The intercounty season got back into full swing last weekend, but with the Cork footballers on holiday it was the county's hurlers who were the centre in attention. This will be the hurlers' first uninterrupted season for a number of years, so it gives manager Denis Walsh a chance to experiment and try a number of players in the Waterford Crystal Tournament.

Munster front row pair Jerry Flannery and Marcus Horan are facing an uphill struggle to be involved in either of the province's final two Heineken Cup pool games. Flannery, who is recovering from an Achilles injury, has already been ruled out of this Saturday's away match to Benetton Treviso, kick-off at 1.35pm (Irish time), while it was hoped Horan would have got some game time for Shannon in the AIB League last weekend, but the game was postponed.

It came as no surprise when Ben O’Connor was named AIB Club Provincial Hurler of the year this week. Such was his dominance for Newtownshandrum in their march to provincial honours that he topped the media vote with a record number of nominations. The All-Star and Cork sharp-shooter was central to helping his team secure their place in the All-Ireland semi-finals, where they will face Leinster champions, Ballyhale Shamrocks of Kilkenny.

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Now that the holiday season is over, and the dust, or even the snow, has settled, the racing world will immediately turn towards the upcoming Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals, in March. These two great occasions are generally regarded as being the absolute meccas of the national hunt racing season, featuring the Grand National and Topham Trophies at Aintree.

For the first time in two years Cork senior hurlers will begin the new season on a level playing field as their main opponents and on Sunday UCC will provide the opposition in the Waterford Crystal Cup in Páirc Ui Rínn at 2 pm, weather permitting. It will also mark Kieran 'Fraggy' Murphy's first outing as captain following his appointment by Denis Walsh last week, taking over the role from John Gardiner.

It certainly has been a baptism of fire for new UCC Demons coach Luke D'Alessio. The American took a massive leap of faith when leaving his life in Maryland to begin a tenure as the coach of a semi-professional Irish basketball team, albeit the best team in the land. But he was no stranger to big upheavals; D'Alessio was actually born in Italy but was soon on the move across the Atlantic to New Jersey where he developed his love of basketball.

Unfortunate for Neptune that their fine unbeaten run came to an end just a week before their all important National Cup semi-final against UCC Demons this Sunday. Neptune lost their winning streak against Southern Conference leaders UL Eagles on a scoreline of 91-88 last Sunday in Limerick, but rather then being a disappointing defeat it may well serve as perfect preparation for the NEH Neptune team before the weekend.

Not even a dose of the swine flu can prevent Neptune coach Pat Price from directing his charges against former side UCC Demons in Sunday's National Cup semi-final. He has been laid low with the virus for the past few weeks but such is his commitment he made it to Neptune's away loss to UL Eagles last weekend despite being unable to train the team all week.

Ever think your prediction talents are lost? Ever rue the fact you never backed your fancy for relegation from the Premiership or your tip for The US Masters? This may soon change as two Cork GAA stars have come up with a novel and fun way for social clubs to fundraise.

Cork lies in third place in race five of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. After three days of racing, the Cork crew are only five nautical miles behind race leader Cape Breton Island as the crews head for Keppel Bay in Singapore. Hull & Humber and Cork, who collided at the start of Race Four are looking to claw some time back on the race leaders after their collision at the beginning of Race Four.