From a GAA perspective it was no ordinary weekend.
Cork hurlers continue to display the form that clearly suggests they will be a force to be reckoned with in the championship. Defending All-Ireland champions Clare looked a lot better in Thurles than their last outing against the Rebels in Ennis, while Limerick will be a little concerned about their display against Wexford.
But the reality is, the hurling counties are already focused on what really matters to them - the championship.
The National Hurling League is a very enjoyable competition, and it is a national title, but it's often played in terrible weather conditions so often can be more a test of stamina and an opportunity to see new emerging talent rather than a true barometer of a county’s performance later in the season.
Form is important, but no county wants to perform brilliantly in March when the real bread and butter stuff is June and July and there is a difference.
That having been said the fact that Cork and Tipperary, as well as Waterford and Offaly, will be playing in the finals in Supervalu Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday, 6 April is bound to attract a massive crowd to Leeside.
The Munster and Leinster Hurling championship begins on the weekend of 19 and 20 April. Getting safely out of that 'Provincial League’ is now much more important to the counties involved.
The overall positive here however is the fact that there is some space between the end of the Allianz Hurling League campaign and the start of the championship.
This is not true of football.
The final round of the Allianz Football League was certainly tense and full of suspense as games ebbed and flowed in different directions. It still lacked the intensity of a full-blooded championship game, but the drama as it unfolded was enthralling.
There is now such a gap between the climax of the football championship in July and the start of the league the following year in January, that initially everyone is longing for, but as it reaches the end of that initial national competition, managers and players are already distracted by championship fixtures coming down the track.
It’s human nature. It’s also about good planning.
The championship will always be the number one competition in the GAA.
If you stopped people on the street and asked them who won last year’s league title and who won last year’s All-Ireland title, I’m pretty sure the responses would be immediate for the latter (Armagh, of course) and perhaps take a moment of two to get the correct answer to the first question (Derry, by the way).
Had Mayo goalkeeper Colm Reape not saved Daire Ó Baoill’s penalty, Mayo could have been relegated rather than find themselves top of the table and in this Sunday’s league final against Kerry.
A week after playing the league final, Mayo will face Sligo in the Connacht championship in Castlebar.
It’s a test, but it shouldn’t be a severe one if we base it on league form. However, having said that, Sligo should have beaten Galway last year in the Championship only to let the opportunity slip from their grasp. So, win or lose against Kerry, it’s still a serious challenge that Mayo will have to be careful and respectful of and no doubt they will be.
It would be great from their perspective to go in to the Connacht championship with the newly launched Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh Cup, which will be presented for the very first time to the league champions.
But if they lose the league final, then there is little or no time to recover and that’s simply unfair. There needs to be a gap.
Donegal were also serious contenders for league advancement but they too have a championship match on 6 April against Derry in Ballybofey, and in Ulster anything can happen.
It’s a serious challenge for the Ulster champions and Jim McGuinness, and another example of the requirement for a gap between league and championship football.
Contrast it with the situation facing Kerry.
They don’t play championship football - against either Cork or Limerick - until 19 April.
That gives them time to recover whether they win or lose the league final. They will absolutely love heading to Croke Park on Sunday.
I feel total empathy with GAA officials in Croke Park in trying to sort this whole fixture chaos out in a fair and balanced way.
Despite their best efforts, there is a feeling that the present scheduling needs to be analysed again, and possibly tweaked.
Many feel there needs to be a break between the league and the championship, as well as some space between games in the championship, for a variety of reasons - including giving supporters a chance to gather up a few bob to go again to the next game!
There is also a train of thought that the fixture schedule is simply too tight and needs to breathe a little.
Some suggestions being made include pushing the All-Ireland finals into August or, as Ciaran Whelan has suggested, starting the league a few weeks earlier.
