Whatever side of the fence you're on, or even if you're sitting atop it, the GAA/Sky Sports deal sounded highly majestic on Mario Rosentock's Giftgrub last week when he had the Soccer Saturday crew reporting on Gaelic Football and hurling. If Sky turn it in to a reality, then the deal might end up with 110 per cent approval.
While Paul Merson was monitoring Kilkenny v Wexford ("THEY'VE COME OUT WIF STICKS, JEFF!!"), Phil Thompson was on duty for Cork v Kerry ("HE'S CLEAN THROUGH, JEFF . . . NOOOOOO, HE'S PUT IT OVER THE BAR!!!"), the fella befuddled when asked who won. "Eeeeeh, I'm not sure Jeff. It's, eeeeeeh, 6-17 to 3-23 . . . I'll get me calculator."
(If you haven’t already, get yourself to TodayFM.com to hear it – so many highlights).
As it proved, there was a bit of a hiccup too on (the real) Sky Sports last week when they announced the deal, telling us that London made history last year by reaching the Connacht final where “they were beaten by Mayo who went on to win the All-Ireland” .
We’ll see how it all works out, although the notion that the Irish abroad require this deal to be able to see a game or 14 is possibly wide of the mark, because this resourceful lot could find you an internet link to see live coverage of a reserve game between Krakow Rovers and Gdansk Ramblers if you asked nicely.
Pop up ads
Which calls to mind Saturday. Setanta, bless them, were good enough to show deferred coverage of the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Germany in Tallaght, but to see it live the tip was to head to the site of German channel ZDF. Streaming unavailable outside Germany. So the second tip was to head to another other site showing ZDF coverage, with pop-up ads every few minutes obscuring the view and inviting you to bet on the game between FC Wacker Innsbruck and RZ Pellets WAC. Maybe the Diaspora do need Sky after all.
Between the betting pop-ups, one appearing just as Annike Laudehr struck her penalty, only the German commentator's "woooooooot" letting us know it had gone in, it was a game and a half, Megan Campbell's throws a particular highlight. Rory Delap could only watch and purr. Send that woman to Rio for the javelin.
The referee did fine, apart from overlooking GBH on Emma Byrne before Germany's second goal, and not disqualifying Melaine Leupolz's injury time winner when it was evidently wind-assisted.
Leupolz was partially obscured in her post match interview when we were asked again if we'd like to bet on FC Wacker Innsbruck v RZ Pellets WAC, but we did hear her use the word " glück " a few times, so at least she was honest enough to concede Germany were jammy as heck. And then a beer ad popped up showing Jogi Löw playing table football with some of his German boys squad, followed by a last betting call for FC Wacker Innsbruck v RZ Pellets WAC.
Wind assisted, too, was the parachutist who delivered the ball to Toulon yesterday for their Beer Cup quarter-final against Leinster, and as it turned out you wished a gust had landed him in Termonfeckin.
One out of three ain't too bad, though, Munster march on, Leinster and Ulster, alas, do not. The latter, of course, weren't assisted, wind-wise or any wise, by Jared Payne's dismissal, although the arrival on the pitch of the injury-plagued Stephen Ferris was a boost. "A one man punishment squad, you need thick oven gloves to hold on to this man," said Mark Robson. But, even his sizzling intervention wasn't enough.
The glück wasn’t on Ulster’s side.
