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Three of the best forwards in the NBA this season

 

As the NBA season begins to reach its conclusion, basketball fans have been treated to an intense few months, and plenty of action as normality looks to resume at the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Just a year ago we were seeing games held behind closed doors, travel being restricted and interest in the sport at the lowest it’s been in years, but with the return of fans courtside and the games flowing as usual, the entertainment has almost been amped up a notch this season, with players looking like they’re giving it their all despite so many games in quick succession.

The Championship is proving increasingly hard to pick a winner in, and while Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors went into this one as the favourites for the majority of people who bet on NBA, the Boston Celtics are looking for a first title since 2008 and won’t go down without a fight. The franchise is enjoying their best season for years and finally have a roster worthy of competing, with forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown forming a deadly attacking alliance.

Fine margins look to decide this one and while the Celtics have been on fire, some of the leagues other forwards will be looking on in envy that they aren’t in contention for the coveted trophy at this stage of the season. But where do the likes of Tatum and Brown compare to the rest of the trailing pack? Read on, as we take a look at three of the best forwards this season in the NBA.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Where else to start but the Greek freak Giannis Antetokounmpo. After almost singlehandedly carrying the Milwaukee Bucks to last year’s Championship, winning the MVP in the process, the 27-year-old has continued his fine form this season, although his team have struggled to rekindle that same cohesion that saw them beat the Phoenix Suns 12 months ago. Antetokounmpo has hinted that he would take a sabbatical at some point in the near future and another underwhelming season could well force the Greek into an early exile.

‘If I take a year off, what would I do?’ he asked. ‘I would disappear. I would go to an island in Greece, stay with my family and disappear for a year.

‘I’m being serious.’

Kevin Durant

Let’s flashback to the 2021 Allstar game — cutting to a frustrated figure of Kevin Durant as his team lost to Lebron James in an extraordinarily ordinary performance. Having jumped ship from Golden State to the Brooklyn Nets in 2019, Durant took his time to adjust to the new surroundings, and COVID certainly didn’t help. But he looks to have found his feet again now, as the 2014 MVP averaged almost 30 points per game throughout the season, a much-improved return that the Nets should be rewarded for by showing their patience. The 33-year-old has been a figure of consistency and he’ll need to replicate that in the hopes of going further in next year’s playoffs.

Zion Williamson

Despite the New Orleans Pelicans having a tough season in terms of results, Zion Williamson was a shining light in an otherwise frustrating few months, as Willie Green’s side finished eighth in the Western Conference. From an individual point of view though, 21-year-old Williamson enjoyed another breakout year as he quickly establishes himself as one of the best forwards in the league. Only Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davies outperformed him in the closing games of the season, but with so much experience at such a young age, expect big things from Zanos in the future with his best years ahead of him.

World Cup 2022: Celebrations as Wales qualify after 64 years of waiting

Wales ended a 64-year wait to qualify for the World Cup with a gritty 1-0 victory over Ukraine at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday.

While Ukraine could themselves unfortunate after dominating the play-off game, Wales showed tremendous character to get the job done.

They head to Qatar as one of the outsiders to lift the trophy, but will fancy their chances of upsetting the bookmakers’ odds during the tournament.

The latest FIFA World Cup 2022 outright market lists Wales at 350/1, highlighting the size of the task they face later this year. Betway has Wales at 125/1 to win tournament which could look huge if they win their first game. 

However, having been drawn against England, United States and Iran in the group stage, Wales will believe they can make it to the knockout phase.

Manager Rob Page insisted his team will ‘go toe-to-toe with anybody’ at the World Cup, having built belief from their performances at the last two European Championships.

“We go with the confidence we have had going into any game,” Page told the BBC.

“We have played against the USA. We know they are a really strong outfit. We played against their European-based players in my first game.

“They (and Iran) are winnable games and, when you play against a home nations team, anything can happen.

“We will go toe-to-toe with anybody – bring it on. That’s the attitude we have got in that changing room.”

Wales’ improvement in recent times has been remarkable, particularly when you consider they were ranked 117th in the world just 11 years ago.

