It is a big week for the GAA, with the group charged with the task of restructuring the calendar year and the format of the football championships to be revealed. And in his column this morning Kevin McStay has discussed the urgent need for reform of the football championships, following another weekend of one-sided results - including Dublin's 5-21 to 0-10 hammering of Louth. He suggests a radical overhaul is needed to increase competitiveness and improve the balance of the club and county seasons: "The need for redress is urgent. . . We know now that we have reached a crossing point in this club versus county debate. The April experiment has not worked. The qualifiers have been wonderful but as a concept, their race is run. Overall, the weaker counties did not benefit from the format. The main beneficiaries were the strong counties availing of their second chance to storm to All-Irelands, as Galway and Kerry and Tyrone all did." And he believes it is time for the GAA to be bold in their thinking: "Well, why not? Why not a three-year trial period? There should be no great fear in being bold in this. The championship has been interrupted by world and domestic wars, with finals not played or delayed for a year. Things happen."
In his column this morning Gerry Thornley has reflected on another successful season for Irish rugby - albeit one which struggled to hit quite the same heights as the 2017-18 campaign. And he pays tribute to Seán O'Brien, who leaves Leinster for London Irish this summer and is set to miss the Rugby World Cup through injury. He writes: "On his day O'Brien was almost unplayable. He could influence games almost through the force of his own will, whether through those explosive leg-pumping carries, breakdown turnovers, big hits or skill-set. As mentally strong as he was physically, his endless list of operations would have broken lesser men. . . As much as anything, through his deeds on the field and his voice, he made others play better. That's a rare quality. An O'Brien tide lifted all boats. The best captain Ireland never had?" Later today Ireland boss Joe Schmidt will name his preliminary World Cup training squad for Japan.
Aston Villa are back in the Premier League after a three season absence, following yesterday's 2-1 Championship play-off final win over Derby County at Wembley. Villa's opener came through Anwar El Ghazi on the stroke of half-time, before John McGinn doubled their lead on the hour mark. Frank Lampard's side rallied with a Martyn Waghorn goal 10 minutes from time but Villa held their nerve to return to the big time.
Elsewhere this morning, Ruaidhrí Croke has looked into why traditional television channels continue to dominate the sport market, despite the ongoing rise of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. He writes: "Consumers in general are happy to pay extra for the sort of quality that mainstream broadcasters provide, even if they don't realise the level of that quality until they tune into a less-resourced streaming service."
And he has also looked at five of the best scenic races to participate in this summer. From Achill Island to Hillsborough Castle, you can see them here.
