This weekend we have three senior games on the Saturday menu.
At Parnell Park, Dublin welcome Antrim. Welcome isn't really the right word. The Leinster Championship has caught fire this summer and both teams are in the scrap for places.
Antrim don't travel well but the close confines of Parnell Park will suit them and they won't fear the Dubs either. Maybe a slight upset is on the cards.
Less scrappy will be Carlow and Kilkenny at Netwatch Dr Cullen Park. Many Carlow hurlers grew up thinking of themselves as a satellite of the Kilkenny empire.
Despite the great work of the last few years, it's probably too soon for the Scallion Eaters to consider themselves equals to the stripey ones.
And to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday evening, sun shining, sell-out crowd, the four-peat champions visiting the real capital, looking like a team shaping for five-in-a-row.
Cork displayed promising signs against Clare but their defence must be systematically tighter and running game balanced with direct plays to counter Limerick's stampede in the middle third.
Finishing with 15 is non-negotiable for the home side. It all points to a Limerick win but there's a part of Hurling Nation that wonders...The red jersey, a huge home crowd desperate for a win along with an hour of need must bring the best out of this Cork team. We refuse to rule out a Cork result.
Elsewhere, top of the bill in the Christy Ring Cup is the Brexit Derby. London who are unbeaten and top of the table, travel to Owenbeg to play Derry who need the two points to put them back into contention.
Neither that game nor any of the Joe McDonagh or Christy Ring Cup matches are amongst the 38 championship games being shown on GAAGO this summer.
No less than seven Tailteann Cup games will be featured. Why? Because football is more important? Who knows.
The senior hurling championship involves 34 matches, the football championship is 64 matches. For some reason, those 34 hurling games have to be squeezed into the cracks between the football schedule.
The All-Ireland hurling final has to be done and dusted before the football showpiece. Why?
Think about these last two points. Firstly, Wexford put on a great show of grit and imagination last Saturday.
You could feel the enthusiasm about Wexford hurling coming back with every score. That game played on the first weekend of May 2024 was the last time Wexford people, young and old, will see their senior hurling team play in Wexford Park until 2025.
On the same evening, the people responsible for this crazy system being in place were catering to another sport in Croke Park.
Maybe they should look at that other sport and think about marketing their own game.
Secondly, when Clare played Limerick on live television a few weeks back, 436,000 people tuned in, almost 200,000 more than watched the football game that followed - more than one in every two people who decided to turn on the TV that evening.
Cork against Limerick tomorrow is a huge opportunity to showcase the game to many people all over again.
It is commonly acknowledged that hurling needs oxygen. This weekend the people charged with promoting the game have given up that opportunity in order to sell subscriptions for a commercial entity. A commercial entity that does hurling in Ireland very little service.
With this evidence of a glaring leadership vacuum and the sport's visibility at stake, Hurling Nation asks where does the government of Ireland stand when it comes to supporting not just the sport but a cultural cornerstone?
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