A 2-1 home defeat against Australia left them below Haiti in the rankings – a sad state of affairs for a nation with a proud football history.

The foundations for their climb back up the rankings were undoubtedly laid by the late Gary Speed, who instilled a new sense of belief and identity in the squad.

Wales subsequently reached the 2016 European Championship semi-finals, before progressing to the knockout stage from a tough group four years later.

Page’s confidence about his team’s chances of success in Qatar is not misplaced given how they performed at Euro 2020.

The finished second behind Italy in the group stage, before exiting the tournament against a vibrant Denmark team in the round of 16.

While progressing to the knockout phase in Qatar will not be easy for Wales, it would undoubtedly be foolish to underestimate their chances.

Group B is the toughest in the opening phase based on world rankings, but Wales are perfectly capable of qualifying for the round of 16.

They are fancied to take at least a point from their first match against United States, while Iran should hold no fears for them a few days later.

A minimum four-point haul from those two games would set Wales up nicely for their final group match against England.

The Three Lions are one of the favourites to win the World Cup, although many respected pundits believe they have little chance of lifting the trophy.

Manager Gareth Southgate’s overly cautious tactics often lead to laboured performances from England and Wales could make life difficult for them.

Having waited 64 years to qualify for the World Cup, it would be no surprise to see Wales grab the opportunity with both hands and make significant progress in Qatar. 

How Electric Bikes Can Help Athletes Stay Fit

Midsection of unrecognizable businessman commuter with electric bicycle traveling from work in city. Copy space.

Today, electric bikes may be an option for athletes to stay fit. An electric bike, also known as an e-bike, operates by automatically turning on the motor while pedaling.

Maintaining peak performance throughout the year is critical for athletes. Generally, it focuses on various aspects, including strength, muscular development, and speed, but there should also be an emphasis on the cardiovascular and pulmonary aspects. The cardiovascular aspect plays an important role in improved function, and an effective way for athletes to incorporate cardio into their workout routine is by training on an electric bike.  

 

How Do Electric Bikes Work?  

An electric bike can provide various benefits, such as allowing you to travel faster, serving as an alternative for commuting, and encouraging the joy of cycling. Many people are skeptical about electric bikes because they have a motor and battery that assist pedaling. However, riding one can still help improve your fitness level.

When riding an e-bike, you can push yourself as hard as you want, and you’ll have extra assistance. Although an electric bike can make climbing easier, it’s also possible to put in a lot of effort if you want to push your body.  

In a comparison of pedal-powered and electric bikes among mountain bikers, it was revealed e-bike use still provides moderate to vigorous physical activity with less of the exertion one exhibits on conventional bikes. The studies conclude that electric bikes can be a good form of aerobic or cardiovascular exercise.

If you find the benefits of riding an electric bike appealing from a fitness perspective, you might want to click here to know more and help you make the right choice.  

Cycling has grown increasingly popular in recent years as a result of the global availability of e-bikes. Electric bikes are an excellent choice for a recreational activity or to begin your fitness journey. Athletes can also benefit from the activity in a variety of ways. Here are a few ways electric bikes might help athletes stay in shape.  

 

1. Improves The Overall Efficiency Of The Heart

Improving your heart’s condition will allow it to drive more blood into your muscles with fewer beats per minute. Because blood serves as the medium for carrying essential nutrients, including oxygen, to your muscles, an efficient heart equates to better athletic performance.  

Working out on an electric bike is an ideal cardiovascular activity as it keeps your heart pumping. Contrary to popular belief, an e-bike may provide the same heart benefits as a traditional bicycle. Although the e-bike has a convenient pedal-assist feature, you must still pedal.

If you’re riding an e-bike, it typically utilizes half of your energy compared with what’s consumed on a conventional one. With this in mind, you’ll be burning more calories but not to the point of exhaustion. As an e-bike requires less effort, the calories you’ll burn are close to what you’ll get from walking. If you want to boost your workout, consider adjusting your speed, riding on the economy setting, or donning ankle weights.  

