Historic RossiesWith a few minutes to go, it looked as if favourites Galway would play the role of ‘Sweep Stealers’ but Roscommon dug deep to create some history.Mark Dowd’s men broke new ground by adding the Nestor Cup to their Connacht under-20 and minor titles, the latter both won at Tuam Stadium. It was the first time the county ever completed the hat-trick – referred to as, hold your nose rugby fans, “the Grand Slam” on the telly.The closest the Rossies had come before was 2012, the only previous year in which they won both the under-20/21 and minor provincial titles, but their seniors – who had bottomed out in Division 4 the year before – were well beaten by Galway in their Connacht opener.Enda Smith celebrates after Roscommon's win. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho There were a number of other footnotes in history on Sunday, too. Galway were aiming to become the third side to win five successive Connacht titles, while the jubilee team, presented at half-time, was the 2001 Roscommon side who beat Mayo and Galway on their way to winning the provincial decider at the Hyde.On that occasion, the Tribesmen gained revenge over the Rossies in the All-Ireland quarter-final en route to Sam Maguire. Padraic Joyce and Co will be hoping history repeats itself.Defeated DéiseSpare a thought for the Déise as another difficult year for their senior men’s teams plays out.The Waterford footballers fell to a 17-point home loss against London in the opening round of the Tailteann Cup at Fraher Field.That results means they have gone 14 months – and 14 matches – without a win, having finished bottom of Division 4 with four defeats.Waterford's senior hurlers have won just five fixtures in the Munster Championship since the provincial format changed in 2018. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho For the hurlers, if results don’t improve, it will soon be a lost decade. With 10 minutes to go in the 2017 All-Ireland final against Galway, Waterford trailed by a point but lost, the change in the Munster Championship format coming the following year.They have played 30 fixtures in Munster since, winning just five.Hurling mismatchesOne would imagine that with five tiers, mismatches would be a rarity in inter-county hurling championship but, as we have documented in recent seasons, that’s far from the case.The average margin in the first four rounds of the Lory Meagher Cup, Nickey Rackard Cup and Christy Ring Cup is 10 points per game in each tier.In total, there have been 36 matches played in those competitions so far this year – 10 of the 36 (28 per cent) were decided by margins of four points or less (including two draws).However, 17 of the 36 (47 per cent) of matches were decided by double-figure margins.Grammatical mattersIf there was a GAA Quote of the Year award, Kieran McGeeney’s line, uttered on February 15th after Armagh played Roscommon, would probably get the nod.“It’s that 50-50 game that everybody wants,” he said. “There is no skill in it, it’s just pure piggery.”Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho On commentary for the Munster final between Kerry and Cork, RTÉ’s Ger Canning had a slightly different take on things.“I think it was called by Kieran McGeeney, ‘the piggery’,” Canning noted, awakening the Schemozzle’s inner nerd.For the record, Geezer used the word as a predicate nominative; Ger employed it as a good old-fashioned, common-or-garden noun.Quote“Eoghan Cahill, cometh the hour, cometh the man – he has wrists of gold and balls of steel and Cahill surely rescues something for Offaly here today!” – The brilliant Joe Troy, commentating on the late equalising point for Offaly against Kilkenny on Midlands 103 radio.Number: 24Championship goals David Clifford has now scored.