Dublin preparing for cold, muddy fields again (well, some of them are… some of them are in Vegas)

January football.  A right, royal pain in the arse.  Not for everyone though.

Teams up and down the country are meeting up today - some of them for the first time (because no-one would disrespect the training ban) - ready to open their 2015 intercounty seasons and there's a little buzz to be heard through the chilling winter air. And All-Ireland title favourites and 2013 champs Dublin are just like the rest of them, ready to take for a cold Parnell Park and throw down with Maynooth University. Except some of them won't be there.  Some of them won't be bothering with the mud and the bite and the risk of a stinging size five piece of leather slapping off a weak, freezing leg.  Whilst Jim Gavin will be putting some of his lads through their paces, Bernard Brogan, Paul Flynn and Diarmuid Connolly will check in from the comfort and desert warmth of Las Vegas. Bernard Brogan tweeted this photo of the deadly attacking trio last night. We have a hunch that all three of their places might be there for them when they come back.

The lads @HakkasanLV in Vegas! @Flinto23 @dermoc123 pic.twitter.com/tbYDnbOvr4

— Bernard Brogan (@bernardbrogan) January 3, 2015