The Second Captains Podcast

On the basis of yesterday's double-header in Thurles, hurling is in crisis. Can we stand idly by and watch the demise of our national sport, or was it maybe just a case of hurling finally having a disappointing day after 2 years of consistent soaring excellence? Malachy Clerkin and Maurice O'Brien separate the hurling from the hyperbole, discuss Daly's future with Dubs and why Tipp are over rated.Galway won an extraordinary game of football against Tipperary on Saturday evening - when the goals stopped going in and the mental arithmetic finished, it was 4-17 to 4-12, we talk to man of the match performer, Galway's corner-forward Michael Martin.And why do we get our backs up about the Commonwealth Games? Tom English, an Irishman working for the BBC explains why this is the biggest love-in in Glagow's history. Plus there's Murph's Ferris Bueller moment, Wexford's entourage, north Galway's Youtube sensation and lulled somnambulants wandering around mid-Tipperary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before he became the greatest interviewer of all time, Michael Parkinson wrote about football for his local newspaper in Barnsley. He went on to become a well respected sports columnist for The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times, and was named sports writer of the year in 1998.In his early days on the beat in Yorkshire he came across Arthur Hopcraft, who wrote one of the greatest sports books of all time, The Football Man, which Parkinson wrote the foreword on. The two were friends for life, sharing a similar philosophy on the game.We talk to Michael about Hopcraft, football's relevance to English society in the 50's and 60's, why it still matters, writing about the game at a time of huge upheaval, how George Best changed everything and why the modern game holds little joy for him now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At 17, Stephen McPhail was dubbed 'the new Liam Brady' by his then-club manager George Graham. He went on to play for Leeds United in the Premier League, UEFA Cup and in a Champions League semi final. He represented his country 10 times, became the seventh Irishman to captain an FA Cup final team, fought cancer and other health issues, and is now back playing for his boyhood team Shamrock Rovers. He joins us in studio to talk to about reacting to setbacks, longing for home, facing Totti at 18 years of age, FA Cup final ticket frenzy, Ireland's treatment of creative midfielders, and using football as part of his cancer rehabilitation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A documentary following Paul Kimmage through two of the most turbulent years of his life, incorporating the Lance Armstrong downfall, professional frustrations, a UCI law-suit, Team Sky and last year's Tour de France are captured in a new documentary, airing on RTE next Monday night at 9.35pm. It's called "Rough Rider" and we speak to Kimmage, and his director Adrian McCarthy.US Murph talks to us about the latest developments as the first openly-gay NFL player Michael Sam starts training camps, and we look ahead to the weekend's hurling quarter-finals with Benny Dunne and Denis Walsh, author of one of the great GAA books "Hurling: The Revolution Years".Plus there's what amount one should put into a wedding envelope, a cead mile failte to our American cousins, and whether someone could survive four weeks in a camper-van with Ken Early. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The entire nation of Brazil was thrown in gut-wrenching, heart-breaking retrospection after their 7-1 defeat to Germany in the World Cup semi-final. After a couple of weeks of navel-gazing, it looks like they're going to appoint Dunga, arch-pragmatist, as the successor to Big Phil Scolari. The much-heralded root and branch revolution has been postponed indefinitely it seems - we speak to James Young of ESPN in Brazil. It's a big week for League of Ireland teams in European competition - Emmet Malone joins us in studio for a look at their prospects, as well as a chat about the new 5-year contract John Delaney has signed ahead of the FAI AGM this weekend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rory McIlroy has won his third golf major by the age of 25 - good news if you're looking to draw comparison between him and Jack Nicklaus and Tiger, and also good news if you happened to back him at 400/1 to win a British Open before he turns 26. We speak to Niall Quinn, Lawrence Donegan and Philip Reid on the significance of his victory at Hoylake. And as the Dubs machine rumbles relentlessly on, are Donegal the only team left that could outwit their 'blanket offense'? Oisin McConville and Shane Curran discuss in studio. We also talk about the beauty of murph's computer game golf swing, the brogan brothers feud that could derail Dublin's season, and predict how many majors Rory will end up with. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wexford have been the story of the hurling summer so far – having taken out the All-Ireland champions last weekend, they face Waterford this Saturday. The modern-day godfather of Wexford hurling Liam Griffin talks to us about their summer so far, the youth of today, talent spotting and his involvement with the current squad. WADA has reported that Rugby Union has a higher percentage of positive drugs tests than cycling or athletics in 2013 – how accurate are our perceptions of level of PED use in each sport? And we have US Murph on Lebron’s home town return. Plus there’s Stephen Roche misjudging the public mood, Ken’s views on materialism and the Tiger Woods channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss Ken's hair in humid climates, the American tv conspiracy and why Van Persie's goal was overrated.Richie Sadlier joins us to talk about the arbitrary nature of footballing fate and the place of violence in the game.And Raphael Honigstein is on the line to talk about Super Deutschland and why 2014 is so much better than 1990. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The reigning All-Ireland champions Clare are out of this year's hurling championship - we talk about what the challenges are now facing Davy Fitzgerald and his team, as well as a look back over Cork's first Munster title since 2006.Armagh had one of their sweetest victories of the last 20 years yesterday - Oisin McConville was walking even more cockily than usual into studio today, and we go to Buenos Aires after a night of near misses and lasting regrets for Argentina in the World Cup final.Plus there's the moral conundrum of when to ignore your mother, JBM's eternal youth, Messi's corner of hell and Ken Early's hang up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken was in the Maracana to witness an epic World Cup final. He reports from his hotel, which is right in the middle of the German party zone. Tim Vickery spoke to Ken after the game about the Germans doing it the hard way, long term planning, Brazil's revenge and Russia 2018.Spain were knocked out many weeks ago. We ask Sid Lowe how they feel about German dominance, whether there is something physically wrong with Messi and if Barca have learnt from Mascherano's midfield performances.All this plus boring German chants, Mother Europa, why there's more head injuries in modern game and Messi Pele peak comparisons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.