THERE’S luck and there’s talent, and in rough-and-tumble contact sports one often depends on the other. But for All-Star winning hurler Ollie Canning it’s all down to luck.

Ollie Canning believes Galway are even stronger this year and have grown in confidence as a result of winning the All-Ireland title.

John Muldoon looks set to remain involved in rugby and having built up considerable coaching experience during his playing career, Connacht supporters will be hoping that the province’s finest player will return in due course when he hangs up his boots in May.

It’s only day two in Galway and already the temperatures and the celebrity count are rising as fast as wallets are emptying.

Once you have the first 24 hours under your belt in Galway, the rest of the week should get easier - but it doesn't, writes Conall Ó Fátharta.

Wexford were thoroughly deserving winners against Kilkenny. Twenty-one scores to 14 scores is an eloquent ratio, writes PM O’Sullivan. 

There was a time, of course, when Galway-Tipperary had a toxic edge to it. So toxic, in fact, that a man could be endangered even when mowing his lawn.

“It feels like I can fly…” So Jackie Tyrrell tweeted after Kilkenny won the 2011 Senior Final. 

I love team environments. I love the competitiveness when you come up against your opponent.

Reaction: Henry Shefflin skipped the Kilkenny team holiday to Miami last month, so he could focus on Ballyhale’s club championship campaign.

It wasn’t one of the Hurling 2020 committee’s 15 proposals but the body are fully behind a shake-up of the league, says member Ollie Canning.

Former All Stacccr defender Ollie Canning says he has no intentions of hanging up his hurley and plans to play on into his 39th year.

Gort 2-13 Portumna 1-10

Goals from Joe Canning and young Ronan O’Meara saw Portumna past Athenry and set up a rematch of last year’s Galway SHC final with Loughrea at the quarter- final stage.

The good times are back in Wexford. Win, lose or draw on Sunday, the Model must now push on to the next level

I read The Circle this week, Dave Eggers’ novel about an internet company that has taken over Google, Facebook, Twitter and the rest.

Hurling 2020 committee member Ollie Canning has backed calls for the introduction of the black card, claiming players are being too severely punished for innocuous fouls.

Under fierce pressure, expect Brian Cody’s Cats to come out fighting this evening

The dress rehearsal is complete and the cameras are ready to roll for the satellite broadcaster’s historic venture into Gaelic games coverage

Liam Sheedy wants to see more Dublins in hurling as he embarks on his chairmanship of the games’ new review committee.

Kilkenny hurling legend Eddie Keher is looking forward to delivering his document on the game to the newly-formed committee headed up by Tipperary’s 2010 All-Ireland winning manager Liam Sheedy.

Cork chairman Bob Ryan has expressed relief the “Anthony Nash motion” has been postponed for this year.

If he’d been thinking with his head, Ollie Canning surely would have pulled down the curtain on his hurling career yesterday on the greatest stage of all.

Before I go into the two teams, I want to talk about the referee yesterday, Barry Kelly.

Portumna (Galway) 0-19 Mount Leinster Rangers (Carlow) 0-11

Portumna fended off the challenge of outsiders Mount Leinster Rangers to win their fourth All-Ireland Club Hurling title at Croke Park.

Portumna 3-12 Loughrea 0-14

Portumna 1-15 Ardrahan 1-14

Nerve-wracking and exhilarating are the emotions plucked by young Declan Kelly in describing his freestyle hurling victory at Croke Park on Sunday.

Conor Cooney got defending All-Ireland champions St Thomas’ Galway SHC campaign back on track with their first win of the group stages over Killimordaly.

The US vice-president, Joe Biden, is to fulfil a long-standing promise to come to Ireland later this year, when he is expected to visit his ancestral home in the Taoiseach’s native Co Mayo.

Michael O’Donoghue and Jack Sherwood will both make their league debuts for Kerry in Castlebar tomorrow.

Galway legend Ollie Canning has hit out at media coverage of comments by his brother Joe following the drawn All-Ireland SHC final against Kilkenny.

Kerry 4-17 Roscommon 1-7

Kerry minor hurling manager Seanie O’Shea has demanded his young charges put up the shutters in this afternoon’sAll-Ireland MBHC final against Roscommon at the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick (2.30pm).

Ollie Canning says Galway are coming into this year’s All-Ireland final in much better shape than they did in their two previous deciders in 2001 and 2005.

Barry Kelly is the ideal man to referee Sunday’s potentially explosive All-Ireland final between Kilkenny and Galway.

Joe Byrne - Galway Hurling Board chairman

Former Galway captain Ollie Canning suggests Brian Cody has attempted to put All-Ireland final referee Barry Kelly under “a bit of pressure”.