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Well well....I did predict that Cork would have a good Hurling League and the clash against Kilkenny was always going to be tempestuous after last year's humiliation and the many words that have been written since.

This was everything I expected with bad blood evident and a Cork crowd baying for blood like Romans at the Collosseum. I still stand by my prediction that Cork will end up in a League final and with two defeats already, it may be that the Cats have too much to do and it looks like Tipp or Galway will join them.......Cork will not want to play Tipp twice before the hoped for ambush in the summer and would prefer a cut at Galway but Galway will need Canning and company back in full pomp after a dire display in Thurles.

My Cork sources say that while all is not 100% rosy under Denis Walsh, it is much much better and after a winter of content the Rebels are a force again.....the feeling on Leeside is that a win against Tipp in the Championship may leave a path to the All-Ireland Final without the Cats who would possibly end up playing Tipp and Galway en route in what would be an enormous test of character.

However, the Cats are not doomed.....they have some big names to return and will not have taken two high profile defeats well at all. The Cork fans rightly rejoiced at the victory but the cheers and jeers at the end will not be lost on Cody and his troops in the heat of summer battle. Cork's progress tells us they are a force this year and victory over Tipp may well be a season defining moment this summer but who would bet against the Cats? I wouldn't.

As for the football.....well, my good Dub sources say that Paul Griffin's injury is not good and he will be a huge loss. However, with big names like Keaney, Alan Brogan and Barry Cahill to return, Dublin must be amazed at where they are.........their style of play is pretty awful and they have not exactly played well but who can argue with four from four and being one win away from a final?

As for Tyrone....a well earned two points sees them off the foot of the table but it will be dog eat dog in the fight for survival.

Tyrone will need at least five points to stay up and with two games at home they should do it, so it does look like a scrap between Monaghan, Derry and Galway to go down and my money is on the Farney and Galway at this stage as both have looked poor at times and have little strength in depth. Galway manager Joe Kernan may well feel the heat and the recent comments by Ray Silke on TG4 concerning the "couple of hundred grand" to run the team this year did not go down well with the man from Cross.....my Armagh sources tell me that angry exchanges with TG4 were followed by a media ban with Silke's paper, the Galway Advertiser. However, Silke's comments highlighted deep scepticism in Galway with the "outside" manager and if Galway go down to Division 2 as they look like they will and if they don't beat Mayo, then it will be curtains.

My pre-season tip that Down would come good in 2010 looks solid enough and they look likely to get promoted but it is anybody from Kildare, Donegal, Meath and Armagh fofr the next place with Armagh the most likely as Donegal, Meath and KIldare have been too inconsistent .

Elsewhere, Roscommon look in horrendous shape while my midlands spies talk of deep discontent in Westmeath and serious issues in the dressingroom. A drop to Div 3 looks alomost nailed on  as several of the best players look on.

The big teams are awakening from their slumber......the season is starting now......

Dublin boss Pat Gilroy must be pinching himself......noisy rumours in the capital before Christmas claimed Giller was in trouble.....Pat and his management took a huge gamble...started afresh and have hit on the dream formula...ie five or six young players have emerged unexpectedly as serious options (Fitzsimons, McCauley, McMenimen, O'Carroll) while the likes of Keaney, the Brogans and Barry Cahill are yet to retunr to the first XV....if Gilroy had a dream scenario in his mind when the League started....this is it. 

Two more wins from four games, and the Dubs would be enjoying their best League in yonks.....A home game in front of a packed and expectant Parnell against a Monaghan team who have fronted up physically against the Dubs in recent seasons will be another test Gilroy's new look Dublin will relish.

As for Mayo, the old failings came home to roost....no penetration up front and wastefullness dogged them yet again....Mayo will have to improve.....As for Tyrone.....it now looks like an uphill struggle to remain in the top flight...who would have thought that at the start of the year??? The stories Shoulder has been told by my Tyrone friends would suggest that issues run deep in the camp. Kerry-Galway has takne on a must win "relegation 4 pointer" feel to it while Cork can push Tyrone closer to the drop door. My tips for a good 2010, Down, were poor last week and a serious test awaits them in Donegal this weekend.

As for the hurling, we may have a four way competition after all.....What a weekend we have in store.

Tipp take on Galway, who are shaping up nicely thank you very much, even without their Portumna stars. Tipp's win over Kilkenny may not be the era changing victory that some have said...but for Tipp it is a breakthrough of sorts and any victory is a good victory over the Cats for a team looking to make the big step up.

As for Kilkenny, they will face a Cork side full of confidence with last year's humiliation fresh on the mind....Kilkenny players need go no further than Easons and pick up Donal óg's book to see what he really thinks of them and this will see two teams go hammer and tongs at it.  Shoulder will bring the earphones and will be on Leeside for this one,.......

p.s good week for the GAA last week...20,000 in Thurles free of charge and 12,000 in Mayo for the Dubs-Mayo game and the National Leagues generating serious interest.

p.p.s With all the eyes focused on the glamour of Division One in football, there are some serious achievements lower down...Clare have won three from three in Division 4 and have turned the corner from the dark days not so long ago while Limerick look set to bounce back to Division 3 as expected. In Div 3, Antrim keep going the right direction but these are dark days for Roscommon football.....

Tyrone footballers were on the brink of revolution in the summer of 2008. Senior players were unhappy, Stephen O'Neill was in the wilderness and Mickey Harte was losing control. Tyrone faced up against Louth in the backdoor and got through....the start of a run which would lead to a spectacular success in September.

Now, success can mask many things but there have been cracks under the surface which are now re-emerging. The Sean Cavanagh Cork semi-final debacle was managed so poorly that its ramifacations are still being felt. Cavanagh is the ultimate pro and will not say so publicly, but he feels very let down and sources close to the player will confirm that. What is more worrying for Tyrone is that Harte seems to be alientating players and some are not happy with what is perceived as him running his own agenda to boost his profile.

Take the case of battling win back Philip Jordan.....injured and tired, he has yet to receive a call from Harte by all accounts sinced notifyinmg the manager of the need for a break in the Autumn. Here is a man who put his neck on the line for years and he seems to have been cast aside.

When a team has been on the road as long as Tyrone then fallouts and rows are inevitable.....Tyrone will still be contesting for Sam but I feel the hunger may be missing. A fresh start is needed to reignite the passion.

AS for the GAA, this week saw more good news.

Centra are the new hurling sponsors, making Musgraves sponsors of both hurling and football. Another shockingly poor photo of kids in white t-shirts accompanied the announcement, on the back of Sam Maguire in a shopping trolley for the Super Valu deal the awful pr images mask what has been a coup for the GAA in a depressed market place. However, no figures were announced, with Super Valu and Centra's hundreds of shops due to give hurling and football exposure like never before through a strong retail presence. The Football sponsorship is rumoured to cost €1.5m with hurling around €1.1m but Musgraves managed to lump the two together for more like €2m all in....now that is Super Valu.