September Road

A TENNER on Meath, Tyrone, Louth and Waterford all to win yesterday's football ties would have yielded 30 (plus your €10 back). If Offaly, Clare, Longford and Antrim had won, a tenner stake would have returned 1,866.

GAA doing their best to keep the national games a secret

THE RACE to September in the senior hurling championship began at the weekend.

No, really. Didn't you see all the adverts?

The publicity campaign passed you by?

And in the run-up to the opening defence of the All-Ireland football champions in Thurles last week there was hardly a whisper from the GAA to promote the game. Only the faithful need apply. There were some ticket incentives available, but the only encouragement on the ground we witnessed before Kerry's clash with Tipperary was a discounted ticket for supporters who turned up to watch Munster minor football championship matches in the days before the game. It was a bit like selling guns at a meeting of the Michigan Militia.

Some business was done, naturally. However, first time buyers are thin on the ground.

During May up to one million people will visit the island. The GAA are happy to allow the Australian cricket team to train in Croke Park, admirably hoping to promote the stadium throughout the world. But what of the tourists already here?

The idea that a someone from America, or France or wherever can leave this island without even knowing there are sports called hurling and Gaelic football is, well, ridiculous.

Were there any tourists in O'Moore Park in Portlaoise at the weekend? Unless they happened to stumble into the place then we can safely assume the answer is no.

They went to the Guinness Storehouse instead.

Cards conundrum

WITH EIGHT matches in the 2010 senior football championship now completed, four at the weekend, and four in the previous two weekends it is interesting to note the big decrease in the number of yellow and red card being handed out.

But the question is: are the players getting more disciplined, or are the referees getting more lenient?

Quote of the Week

"If I want to go to hear good whistling I'll listen to Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains or Seán Potts. I don't want to listen to GAA referees whistling."- The Sunday Game's Pat Spillane is unimpressed by some out-of-tune decisions yesterday

Clubs benefit from Limerick stand-off

THE LIMERICK senior hurling championship started just over a week ago, and already the competition is over bar the shouting for several clubs - many of whom contain the best hurlers in Limerick. Something - because of the insane standoff between management and players - the county panel cannot also boast.

Stephen Lucey, whose club Croom has lost to Bruree and Murroe Boher, and who was arguably Limerick's best defender last season, will not be showcasing his talent in front of large crowds for club or county this summer. But most of the talk so far in the county club championship has been about the displays of Niall Moran (above), who has been lording it for Ahane, scoring from play and placed ball.

The county's loss has, to some extent, been the clubs' gain and Clare could well live to regret not putting more effort into escaping from Division Two of the NHL this season. Next year, they will surely be facing a full-strength Limerick side with something to prove.