2. Allows Better Stimulation Of The Muscles  

Cycling may be a suitable option for athletes eager to train their lower body, specifically the legs. Deciding to include training with an electric bike can help strengthen the lower body, reducing stiffness and building better overall endurance.  

Like a conventional bicycle, every pedal stroke on an electric bike may stimulate the quads and hamstrings, one of the main muscle groups in the body. Due to the heavier build of e-bikes, regular cycling will facilitate weight loss and effectively tone your calf muscles. Additionally, the activity can work out other muscles such as the triceps, biceps, glutes, and abs, to name a few.

3. Boosts The Amount Of Oxygen Your Body Uses

The VO2 max is the amount of oxygen your body uses during physical activity. It’s regarded as an important factor in determining overall athletic performance.

Generally, oxygen serves as the fuel your body burns to generate energy. The higher your VO2 max, the better your athletic performance, especially in physically demanding sports or activities.

All athletes and individuals eager to improve their fitness level can benefit from a higher level of VO2 max. One of the best ways to improve it is by training on an electric bike on a regular basis.

4. Lessens Strain On The Joints  

Most athletes tend to suffer from joint pain, especially in the knees. It can be due to engaging in excessive and constant training in most cases. Fortunately, working out on an electric bike is one of the ways for athletes to maintain their fitness level without putting too much strain on their joints and muscles.

An electric bike improves your cardio, burns calories, and moves all of your muscles without straining your joints. The pedal-assist feature allows you to move faster without pedaling too hard, reducing the strain on your knees. E-bikes can help athletes get a good workout without injuring their joints or exacerbating an existing knee problem.

Final Thoughts  

Individuals eager to improve their fitness and athletes looking to boost performance may benefit from regular training sessions with an electric bike. Consider it the ideal physical activity that can get the heart pumping and give your body a complete workout. It also allows you to adjust to a high- or low-intensity workout. Training out on an electric bike can help regular folks and athletes stay fit while also having a good time outside.

Tennis Betting: Do You Already Apply These Tips?

Tennis betting is enjoying growth throughout the world at the moment. It is one of the most exciting sports to bet on, especially now that betting exchanges such as FanDuel Sportsbook offer in-play betting.

We will jump into the various bets you can make on tennis and strategies to approach your betting.

Ways to Bet on Tennis Market

There are many different ways to bet on the Tennis markets; we have listed our favorites below:

Betting on the Winner

It’s the simplest and most popular option. Just pick the winner of the match and put your bet on it. If you are correct, you get paid out at the odds you placed your bet.

Handicap Betting

It’s similar to betting on the match. However, the best player will have a handicap and start behind the weaker player on the scoreline. It should make the game evenly matched between the players. There is less risk in betting this way but also lower odds.

Set Betting

There are two primary forms of set betting. The first is betting on a single set. It has been a stimulating way to bet in-play while watching the game, and if you know a particular player’s weaknesses, it can pay off.

The other form of set betting is to bet on total sets won by a player.

Tournament Betting

It’s simply betting on the outright winner of a tournament. It can be an excellent option for betting if that is your thing.

There are other options available depending on the market, but you have to keep your eye on odds and value.

Betting on Tennis: Basic Advice to Enhance Winnings

As a tennis bettor, we bring you some bare essentials you should know about this topic. Understanding all these factors can get you to back more winners and fewer losers!

Try Paper Betting First

If you are new to betting, we would strongly suggest that you paper trade first, that is, put imaginary bets on paper and see how you get on. While you are trying to establish a system, this’s a crucial step. Remember, long-term profits should be the goal of any betting campaign.

Think Surface

Our second piece of tennis betting advice – make sure you think about the surface where the match is being played. There are dozens of players out there, especially clay-court players, who struggle to adapt to other surfaces.

For example, when the American hard court season comes up, some players get into the events with their clay court records, but they find it challenging to handle the bouncier, faster, and hard courts. Learn how your players cope. It’s so important to know which players like which type of court.

