It seems like an age ago now, but when the documentary Sunday After Sunday was broadcast in 1984, to celebrate the centenary of the Gaelic Athletic Association, it was perceived as a tad revolutionary (for its time) but also a touch schmaltzy. Whatever about the perception back then, and all the romanticism associated with that particular piece of celluloid, television coverage of Gaelic games has come on in leaps and bounds.

Can you believe that some people argued against the televising of live games? The argument of some - who have been proved to belong to the dinosaur era - was that it would affect attendances and, more than that, kill off the clubs. If anything, the opposite has been the case. Live games on television have breathed further life into unique codes that have nothing to fear from anyone. If anything, the GAA is in a stronger position now than it was when that centenary documentary was screened, and who would argue that live matches haven't assisted in that situation materialising?

During this summer's campaign, RTE will screen over 30 live championship matches. You could argue that the national station has a monopoly on Gaelic games but, conversely, the point should be made that they haven't sat on the fence. These days, a live Gaelic football or hurling match comes, a la Sky Sports, with high-tech graphics, numerous camera angles and good analysis, with the pundits unafraid to go against the perceived party line.

Of course, RTE - and the viewers - are fortunate that the games invariably make good viewing. Yesterday, for the second successive Sunday, a Munster hurling championship match was featured and, yet again, the production was of a high standard. There was nothing over the top about the pre-match buildup with concise insights and views from the respective managers and to-the-point analysis from Peter Finnerty and Tomas Mulcahy.

The addition of Liam Griffin to the commentary team has been a real stroke, however. He provides the perfect back-up to Ger Canning - you'd wonder is there any other sport where a commentator has to follow the action with such accuracy and speed - and the man who called hurling the Riverdance of sport when leading Wexford to the All-Ireland a few years back has brought his own touch to television. Moments before the throw-in, with the cameras on Sean Og O hAilpin, Griffin expressed the view that he "represents everything that is best about Irish manhood at the moment. He's a new breed of an Irishman. His mother is from Fiji, they're very proud of their Fijian heritage and of their Irish heritage . . . he is the Setanta of Irish manhood at this stage. A great man, and a great role model for young people."

Neither Canning nor Griffin are afraid to speak their minds. Only 50 seconds into the match, after the first ugly incident involving Brian Begley and Diarmuid O'Sullivan, Griffin opined: "This is not good, we don't need to see this at the start of a hurling match. It's absolutely, totally unnecessary." "It's ridiculous," agreed Canning.

Similarly, late in the first-half, when players from both sides were involved in another incident, Canning called it "silly", with Griffin claiming that "the referee should have blown this up way before it ever happened . . . that's what causes these sort of problems".

By half-time, Cork had moved into a five-point lead and the studio guests weren't holding out much hope for Limerick. "Cork are only in about third gear," said Finnerty but, when James Butler grabbed Limerick's goal, Griffin offered the view that it was "game on". As someone who has been there, done that, Griffin made a point of emphasising the role of the respective managers. "You wouldn't like to be out there, would you?" asked Canning, as the cameras focused in on Messrs Cregan and Barry-Murphy on the sideline. "Love it," replied Griffin, adding: "They have given such service to the game, and this is all for the love of it. This is what makes hurling so special. These guys are down there because they love this game inside out . . . there are guys managing teams in Britain and all over the world who are not in the same league as these fellas."

If the amateur ethos still exists (to a large extent) in the management of the game, the actual broadcasting is extremely professional. Yesterday's match may not have been a classic, but it was still extremely good viewing and alive until, as Canning put it, "bang, bang, there you go, thank you lads" on Joe Deane's clinching goal.

No one can doubt that passion exists in Munster hurling, or any type of hurling for that matter. But speedway?

Evidence of the sport's passion was tellingly provided to us on Sky Sports 2 on Saturday night when, far removed from the glitz and glamour of the next day's Formula One shindig in Monaco, the Swedish Grand Prix (speedway version) took place. Thank God, it was brought to us after the nine o'clock watershed as we were hit with more expletives than you would find in an Eddie Murphy film.

Passions ran high after the referee made what former world speedway champion turned commentator Peter Collins described as a "wrong decision," in excluding current world champion Tony Rickardsson from the final rerun after he was upended in the first staging of the race by Mark Loram.

Only thing was, the race was being held on Rickardsson's home track in front of 12,000 spectators who had come to pay homage to their hero. When the race director - a certain Ollie Olsen - attempted to overrule the referee and reinstate Rickardsson, it led to a mutiny from the other three riders.

Sky had its cameras and microphones down on the ground to capture the gory details in full. As Mr Olsen sought to have the Swede's exclusion overruled, the other bikers - in true Hell's Angel fashion - made their opinions well known.

"Wash that man's mouth out with soap and water," said studio guest Gary Havelock, as the riders let rip with venom that is normally reserved for spitting dirt into the following biker's face.

One of the men most vocal in insisting that Rickardsson shouldn't be allowed race was an Australian by the name of Jason Crump whose father, we were informed, was known as "The Animal" in his own speedway racing days. The message obviously got to the race director, who decided to let the referee's wrong decision stand and the three-man re-race was eventually won by Crump.

"All of this has done speedway's credibility not a load of good," said the man on Sky Sports. Truth is, the whole episode showed that sport, no matter its genus, evokes uncontrollable passion - it's the challenging of that passion which separates the winners and losers.