While the pairing doesn't have the same freshness and novelty about it that a Galway/Clare or a Tipperary/Waterford showdown would have had, this doesn't mean it lacks interest.

Cork versus Kilkenny never does. Cork are going for an All Ireland three-in-arow. They're facing the team whose own three-in-a-row bid they thwarted in 2004. There's intrigue in abundance for you already. To repeat, look forward to next Sunday for the possibilities it offers.

Overall it's been a disappointing summer for hurling, the two All Ireland semi-finals being the only real highlights along with Waterford's quarterfinal victory against Tipperary. The Leinster championship was even more of a letdown than it's been in recent years, with all the signs suggesting that it's going to be quite some time before Wexford and Offaly will be able to challenge Kilkenny in any grade. There's definitely a window of opportunity open to Dublin here provided they can sustain the growth of under-age hurling in the capital. The continued progress of the Dublin colleges' team, whose All Ireland triumph against St Flannan's was arguably the most heartwarming result of 2006, will be vital in this regard.

The Munster championship wasn't much better than its Leinster equivalent as a result of Clare and Limerick failing so abjectly against Cork and Tipp respectively. After the progress they'd made during the spring, Limerick's implosion was distressing to behold, even if they did subsequently redeem themselves in the All Ireland quarterfinal. Let's hope this doesn't prove to be the first glint of yet another false Limerick dawn.

Galway continue to fall short and are surely in line for a change of management. Waterford came up short . . . agonisingly so . . . in a different way but may also begin 2007 with a newcomer at the helm. If they require consolation, they can take heart from the fact that, deprived of the services of Paul Flynn and Dave Bennett, they lost by a point to none other than the All Ireland champions in a semi-final they could have won and had a golden chance to draw.

Tipperary's achievement in reaching the All Ireland minor and under-21 finals offers them real hope for the future. Irrespective of how they fare in both games, I suspect Babs and his backroom team will take considerable solace from the exploits of the county's youth and will soldier on for another couple of years. In Clare, on the other hand, Anthony Daly's resignation has to be regarded as bad news. The captain of 1995 and '97 was the glue that bound the current team together. It'll be no surprise if in a few years' time his term as manager comes to be viewed as a success, despite the lack of silverware.

There are ominous similarities between where Clare stand now and where Wexford and Offaly stood a couple of seasons back.

Some people have made a fuss over Antrim's participation in the Christy Ring Cup. I disagree.

Antrim were little more than whipping boys in the All Ireland series for most of the 1990s, so what's wrong with them finally getting their hour in the sun at Croke Park? We complained that they weren't good enough for the McCarthy Cup, then we complained when they were too good for the Ring Cup: a real GAA thing. We can't have it both ways.

The same goes for Derry, who were far too good for the other contenders in the Nicky Rackard Cup. Now that they and Antrim are due to be promoted, the playing field for the Ring and Rackard Cups should be more level and the two competitions will settle down. Doing away with promotion and relegation for a couple of years might assist the process, although no doubt Westmeath and Seamus Qualter, who were a breath of fresh air with their positive attitude to the McCarthy Cup, will be itching to win the Ring Cup next season and be back competing for McCarthy in 2008.

Talking of positive attitudes, expect Kilkenny to adopt one this week. Yes, they've lost JJ Delaney but no, that needn't be the end of the world for them. It could have been worse. Imagine if Delaney's misfortune occurred, say, next Wednesday instead of last Friday week.

Kilkenny have had time to get their heads around it. They've had time to line up a replacement and rejig their defensive formation. Knowing Brian Cody (left), he'll adopt the attitude that what's done is done, that this is the reason inter-county teams have panels, that there's an All Ireland final to be played and that Kilkenny have come so far this year there's no way they'll allow a rotten piece of luck to distract them now.

The likes of Kilkenny and Cork think positively and talk positively. They don't make a habit of getting their excuses in first. Far from knocking the stuffing out of the challengers, JJ Delaney's misfortune will steel them. But they'll miss him once Barry Kelly blows the whistle and throws in the sliotar, no question about that. By how much is an issue we'll return to next Sunday.