The race to win the Liam McCarthy Cup in 2008 has started and can anyone stop Kilkenny from achieving for them a historic three in a row. Both Kilkenny and Kerry are chasing a three in a row and the bookmakers make the Cats the warmer of the two favourites for glory in September. Is this a fair assessment by the Turf Accountants of Ireland? To this Writers eye, there seems to be more teams good enough to thwart Kilkenny than Kerry. In the hurling championship Galway, Cork, Tipperary and possibly Waterford are a decent threat to Kilkenny and in the football who apart from Dublin and their advantage of playing in Croke Park can realistically stop Kerry. Kilkenny have failed to complete the three in row in four previous occasions in 1976, 1984,1994 and 2004 and in three of those occasions it was Cork that took home the Liam McCarthy Cup but it must be noted, that was at a time when the Leinster Championship was a way more competitive than it is now. For Cork fans the thought of Kilkenny winning three in a row is a worry but three in a row could lead to four in row and that would be unbearable. Barring a shock to beat all shocks Kilkenny will coast through Leinster again and this year go straight through to an All Ireland Semi Final on August 17th.

Anthony Lynch and John Miskella have been ruled out of Cork’s Munster SFC opener against Limerick on June 15. Rebels boss Conor Counihan has named a 25-man panel for the game, but both players - who along with Nicholas Murphy are the longest serving members of the squad - have not been included due to injury. Defender Lynch hasn’t fully recovered from the ankle injury he picked up in a challenge against Laois at Crettyard earlier this month, while Miskella has a shoulder injury.

Cian O’Connor is a notable absentee from the 29-man squad announced by Cork hurling manager Gerald McCarthy ahead of Sunday week’s Munster SHC semi-final against Tipperary. The Erin’s Own defender is currently recovering from medial knee ligament damage, but selector Martin Bowen is hopeful he will return within the next three weeks. Also omitted are Fintan O’Leary, Leigh Desmond and Stephen White who will now concentrate all their efforts on the under 21 side. Inniscarra clubman John O’Callaghan, who has won Munster minor and under 21 medals over the past two years, is a new addition to the set-up.

Joe Canning, Ger Farragher and Aonghus Callanan all found the net as Galway signalled their championship intentions with a 3-20 to 0-20 defeat of Cork in a senior hurling challenge at Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday evening. Ger Loughnane’s charges are being spoken of as leading All-Ireland contenders this year and this victory, over an admittedly understrength Cork, will only add to those expectations. The home side dominated the early exchanges and led by 0-8 to 0-1 after just 10 minutes with the O’Connor twins, Ben and Jerry, orchestrating many of their best attacks. The Tribesmen, however, got back into the game when Joe Canning blasted their opening goal and further scores from the recently returned Eugene Cloonan and Ger Farragher brought them level after 20 minutes.

A second-half goal from Cork’s Nicholas Murphy proved the difference as Conor Counihan’s Rebels made the long trip to Newry to take on Down in a challenge game which saw both sides prepare for their upcoming provincial championship outings. In the arrangements for this meeting, Counihan had requested that the doors be closed in Pairc Esler for the duration of the match otherwise the game would not be played. From glimpses of the match outside the grounds, the two sides played out an intense encounter which saw the visitors lead by five points at half-time, Fintan Gould’s goal setting up a 1-8 to 0-6 lead for the Rebels by the interval. Down’s scores in the opening 35 minutes came courtesy of white flags from Liam Doyle (3 frees), Daniel Hughes, Ronan Murtagh and Ronan Sexton.

Cork manager Gerald McCarthy has called on the county board to postpone next weekend’s second round of senior club hurling championship fixtures. Despite the fact that there are two weeks between the games and Cork’s Munster SHC semi-final showdown with Tipperary at Pairc Ui Chaoimh, McCarthy believes they are too close to such an important game with 11 of his squad running the risk of getting injured. He said: "The situation is far from ideal. Our preparation is very disjointed, the club championship has gone on for four weeks. "After next weekend, there will be just two weeks to the Tipp game and that’s very, very close. I believe Tipp have now decided to give their players a three-week run-in.

Cork sent out a warning to Munster championship first round opponents Tipperary when they walloped a hapless Wexford by 5-27 to 1-15 in a senior hurling challenge at Carrigtwohill on Sunday. The gulf in class between the two teams was all too evident in a game which the Rebels dominated from start to finish. Gerald McCarthy’s charges led by 3-12 to 1-6 at the interval, with Wexford’s cause not being helped by the dismissal of half forward Diarmuid Lyng late in the half. Sarsfields’ Kieran Murphy topped-scored for the Rebels with 2-3, while Ben O’Connor and Joe Deane scored 0-12 between them. The first quarter was a lively affair, at the end of which Cork led by 2-4 to 1-3. The Rebels’ goals came from Patrick Horgan and Murphy, while Eoin Quigley netted for the visitors.