The bewildering incompetence of county boards, the staggering uselessness of the Official Guide, and the utter insanity of the GAA is always thrown into sharp focus at this time of the year.

After a recent game in Markievicz Park, I was introduced to one of those footballing gurus that you meet from time to time.

Before a table quiz at our club got underway last year, quizmaster John Otterson kept everyone entertained with some archive footage.

Could your county board do with an extra €5m? Would your county board like this €5m to come in the form of one of those great Fifa loans that don’t actually have to be paid back?

There is one serious flaw with the defensive-based running game which has been slavishly adopted by virtually every team in the country.

Kerry won last year’s All-Ireland title without the services of Colm Cooper, the most sublimely gifted footballer in the country. Think about that.

Gaelic football has moved on, but the media and GAA officialdom are clinging to a past that has long since ceased to exist.

When the GAA signed a broadcasting deal with Sky Sports, it was argued that the competition would force RTÉ to improve the standard of their coverage.

After attending the launch of the Ulster Championship in Donegal last week, I walked away from the event astonished at the physical conditioning of some of the players.

On several occasions last week, I listened to avid sports fans agonising over how they would watch the so-called ‘Fight of the Century’ between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.