Fatigue or Rust

Point number three in our tennis betting advice. Be careful when looking at players returning from a long lay-off or who have done well in the previous week’s tournaments. Players returning from injury or a break are never at their sharpest, especially in early-round matches.

In contrast, players who have won the previous weeks often struggle – most times, they are tired mentally and physically and might have excessively celebrated! So, make sure you keep a careful eye on the time since their last match and their recent form.

Think Styles

You love watching tennis, right? So, here’s part four of our basic tennis betting advice. Learn about players’ strengths and weaknesses. You’ll find players who have strong serves as a vital part of their game, while others will try and win points through rallies.

If you have a weak server versus someone good at returning serve, you have a great matchup for a winning tennis bet.

Think Odds

Sometimes it’s worth searching around for the best odds for a match. Our final piece of tennis betting advice is to make sure you look around and see where you can find the best odds. Opening accounts in more than one place is usually advisable.

That will be all for now; thanks for reading, and good luck with your bets!

GAA Qualifiers Round Two Draw – Dates, TV Coverage and Start Times

GAA matches online, Sky Sports, GAAGO & RTE

All-Ireland Football Qualifiers round 2 – (Cork, Clare, Armagh, Mayo) v (Kildare, Donegal, Limerick, Roscommon) Dates, TV Coverage, and Start Times.

Saturday 11 June

All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers round 2
Roscommon v Clare, Croke Park, 3.45pm – Sky Sports
Kildare v Mayo, Croke Park, 6pm – Sky Sports

All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals
Antrim v Cork, Corrigan Park, Belfast, 2pm
Kerry v Wexford, Austin Stack Park, 2pm

All-Ireland MFC quarter-fiinals
Tyrone v Kerry, Portlaoise, 4pm
Cork v Derry, Portlaoise, 6pm
Sunday 12 June

All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers round 2
Cork v Limerick, Pairc Ui Chaoimh, 1.30pm – RTE
Armagh v Donegal, Clones, 4pm – RTE

All-Ireland MFC quarter-finals
Galway or Mayo winners v Kildare, Tullamore, TBC
Dublin v Galway or Mayo runners-up, Tullamore, TBC

All games to be played neutral venues.

Sunday 19 June

Tailteann Cup semi-finals

Saturday 25/Sunday 26 June

All-Ireland Football quarter-finals
Provincial winners (Dublin, Kerry, Derry, Galway) v Round 2 winners

All-Ireland MFC semi-finals

Saturday 2 July

All-Ireland SHC semi-final
Kilkenny v Quarter-final winner

Sunday 3 July

All-Ireland SHC semi-final
Munster provincial winner v Quarter-final winner

Friday 8 July

All-Ireland JFC semi-finals
Britain Winners v Kilkenny/New York

Why athletes have an increased interest in gambling: the main reasons

In the history of world sports, there have been many instanceswhere famous athletes have spent all their free time gambling. Legendary players visited not only offline gamblingestablishments, but also various online casinos, including sitesnot covered by Gamstop. Psychologists, after conducting an in-depth analysis, identified the main reasons why athletes in theUK and elsewhere are addicted to gambling. There are severalpush factors identified.

The desire to relive a stressful situation

Athletes are often stressed and even depressed. Reasons for thisare:

poor performance;
negative feedback from fans and experts;
long-term injuries.

To cope with stressful situations, many players visit gamblingclubs. By playing roulette, card disciplines and other gamblingactivities, athletes relieve stress and mentally removethemselves from their real problems.

So, for example, did the legendary Michael Jordan, who in1992, participating in the Olympics, at night got rid of stress inthe casino, competing in poker tournaments. Psychologists alsobelieve such behaviour is often caused by athletes gambling toget even for their problems in real life.

Extra income

Most of the sportsmen’s careers end early, in their 30s and 40s. Left behind, many simply don’t know what to do or how tomake a living. So retired sports stars are often seen in casinosand betting shops. By betting, they hope to increase theirincome.

It is not uncommon for athletes to spend time at online casinossuch as Triumph Casino. Here they have the opportunity to earncapital from gambling without revealing their identity.

