners would play off for two All-Ireland semi-final places, while the losing two would play off with the two All-Ireland qualifiers for the remaining two semi-final berths.

Under the present format, the four provincial champions qualify for the All-Ireland quarter-finals where they are joined by four teams from the qualifier series. But if the proposed format is accepted, it would see the number of teams coming through from the qualifiers reduced to two, while the losing provincial champions would be given a second chance.

Murphy told the Cork county convention over the weekend that the thinking behind it was that the current system "is weighed in favour" of the qualifier series.

"It would mean that the provincial winners would meet stiffer opposition than heretofore. But it's felt that they should be given the extra opportunity of getting to the semi-final by beating one of the qualifier teams.

Murphy also told delegates that there was a growing consensus in favour of a trimmed down All-Ireland hurling championship which would limit certain teams to only one second chance

 The Story of Christmas (adapted for Dubs)
>
>Dere's dis boord called Mary, yeah? She's a virgin (wha' de fook is
dah?).
>She's not married or nuttin', but she's got dis felleh, Joe, righ'? He
does
>joinery an' all dah. Mary lives with him in a flah dowwen in Nazareh.
>
>One day Mary meets dis yungfelleh Gabriel. She's like "Wha are yeh
bleedin'
>lookin' ah?" Gabriel just goes "You're fookin' pregnant so yeh are".
Mary's
>scarleh. She gives him a fookin' earful: "Are you bleedin' startin'?
I'm no
>fookin' sluh. I never bin wih no one!"
>
>So Mary goes and sees her cousin Liz, who's six months gone herself.
Liz is
>on a mad buzz, bud. She's filled with spirits, Barcardi Breezers an'
all
>dah.
>
>She sez te Mary "Ah howeyeh, Mary, I can feel me chiseller in me
stummick
>and I reckon I'm well blessed. Think of all deh money we'll be getting
from
>deh social." Mary goes "Yeah, s'pose you're righ' ".
>
>Mary an' Joe haven't goh a fookin' bean so they have to ponse a donkey,
an'
>go dowwen te Behlehem on dah. Dey get to dis boozer an' Mary wants to
stop,
>yeah? To have her yungfelleh an' all dah.
>
>But there's no fookin' no roohem at the inn, righ'? So Mary an' Joe
break
>an' into this garridge, only it's filled wih animals. Cowis an' sheep
an'
>all dah.
>
>Then these three lads tourn up, lookin bleedin' rapih, wih crowens on
der
>heads an' all dah'. They're like "Ah Jaysis, howeyeh!" an' say dey're
deh
>tree wise men from de East Wall.
>
>Joe goes: 'If you're so bleedin wiyis, wha de fook are yizzer doin' wih
dis
>Frankenstein an' myrrh? Why didn't yeh just bring gold, 20 Blue and
>Boorberry?'
>
>It's all about to kick off when Gabriel turns up again an' sez he's got

>anudder message bout some Punchis Pilah' hardchaw.
>
>He's like 'Deh coppers is comin an' they're killin all de chisslers.
You
>better fook off to Egypt.' Joe goes 'You must be fookin' off yer
bleedin'
>rocker if yeh tink I'm goin' te fookin' Egypton a fookin' donkey'
>Gabriel sez 'Suit yerself, bud. But it's your look out if yeh stay.' So

>they go dowwen teh Egypt till they've stopped killin deh foorst-born
an'
>all an' annyways it's safe an' dah.
>
>Then Joe and Mary and Jeesis go back to Nazareh, an' Jeesis turns water

>inteh Dutch Gold.

Stephen Roche completes the treble of Giro D'italia, Tour de france, and World Championship all in one year, only ever done before by Eddy Merckx.

That's good news. Hope the lad makes full and swift recovery.

Heather small / search for a hero

surely you jest?

best thread was the one about spotting GAA celebs

For me its McGeeney with McGrane a very close second. Both are the driving force behind that side.
Oisin had been a match winner many a day for us and if we are asked this question in 4 years time i'd say we will be saying either Stevie or Clarke if he keeps going in the form he was in this year.

Surely for the majority of his career Armagh weren't around for him to score against?

if that's the case how can he have been the "bane" of Armagh?

the bane of Armagh "Peter the great Canavan"

Hardly, for the vast majority of his career he failed to score from play against us. I would consider O'Neill much more of a "bane" than Costeau.

We def need McGrane at midfield but need to find another. I always thought Loughran would make it but not so sure now. Nippy is probably a bit light for midfield at the minute. Keeping Geezer there aint the answer either.

Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the
very elderly widow and asked, "How old was your husband?" "98,"
she replied. "Two years older than me." "So you're 96," the
undertaker commented. She responded, "Hardly worth going home, is it?

Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: "And what do you
think is the best thing about being 104?" the reporter asked. She
simply replied, "No peer pressure."

The nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter
eggs.
I've sure gotten old! I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip
replacement, new knees, Fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I'm
half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take
40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject
to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have poor circulation;
hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can't remember if I'm 85
or 92. Have lost all my friends. But, thank God, I still have my
driver's license.
I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my
doctor's permission to join a fitness club and start exercising.
I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted,
gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by
the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.
An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and told her
preacher she had two final requests. First, she wanted to be
cremated, and second, she wanted her ashes scattered over Tesco. "Tesco?" the preacher exclaimed. "Why Tesco?" "Then
I'll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week "
My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not
as sharp as it used to be.
Know how to prevent sagging? Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.
It's scary when you start making the same noises as your
coffeemaker.
These days about half the stuff in my shopping basket says, "For
fast relief."
Remember: You don't stop laughing because you grow old, You grow
old because you stop laughing.

--- THE SENILITY PRAYER : Grant me the senility to forget the
people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the
ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

Hang on a minute, has someone hijacked rufus' handle? Simple test to find out. Rufus - what was the venue all those years ago on christmas eve, when pints were a quid a go?

Not a harp man Rufus, tis a bit gassy and leaves you an awful drewth in the morning. The black stuff in the club is your only man.

Club : Armagh Harps

County : Armagh obviously

Best Memory : Armagh finally winning Sam 2002 , Harps winning county titles 89 and 91,