To curve or to swerve — that is the question.

Jim Gavin’s response when asked if there was a sense of regret at neglecting to take Jonny Cooper off David Clifford when he had the chance could have hardly been more definitive.

In the 2017 Division 1 final, Kerry brought Dublin’s 36-game unbeaten record across League and Championship to an end. Next Sunday, they aim to prevent Jim Gavin’s men from extending their defeat-less Championship run to 36. Thirty-three Championship wins and two draws have brought Dublin to the brink of creating GAA history. Here are 15 facts and figures behind their remarkable five-in-a-row tilt:

Dublin are on the brink of history and already have seven SFC wins to their name this summer, and John Fogarty reflects that in his August All-Stars. But how do the other counties fare?

Getting the match-ups right has gone a long way for Kerry and Mayo in recent years. We think of Aidan O’Mahony on Michael Murphy in the 2014 final, Lee Keegan on Enda Smith in the 2017 All-Ireland quarter-final replay and just last weekend Patrick Durcan tagging Ryan McHugh.

Cork’s maiden voyage into the Super 8s begins this evening and the challenge facing them couldn’t be any bigger than that posed by the five-in-a-row chasing Dublin.

In his 10th season playing Championship football for Dublin, and in his 100th overall game, the tight-marking defender finally scored a point.

Leading inter-county football managers run the risk of losing sideline privileges for several games should they continue the habit of keeping their actual starting teams for Allianz League fixtures under wraps until the 11th hour.

A sense of belonging and a need for order are two of the reasons why so many Dublin fringe players remain involved, Ciarán Kilkenny believes.

Life as an inter-county defender, even one stationed in the relatively controlled environs of Dublin’s back line, brings with it the inevitability that you will be burned. The trick is doing all you can to limit your exposure to the fire.

Last week the PwC All-Star players of the month for July and August were revealed.

It’s eight years since Dublin last lost a game of senior football in Leinster and Michael Fitzsimons has reason to remember it well.

Sitting in the opulence of a Dubai hotel, during the 2016 All-Stars tour, Tyrone’s Matthew Donnelly was asked about the promise of his Trillick club mate, Lee Brennan.

After Kilkenny’s first All-Ireland senior title under Brian Cody in 2000, the strength of his panel was lauded to such an extent that when the Cats cruised through Leinster the following year their second 15 were deemed the next best side in the country.

The game panned out along expected lines with Dublin racking up another routine victory, and Jim Gavin stuck to a familiar script afterwards when he spoke to reporters.

Table-toppers Dublin continued their relentless march through this Allianz League campaign with a routine victory over beaten All-Ireland finalists Mayo in Castlebar.

For the first time in the history of the PwC All-Stars, there are four candidates for the footballer of the year including two goalkeepers, David Clarke and Stephen Cluxton, writes John Fogarty.

For the first time in the history of the PwC All-Stars, there are four candidates for the footballer of the year including two goalkeepers, David Clarke and Stephen Cluxton.

Jim Gavin has escaped criticism, which is understandable given the winning run he has led Dublin on throughout the last three championships. However, he should cop some for what he did yesterday — or rather what he didn’t do.

Pat Spillane and Eamonn O'Hara join Clare MacNamara to discuss an amazing All-Ireland final as Dublin made it three in a row.

All-Ireland under-21 Football winning captain Con O'Callaghan will make his first championship start for the Dublin senior team in tomorrow's Leinster quarter-final against Carlow in Portlaoise.

Referee David Gough has told Kerry supporters that he didn’t have clear sight of Kevin McManamon’s challenge on Peter Crowley in the closing stages of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final.

When teams in sport go on long unbeaten runs, everyone has them in the crosshairs, writes Tomás Quinn. 

Cavan 0-11 Dublin 0-18: An occasion to remember for Cavan, business as usual for Dublin.

James McCarthy claims more players are trying to con match officials into black carding opponents.

Dublin 1-15 Mayo 1-14: In the battle of pragmatism and poetry, there was only going to be one winner. And Dublin it was.

Irish Water is to work with Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) on rehabilitation works on a river the utility polluted last year, causing the death of more than 3,000 fish.

Panel depth allows Dublin to experiment and other lessons from Sunday...

Down 1-7 Dublin 1-15: Still holding a flawless record as they stride towards the Allianz League semi-finals may suggest Dublin are passing through the spring without being road tested. Jim Gavin, however, insists that the ride has been “a little bit bumpy”.

Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice has backed Paul Murphy to shine again at centre-forward, though he accepts that tomorrow’s Allianz FL Division 1 clash with Donegal in Tralee will represent a different challenge for the Rathmore man than Down did last week.

Sigerson Cup - UCD 0-11 NUIG 1-6: UCD may have a string of Dublin All-Ireland winners in their ranks but it was the accuracy of Westmeath’s John Heslin that saw them over the line in a good contest in Dangan yesterday.

Already we are faced with a challenge, a familiar one: Weighing up exactly what these early season games mean and how relevant are they?

For one reason or another - even by their absence, or off the bench, this sextet will have a decisive bearing on the destination of Sam Maguire

Dublin selector Declan Darcy has admitted they face a testing week to select their All-Ireland final team but insisted they won’t be clouded by ‘nostalgia’ when making the big calls.

Getting chilly, isn’t it?

We await the exact reasoning behind the Disputes Resolution Authority’s decision to rescind Diarmuid Connolly’s red card but it can safely be said the GAA’s appeals structure is undermining the authority of referees on and off the field.

Dublin 3-15 Mayo 1-14: It lacked the deliriousness of the All-Ireland semi-final replay 12 months earlier, when Mayo and Kerry set Limerick alight, but this last four second act wanted for little else, save the sort of dramatic ending that seemed a given for so long.

Dublin chairman Sean Shanley said they will in all likelihood contest Diarmuid Connolly’s red card in an attempt to make him available for Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final.