Derry first up in Ulster for Tyrone

GAELIC GAMES: All-Ireland champions Tyrone have been drawn against Derry in the quarter-finals of next year's Ulster championship. Significantly, Mickey Harte's team will avoid provincial champions Armagh until the final, presuming the two Ulster giants can find a way back there.

Tyrone, Derry, Donegal, Down and Cavan are all on one side of a top-heavy draw. Armagh play Monaghan with the winners meeting Fermanagh or Antrim in the semi-final.

So, new Derry manager Paddy Crozier will have an unenviable championship debut as an intercounty manager on May 28th.

"The draw? The team that nobody wanted, I suppose," he said. "The All-Ireland champions and best team in the country. It is a monumental task but we will deal with the National League first. At present, I have just put a management team together that will be announced in the next few weeks.

"I would have preferred an easier match to start out with but we just have to take what is thrown at us."

The match is initially pencilled in for Omagh but demand is expected to outweigh the 18,000 capacity. "We don't have a support base to compare with the likes of Tyrone but it is the huge neutral interest which may cause a potential problem for Omagh," said Derry PRO Gerry Donnelly.

Ulster chairman Michael Greenan confirmed the council would consider switching the provincial final on July 9th to Croke Park for a third successive year if teams with suitable support bases progress.

The draw took place on BBC One at lunchtime yesterday, after the Ulster Council broke ranks with the traditional national draw on RTÉ, which was scheduled for today but cancelled.

"The bottom line was to ensure people in Ulster, all of Ulster, saw the draw. Sure, as I said before, some people couldn't even see the All-Ireland final (because of the unavailability of RTÉ in some areas of Ulster)."

Nevertheless RTÉ are likely to televise a live draw sometime next week. Leinster and Munster met last night to put the logistical side of things together (venues, etc) but Connacht secretary John Prenty indicated they were more than willing to see this happen.

"It seems like the most suitable arrangement, the three provincial draws live on RTÉ. Our position is if the other two agree we are also willing to go ahead but it won't be before this weekend."

Meanwhile, The 2005 All-Ireland winning football and hurling captains, Brian Dooher and Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, have condemned the GAA and Sony Ireland's "steadfast refusal to engage collectively with players for the upcoming Gaelic Football 2005 PlayStation game", read a GPA statement yesterday.

"Despite a formal offer by the GPA to provide the full co-operation of their membership, the product will go to market without the inclusion of marquee names across the country.

"Through industry standard arrangements with players associations and/or governing bodies in the relevant codes, Sony contracts the use of player names and images in all its major sporting product range, including rugby, soccer, American football, basketball, ice hockey and Australian Rules football."

Brian McEniff has ruled himself out of the race to succeed John Maughan as manager of the Mayo football team. McEniff recently stepped down as Donegal manager and, along with former Derry manager Mickey Moran, has held talks with Mayo regarding the vacancy.

"Nothing formal," said McEniff, who will manage Ulster in the interprovincial series. "There has been an awful lot of speculation. There was contact with Mayo but I gather they are going to make an appointment over the next couple of days."

So it is very unlikely that it is going to be yourself? "That's just about it."

The Mayo County Board stated the interview process was ongoing and would not be announcing a new manager for at least another two weeks.