A lot of extra money

Not all athletes are in financial need. Most of them earn multi-million pound salaries in sterling, euros and dollars. This levelof income allows players to throw their money around. Sportsstars like to spend their time in the best gambling houses in theworld where they spend large sums of money. This is how they quench  their passion for gambling and show off theirrespectable position. Casino with best payout can be hard to find. 

One need not go far to look for examples. According to mediareports, famous golfer Tiger Woods regularly spends $20,000 to$25,000 on blackjack and poker. Another legendary golfer JohnDaly and even managed to lose all the time he visited an offlinecasino about $ 50 million.

Competitive momentum

Another reason that regularly brings sports stars to gamblingvenues is the constant search for a thrill. Athletes are inherentlygamblers who are used to winning anything and everything. When they have downtime due to temporary holidays orinjuries, they begin to feel hungry for more victories.

In an attempt to quench this feeling and relive the adrenalinerush, athletes come to gambling clubs in the UK and elsewhere, where they find worthy opponents. In this way, players keeptheir competitive spirit alive. They get a chance to demonstrate a high level of skill and experience the satisfaction of defeating anopponent, just like in real life. A prime example is Britishfootballer Wayne Rooney, who combined his success on thepitch for Manchester United with his winnings at casinos andbookmakers.

A powerful gambling addiction

By betting in gambling clubs, many sports stars become heavilyaddicted to gambling. As a result, they develop a gamblingaddiction where they cannot live without gamblingentertainment.

For the sportsman, this creates many problems. The gamblerbegins:

Miss training and important gamesthis time the athletespends in offline or online casinos;
becoming irritable with teammates and the media;
Spending money earned from sport on gambling;
getting into large debts.

Athletes who have taken a well-deserved rest are most oftensubjected to gambling addiction. They cannot accept the factthat sports have left their lives and therefore feel a strong needto compete. This is what gambling can give them.

Enjoying strategies and schemes

Athletes are generally mathematical thinkers. They calculatetheir moves several steps ahead and always try to think like theirrival. This applies to all sports, especially football, chess, boxing, golf and tennis.

It is therefore not uncommon for players to display these skillsin gambling games as well, most notably poker and blackjack. These card disciplines require you to think mathematically, calculating your own and othersmoves ahead of time. Playersneed to devise their own strategies and tactics during the gamein order to win. Many players derive great satisfaction from this. Illustrative examples are footballers Cristiano Ronaldo andNeymar, who often take part in poker championships.

Joe McDonagh Hurling Final – Antrim beat Kerry

Joe McDonagh Hurling Final – Antrim v Kerry – Preview, Stats, and Starting Teams

Antrim lost one game (to Kerry) in the ‘round robin’ – they had already quailed for the final by then.

Kerry lost two games (to Down and Offaly) but clinched a place in the final on scoring difference after finishing on six points alongside Carlow and Offaly.

The winners will play Cork in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter- final; the losers will play Wexford.

Antrim are guaranteed a place in the Leinster championship next year if they win on Saturday. If Kerry win, they will face a play-off with Tipperary to decide who plays in the Munster championship

ANTRIM v KERRY
They meet in the Joe McDonagh Cup for the second time in three seasons, with Antrim having won in 2020 (0-22 to 1-17). Kerry also lost last year’s final to Westmeath (2-28 to 1-24).
HOW THEY REACHED THE FINAL – ANTRIM
Antrim 3-22 Offaly 2-24 Antrim 6-22 Down 3-16 Antrim 2-22 Carlow 1-22 Antrim 7-29 Meath 3-14 Kerry 0-29 Antrim 2-21

Top Scorers – ANTRIM
Conal Cunning……………..1-31 (0-25 frees, 0-1 ‘65’) Conor Johnson……………….3-4
Ciarán Clarke……………….2-6 (1-0 pen)
Seán Elliot…………………….2-5 (0-1 s/l)
HOW THEY REACHED THE FINAL – KERRY
Down 1-19 Kerry 0-18 Kerry 3-21 Carlow 0-15 Kerry 6-25 Meath 0-13 Offaly 4-23 Kerry 2-28 Kerry 0-29 Antrim 2-21

