At the weekend, a quarter of the teams that entered the 2013 senior football championship left the rest of the summer free for other pursuits.
Another quarter – Laois, Tyrone, Louth, Fermanagh, Longford, Galway, Armagh and Derry – have, at the very least, one more weekend of football in front of them.
But how far can they go?
2008 was the final year of the crazy format that excluded Division Four league teams from the championship qualifiers (if that system still existed Leitrim’s season would be now over).
So we looked at the four seasons since then to get an inkling of where this year’s round one winners can go.
The results are not encouraging for the weekend’s round one winners.
Tradition suggests more than half will fall at the next hurdle.
2009-12 SFC Qualifier Round One Winners
32 winners in 4 years – where they subsequently fell . . .
Round 2 – 18 fallers: Longford (4), Wicklow (2), Cavan (2), Tipperary (2), Roscommon, Westmeath, Offaly, Laois, London, Derry, Monaghan, Wexford.
Round 3 – 7 fallers: Antrim (2) Meath, Armagh, Wexford, Offaly, Down.
Round 4 – 3 fallers: Tipperary, Down, Wicklow.
All-Ireland Quarter-finals – 2 fallers: Laois, Donegal.
All-Ireland Semi-finals – 2 fallers: Kildare, Meath.
WHEN THE DAY OF THE WEEK REALLY MEANT SOMETHING
There was a lot of hot air about last Friday night’s match between Laois and Carlow. But what if it had been arranged for Thursday?
The upcoming hurling clash between Kilkenny and Tipperary is fixed for Nowlan Park in Kilkenny city next Saturday evening. And Kilkenny have an awesome record at Nowlan Park, in all grades and competitions – bar ones involving a football.
They have hosted Tipperary in the senior hurling championship before.
The very first All-Ireland hurling semi-final took place in Urlingford on October 27th, 1887. The game was on a Thursday, because when the teams met in Clonmel the previous Sunday, some club games were in progress.
Hard as it is to believe now, the clubs, literally, held their ground, and Kilkenny and Tipperary officials had to hastily rearrange the clash for the following Thursday.
On the day in Urlingford there was more trouble, when Tipperary were forced to call on some supporters to tog out after the home side objected to several of the visitors’ players. This is unlikely to happen at Nowlan Park this Saturday. Tipperary won that first encounter by the way.
TWENTY-SEVEN
The number of senior hurling championship matches Kilkenny have played on home soil – one in Urlingford, six in St James' Park in Kilkenny city, and 20 in Nowlan Park (the last back in the days when Kilkenny could overrun Dublin, 2003).
APPY DAYS STREAMING AT THE TV
It wasn't RTÉ's fault that the Kilkenny-Dublin replay wasn't shown live on TV, but that didn't stop the station taking flak from hurling fans.
RTÉ did, however, trumpet that a live feed would be available from their website – a relief to many. Alas, it turned out the live feed was available on your PC. No tablets need apply. "We stream RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2 on the app," RTÉ said. "The stream of Dublin v Kilkenny is on RTÉ Sport . . . desktop only." The app was working, the only problem for hurling fans irate that Cavan versus Monaghan was on the box was that the app was streaming . . . Cavan versus Monaghan!
On a positive note, though, last night's Sunday Game highlights programme was excellent – and, at just over two hours, was the longest in the programme's 34-year history.
Over favourite moment of the show was Waterford hurling manager Michael Ryan explaining that, at half-time of the clash with Westment, the team discussed “the facts of life”.
Ermm, okay.
Strangely, it seemed to work and Waterford upped their game in the second half.
AGAINST THE ODDS
When was the last time Kilkenny were NOT favourites to win
the Liam MacCarthy Cup?
All-Ireland Hurling Odds
Galway 5/2 Kilkenny 11/4 Tipperary 11/2
Limerick 6/1 Cork 6/1 Dublin 15/2
Clare 12/1 Waterford 33/1 Wexford 150/1
FIFTY NOT OUT
When Waterford hurler Tony Browne was introduced during the second half of Saturday's championship clash with Westmeath, he was still in his thirties. Today, he turns 40. Happy birthday Tony.
However, his accomplishment was put in the shade just 24 hours later when another man for whom 1991 was a milestone year. While Browne made his senior intercounty debut in ’91, Mickey Linden (pictured) collected the first of his two All-Ireland senior football medals the same year.
And 22 years later he’s still going strong. Yesterday, Linden came on for Mayobridge 3rds and scored four points from play. At 50 years of age. “My legs were a bit wobbly but my feet still work,” the Down legend was quoted after the game.
CORK HURLERS LOSE ANOTHER PLAYER
Cork hurling's injury list is impressive – and devastating.
The county has been hit hard this season, with several long-term injuries (particularly Paudie O’Sullivan) and a few other omissions (including Darren Sweetnam opting for a rugby career).
And yesterday came the latest blow with Brian Murphy suffering a suspected fractured shoulder during Bride Rovers’ clash with Ballinhassig in the Cork senior hurling championship.
If, as expected, he misses the Munster final against Limerick on Sunday week it'll be another huge blow for Cork and Jimmy Barry Murphy, who was surely lining the 30-year-old up to mark Graeme Mulcahy.
THEY SAID THAT? TWITTER TWADDLE
Hill16Dubs @Hill16DubsGAA
YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Steven McDonnell @Killeavy13
24-307 scored over 12 games this weekend. An average of almost 32 points per match. Not entertaining & negative they say. #IDontThinkSo #GAA
Padraig Joyce @Padraic14
Congrats to @OfficialLondonG... Connacht final in wembley...??? #prentyzaysno
