Upping the Ante: It’s all to play for in upcoming hurling dust-up

Beautiful and brutal, the sport of heroes takes a stick to Gaelic football in terms of betting prospects

It is an anomaly that warrants analysis: though hurling is played at a competitive level in so few of the 32 counties, the upcoming championship will be so competitive as to render its footballing brother almost a non-event.

Take out Galway, and perhaps Antrim, and hurling has long been barely relevant in Ulster and Connacht. Gaelic football is strong in nearly every county apart from the pariah, Kilkenny, yet the odds for the ...