It’s All-Ireland hurling final weekend, isn’t it?

Check the calendar and the news cycle fits perfectly. If it’s late August/early September, then all the markers are in place this week. An odyssey through the alphabet soup of GAA disciplinary committees is only to be expected this time of year. So is spiky confrontation on the field, given the size of the prizes on offer; sniping at referees off the field; former players weighing in to defend county colleagues; and of course the SOLD OUT signs, whether real or in online form, that suggest a heaving Croke Park this weekend.

Little wonder the game is dominating the GAA agenda all week. But is it the All-Ireland football semi-final replay or the All-Ireland hurling final that’s doing so?

For this observer, the build-up to Sunday’s hurling has taken a back seat to the buzz and hum of the Mayo-Dublin rematch. Maybe even a back seat to the back seat.