Top Scorers – KERRY
Pádraig Boyle……………1-53(0-41 frees, 0-5 ‘65s’) Shane Conway…………-3-22(0-12 frees, 0-1 s/l) Maurice O’Connor……..4-0
Fionán Mackessy………..0-12

TEAM NEWS

 

GAA Qualifiers – Mayo beat Monaghan

GAA Qualifiers – Mayo v Monaghan – Preview, Stats, and Teams, they meet for the first time in the championship.

Click here for live scores on Mayo v Monaghan

They have clashed in seven of the last eight Allianz Leagues (Div 1), missing out only in 2021 when Mayo were in Division 2. Their last tie was in this year’s Allianz League when Mayo won by two points in Clones.

Mayo have won 16 and lost six of their 22 qualifier ties. They reached the 2016 and 2017 All-Ireland finals, via the qualifiers.

Monaghan have won 16 and lost 14 of their 30 qualifiers.

Both are waiting for their first goal in this championship. Monaghan didn’t hit the net against Down or Derry, while Mayo drew a blank against Galway.

Season so far
Mayo: Beaten Division 1 finalists; Connacht SFC: Lost to Galway by a point.
Monaghan: Sixth Division 1; Ulster SFC: Beat Down by ten points; lost to Derry by four points.

Top Scorers (SFC 2022)
MAYO
Cillian O’Connor….0-6 (6 frees)
Ryan O’Donoghue…0-4 (0-1 mark)
James Carr …………….0-2
MONAGHAN
Jack McCarron……..0-11 (0-5 frees, 0-2 mark) Conor McManus…..0-11 (0-8 frees)
Gary Mohan………..0-3 (0-2 frees)

LAST FIVE ALLIANZ LEAGUE MEETINGS
2022: Mayo 2-10 Monaghan 1-11 2020: Monaghan 2-16 Mayo 0-13 2019: Mayo 3-15 Monaghan 1-18 2018: Mayo 0-13 Monaghan 0-12 2017: Monaghan 1-11 Mayo 0-12

TEAM NEWS

Mayo: Rob Hennelly; Lee Keegan, Oisin Mullin, Enda Hession; Paddy Durcan, Stephen Coen, Eoghan McLaughlin; Aidan O’Shea, Matthew Ruane; Bryan Walsh, Aiden Orme, Diarmuid O’Connor; James Carr, Jack Carney, Cillian O’Connor.

Monaghan: Rory Beggan; Kieran Duffy, Conor Boyle, Ryan Wylie; Karl O’Connell, Dessie Ward, Ryan McAnespie; Darren Hughes, Niall Kearns; Conor McCarthy, Kieran Hughes, Micheál Bannigan; Jack McCarron, Gary Mohan, Conor McManus.

Leinster Hurling Final – Kilkenny beat Galway

Kilkenny are bidding for a third successive Leinster title while Galway last won in 2018.

Cats won three and lost two games in the ‘round robin’ while Galway won four and drew one of their five games.

STATS

Galway beat Kilkenny by a point in this year’s ‘round robin’ clash in Pearse Stadium.

This will be the 49th championship meeting between Galway and Kilkenny. The Cats lead 32-13 with three draws from the previous 48 clashes.

Henry Shefflin is the ninth Galway manager who has pitted his wits against Brian Cody in the championship. The others are Mattie Murphy, Noel Lane, Conor Hayes, Ger Loughnane, John McIntyre, Anthony Cunningham and Micheal Donoghue, Shane O’Neill.

Brian Cody has managed Kilkenny 22 times against Galway in the championship since taking over for the start of the 1999 season, winning twelve (2000-2004-2006-2007-2009-2010-2012-2014-2015 (twice)-2016-2020), drawing three (2012-2014-2018) and losing seven (2001-2005-2012-2018 (twice) 2019-2022.

