Offaly draw short straw as Cats first up

What to make of all the All-Ireland senior hurling provincial championship draws yesterday? The first and most obvious question — why so soon?

Why not have this later in the year, say around Christmas, when there was little enough to talk about in GAA circles, and generate a little interest then? Why not wait even until the New Year, start to build a little momentum early in the season, then build on that?

As it is, come January you’re going to have GAA fans wondering — who the hell is it we’re playing again?