Has the decision to bring the intercounty football and hurling championships been a good one? It has certainly made for an ultra-hectic April and May in the sporting calendar, with GAA vying with soccer, rugby and other sports for attention. In his column today, Darragh O'Sé writes the GAA is losing out big time as other sports reach their endgames. "There's ducking and diving and dodging going on against a lot of other sports – the Champions League, Heineken Cup, the endgame to the English Premier League – that it is all so hectic just now and they're getting lost in the midst of it all," he writes. "It is like bumper cars; and I think the GAA are losing!"
This weekend the matches include Dublin v Meath in Gaelic football and Waterford v Cork in hurling and there are interviews with former players Anthony Nash and Cian O'Sullivan. Nash expects a mighty Cork effort in last-chance saloon as victory over Waterford would change the picture completely for the Rebel County, while Cian O'Sullivan is highly optimistic of Dublin's chances this year as he believes his former colleagues are still a match for the best. Meanwhile in Seán Moran's column today, he writes that the rule barring MacCarthy Cup hurlers playing under-20 is not unreasonable.
In today's subscriber only article, Gordon D'Arcy says Leinster can take advantage of Munster's softening up of Toulouse for their Champions Cup semi-final against the French side this Saturday at the Aviva. He says Munster cannot let the defeat against the holders be the game that defines their season. It must be a launch pad from which to push for silverware in the United Rugby Championship. As the build-up to the Leinster game at the weekend continues, Gerry Thornley writes that Kiwi duo Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe are pushing Leinster to fresh heights. The in-form Gibson-Park's head-to-head scrumhalf battle with Dupont is an enticing prospect.
An expert header by Sadio Mané kept Liverpool's Premier League dreams alive last night, although it wasn't an easy match for the Reds as Aston Villa took the lead and created plenty of problems for Jürgen Klopp's side. They move level with Manchester City on points, who have a game in hand, as City announced the signing of young goalscoring phenomenon Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for €60 million.
Haaland is one of the many stars featured on the Fifa football series of video games, which is no longer a commercial partnership after EA Sports and the football federation ended their agreement after two decades. EA Sports are set to rename the hugely popular video game EA Sports FC. Meanwhile, some Dubliners have taken Rockies road to new adventure with Northern Colorado Hailstorm, with manager Éamon Zayed and players Shane McFaul and Rob Cornwall enjoying a surprising cup run in the US.
