You didn't have to be a hurling aficionado to appreciate how special a team Kilkenny was/is. In fact, they were probably as coveted by as many people from other sports as they were by true hurling supporters.
There was so much to admire about them. Their skill we took for granted but there was so much more to them than that.

Those who participate in sport as sole practitioners must have the loneliest and most soul searching roles in sport. Be it the boxer, golfer, athlete, snooker player, whatever the sport, there must be times when their lot is a very lonely one.
David Gillick must have felt that way last week. The 400m runner was tipped to win a medal at the European Championships in Barcelona but it didn't work out for him in the final and he finished fifth.

Alex Higgins died at the weekend. A complex personality, Higgins was undoubtedly an absolute genius at snooker. Single-handedly, he transformed the game and in the '70s and '80s he was responsible for snooker becoming a hugely popular television event.
The iconic pictures, relayed over and over at the weekend, of him hugging his wife and daughter after winning the world title for the second time are up there with the great sporting images of all time.
He was a remarkable player, probably the snooker equivalent of his