Henry Shefflin played against Galway thirteen times in the championship (two as a sub in 2014). He was on the winning side eight times, lost three and drew two.

Leinster titles: Kilkenny 73 Galway 3

Galway have played in nine finals since joining the Leinster championship in 2009, winning three, drawing one and losing five. Their wins were against Kilkenny in 2012 and 2018 and Wexford 2017. The draw was in 2018 against Kilkenny who beat them in 2010- 15-16-20. Dublin beat them in the 2013 final.

HOW THEY REACHED THE FINAL – GALWAY

Galway 1-19 Wexford 1-19 Galway 3-36 Westmeath 1-17 Galway 1-24 Kilkenny 3-17 Galway 2-37 Laois 0-21 Galway 0-27 Dublin 0-21 Played 5, Won 4, Drew 1.
Top scorers – Galway
Conor Cooney………..1-41 (0-32 frees, 1-0 pen, 0-2 ‘65s’) Joseph Cooney………2-15
Cathal Mannion…….0-18
Tom Monaghan…….0-14
Conor Whelan……….1-10

HOW THEY REACHED THE FINAL – KILKENNY

Kilkenny 5-23 Westmeath 1-19 Kilkenny 2-34 Laois 1-14 Galway 1-24 Kilkenny 3-17 Kilkenny 3-25 Dublin 0-17 Wexford 1-22 Kilkenny 1-18 Played 5, Won 3, Lost 2
Top Scorers – Kilkenny
TJ Reid………………2-34 (0-24 frees, 0-2 ‘65s’) Eoin Cody…………..2-10
Adrian Mullen…….0-16
Austin Murphy……..0-15 (0-10 frees)
Walter Walsh……….1-10

LAST FIVE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS
2022: Galway 1-24 Kilkenny 3-17 (Leinster round robin) 2020: Kilkenny 2-20 Galway 0-24 (Leinster final)
2019: Galway 3-20 Kilkenny 2-22 (Leinster round robin) 2018: Galway 1-28 Kilkenny 3-15 (Leinster final) Replay 2018: Galway 0-18 Kilkenny 0-18 (Leinster final) Draw

PREVIOUS LEINSTER FINAL MEETINGS

This will be the eighth Leinster final between the counties. It’s 4-2 to Kilkenny with one draw from the previous seven,
2020: Kilkenny 2-20 Galway 0-24
2018: Galway 1-28 Kilkenny 3-15 (Replay)
2018: Galway 0-18 Kilkenny 0-18 (Draw) 2016: Kilkenny 1-26 Galway 0-22
2015: Kilkenny 1-25 Galway 2-15
2012: Galway 2-21 Kilkenny 2-11
2010: Kilkenny 1-19 Galway 1-12

STARTING TEAMS

Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, Tommy Walsh; Michael Carey, Richie Reid, Paddy Deegan; Conor Fogarty, Adrian Mullen; Billy Ryan, TJ Reid, Richie Leahy; Cian Kenny, Martin Keoghan, Eoin Cody.

Subs: Darren Brennan, Conor Delaney, David Blanchfield, Conor Browne, Cillian Buckley, James Maher, Alan Murphy, Walter Walsh, Padraig Walsh, John Donnelly, Tom Phelan.

Tailteann Cup – Offaly beat New York

Tailteann Cup – Offaly v New York – Preview, Stats, and Starting Teams – A first championship game between them.

This is New Yorks first in Ireland since 2001 when they when they lost a Connacht game to Roscommon by ten points in Dr. Hyde Park.

This will be Offaly’s third championship game of the season, having lost to Wexford in Leinster before gaining revenge over the Model men in the Tailteann Cup. They beat Wicklow in their second outing last weekend.

Season so far

Offaly: 7th Div 2 (relegated); Leinster SFC: Wexford 1-15 Offaly 1-12; Tailteann Cup: Offaly 3-11 Wexford 2-13; Offaly 0-18 Wicklow 0-10.

New York: Connacht SFC: Sligo 1-16 New York 0-15

STARTING TEAMS